A/N: A huge pile of thanks for reading and for the reviews, follows, favs. To those who left reviews; a gigantic load of thanks, you are truly so kind and generous. Thanks again for going along on this adventure with me, I just love telling this story.
Chapter Seventeen
Entering the Land of Dark Shadows
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."
- Martin Luther King Jr.
Carth made his way to his quarters; he'd mostly just cleaned up in there, leaving it free for Traviata. With her sleeping in there though, it felt like he was going home. He rapped on the door, when there was no response he knocked louder. He pressed the control opening the door when Traviata didn't answer.
"Hey, you in here?" Carth asked into the dark room, squinting at the lack of light. He was ready to leave when movement from the corner caught his eye.
"Lights," Carth said, he scowled swearing under his breath, remembering the lights didn't work by voice recognition on the ship. He felt around on the nearby wall until he found the controls, illuminating the room.
"Viata?" Carth asked, his eyes narrowed at the sight of Traviata sitting on the floor, hugging her knees to her chest. He crossed the room in two quick strides, squatting down to her side.
"Viata?" Carth's concern laden voice persisted. "Are you okay?" Traviata was staring off into the distance.
"The floor of Kashyyyk, in the middle of a forest. They found another star map," Traviata whispered, her teeth chattering violently, in fact her entire body was shaking. "I can show you the general area on a map, I can't pinpoint it, but I can get very close I think," she added, her voice raspy.
Carth put his hand on hers; it was colder than the surface of Hoth, he thought. He went to the bed, quickly snatching off the blankets, he returned wrapping them around her.
"Look at me, Viata" Carth said, rubbing her arms. When she did, it was with those same stricken, fear filled eyes he'd seen when she'd had her last vision. "It's over. It's not real. You're safe here with me on the Ebon Hawk. Do you understand?"
It took her a moment but she nodded her head. "It seemed so real. So much hate and the black coldness, it was like touching pure evil," she answered, her eyes holding his.
"There was more too, before the vision of the Star Map. I saw Malak on Dantooine, at first he was younger, he was talking to someone, but I couldn't make out what they were saying- he was smiling, happy even. He barely looked like the same person, Carth," she paused.
"You saw him before they'd turned; he did look much different then. He still had his jaw for one thing," he paused, pushing some hair off her face. "Are you warming up?"
"I'll be fine, it'll pass. I just need a few minutes. Don't worry," she answered, noting his concern-ridden face. She must look a sight; she made the effort to sit up a bit and pull herself together.
"Not likely. You said at first, what else did you see? It'll help to get it all out, while it's still fresh. Then we'll both know" Carth said, feeling helpless. He couldn't fight something he couldn't see. All he could do was listen and try to help her reason her way through this.
She nodded. "His younger self faded and then I saw him in the same place, a hill on Dantooine, near the Enclave. He still had his jaw, but his hair was gone. He looked like he did in the vision I had on Dantooine. Anyway, he was talking with someone again. I couldn't make out what they were saying, but I could tell they were arguing."
Carth's eyes narrowed at the information. "Not surprising. Anything else?"
"No, that's about it," she trailed off.
"Not like that's not more than enough as it is. I'm sorry, I wish I could make it not happen," Carth offered.
"I'm fine, it was just intense and I got so cold. I'm okay now," Traviata said standing, trying her best to sound convincing.
Carth rose with her, his eyes watching her closely. "That was a quick recovery. You're not fooling me and you're certainly not fine. Like I've said before, you're a lousy liar."
"I'm as fine as I'm going to be until we get this finished, Carth. The sooner we get going the sooner we can move on to the next planet. Okay?" Traviata asked. "Plus I could really use being in fresh air, out in the open."
Carth let go a long breath. "I won't push the point. Fresh air I can get you, there's not really a lot of open area though on this part of Kashyyyk," he paused, deciding whether he thought she was really well enough to start the expedition. "We'll do it your way for now," Carth said, making up his mind, taking her by the elbow he led her to the door.
"The others should be waiting out in front of the ship for us by now," Carth said on their way down the passageway.
"What's the plan with Zalbaar and Czerka?" Traviata asked coming to a stop at the boarding ramp. She could see the others waiting just past the gangplank, everyone except Bastilla.
"We went over it every way we could think of. We decided to just take it as it comes, but we're prepared for nearly anything," Carth answered, pausing at a control panel near the exit.
"I hope so, Commander," Bastilla said, coming up and standing in between the pair. "Another vision. You saw them on the forrest floor too?"
"Yes. Well when they were here on Kashyyyk. On Dantooine, Malak was on a hillside," Traviata answered.
Carth watched Bastilla surreptitiously while keying at the display, she was still turned toward him when Traviata spoke. The look of shock, irritation and fear that flashed on her face before she was able to hide it was unmistakable. Apparently, Traviata had seen something different than her.
"Yes, of course, Dantooine is full of beautiful countryside," Bastilla paused, getting a faraway look as if reaching out with the Force.
"Yes, in fact you know the place. It overlooks the Khoonda Plains, you found me there after we first arrived on Dantooine," Traviata paused before continuing, allowing Bastilla the chance to speak. When she remained silent Traviata continued.
"I only wish I could have heard what they were saying, and who Malak was with on Dantooine. That part was especially blurry. Could you make out anything?" Traviata asked, hoping she could fill in the blanks.
"Nothing. What else did you see on Dantooine? Who did you see Malak with?" Bastilla quizzed.
"Well ladies, I hate to break this up. But we should get going," Carth announced, stepping forward. "Now that we've landed, we're much easier to find. We have to transmit our ship's ID every time we land at any kind of official port. Won't take Malak long to get word we're here. I'd like to keep us moving, we have a lot of ground to cover."
Bastilla looked perturbed at first but then nodded. "You're quite right, Commander. We can continue this later Traviata. Speed is going to be essential, if we are to successfully complete this mission," Bastilla said, moving down the ramp.
Carth walked down to the end of the gangplank with Traviata, his black combat boots thudding heavily against iron. He slung his blaster rifle over his shoulder, adjusting the strap for easy access. He thumbed his comlink. "Canderous, take the others and wait at the end of the walk way at the main entrance to the paths. We'll be right there."
Traviata frowned in confusion, "What's going on?"
"Bastilla's not being honest; I want you to be careful with her. She didn't see what you did in the vision," Carth whispered into her ear.
"How do you know?" Traviata said frowning.
"I'm observant, or call it a hunch. Whatever. Anyway, I don't trust her, and you should be cautious around her, don't share too much with her. There's still something not right with this whole situation and she's behind it all. I'd stake my life on it," Carth said his gaze drifting off to the group ahead; he thumbed his comlink, swearing under his breath. "Wait there, Canderous. I didn't say to start exploring the frakin' planet." The Mandalorian had gone much further than he was comfortable with, they were too spread out.
Carth looked to Traviata, his eyes searching her face for acknowledgement. "Will you do that for me, Beautiful?"
"Well, when you put it that way, Fleet. I don't see how I can refuse you," Canderous said, his voice thick with amusement.
Carth swore, thumbing off the comlink.
"If it makes you feel better," she agreed, fighting back a smile. She reached out with the Force, trying to get a read on Bastilla's feelings. It was difficult, the planet was so full of life, there was so much to feel, it clouded everything. Traviata got a vague sense of unease when she finally isolated Bastilla's presence.
Carth held her gaze for a moment, "It would."
"Fine, then. I'll do it," Traviata promised, trekking along the wooden walkway toward the others with Carth.
They were dwarfed by the massive wroshyr trees surrounding them, huge vines hanging down covering the area with such a dense canopy that barely any light made it through. The sounds of wildlife filled the oxygen saturated air. The landing pads were on the seventh level, the safest level, the level where most of the wookies lived. Traviata wiped the sweat of her brow, the humidity coupled with the very warm temperature was going to be a beast, she could tell already.
"It looks like there's an entry gate over there by that Czerka office," Canderous told Carth as the pair joined the rest of the group.
Traviata's eyes came to rest on a wookie strapped into a cage in front of the Czerka facility.
"Hey, just hang on. We can't do anything now, we have to wait. We want to end it for all of them not just free one wookie," Carth whispered in Traviata's ear, his concern evident in his voice.
Her face must have betrayed the anger surging through her, then she realized her hand was on her saber. She took a deep breath, reaching out with the Force to calm herself. She nodded her response wordlessly, her eyes finally meeting his.
"Stay close," Carth added, before walking over to the uniformed man guarding the door.
"Commander Onasi, Republic Fleet, we need to pass through," Carth said in his official voice.
"Yeah right, I'd say you're a hunting party by the looks of you. You even have one of them for a guide. You can pay like everyone else," the guard replied.
It took Carth less than half a second to make up his mind. "Not can let us through, or you can become one of the hunted. Your choice," he responded, a blaster in his hand pointed at the man.
The guard opened the gate, "We'll see who the hunted is; you, all of you and your pet. I'll see you dead, eventually, wait and see," the guard sneered.
Zaalbar roared his angry protest, but made no move to attack.
"I look forward to that, sonny," Canderous said, first to walk through.
Traviata's hand was back at her light saber, it would be so easy to kill this loathsome man. She wouldn't even have to use her lightsaber; she could send him flying off the side to his death with a wave of her hand. How many wookies had he helped send into a life of bondage, she wondered. How could he just stand there while that poor wookie laid trapped in the iron weave cage, she seethed inwardly.
The others filed through the gate, Zaalbar went silently followed by Juhani who hesitated as she passed by but continued through. Traviata lingered at Carth's side.
Carth gestured to the open gate with his head, not taking his eyes off the guard. "Go on, I'll catch up."
Traviata didn't move, she stood glaring at the guard, her anger immobolized her as effectively as incasing her feet in carbonite She was fighting a battle within, her anger about what was before her and what was the best for their mission and the wookies as a whole.
"I said, goon," Carth repeated, putting firmness in his tone that made it an order.
"Private, I told you to move out," he barked in his irritated Commander's voice, when she continued to ignore him.
Traviata turned to Carth to find him staring at her, his features like stone. Grudgingly she left, but waited not far past the passageway, though out of sight.
Carth grabbed the Czerka guard by the collar and pushed him up against the wall holding his blaster to his chest. "You ever threaten a member of my crew again and you're dead. I should kill you now just because you're the scum that you are. If you know what's good for you, then you won't be here when I come back through," Carth promised, turning to leave.
"Like you'll make it back. You and your little entourage will lie dead- by one way or another," the guard spat.
Carth whirled around and punched him square on the jaw. The powerful hit caused the guard to spin around and fall to the ground.
Carth grabbed Traviata by the arm on the way by her, leading her down the pathway.
"Feel better?" she asked, looking over her shoulder at the guard rubbing his jaw.
"A little. I shouldn't have hit him though, he just pissed me off threatening you and the others besides the fact that he's part of all this." Carth let go a long breath. Didn't help their situation any, it may have made it worse. He had zero tolerance for threats though.
"He could still hurt us, warn the others," Traviata commented, coming to a stop, her eyes meeting Carth's.
"Yeah, I know. We'll have to chance it," Carth answered, giving a quick nod, his brow puckered at the look on her face. "We should probably hurry though."
She had the desire to go finish off the guard, partly because of what he was part of and in order to protect the group. Her gaze came to rest on Juhani, who she discovered was watching her intently.
She thought about the tenets of the Jedi, the problems the constant cycle of violence caused throughout the universe. What would it say to Juhani if she were to strike down the Czerka guard? One thing she knew with certainty, she couldn't leave the situation as it was. That guard had to be dealt with.
"Be right back," Traviata murmured.
"No, wait," Carth responded, trying to catch her by the hand. Traviata moved with lightening speed and was at the man's side in an instant, leaving Carth swearing under his breath as he rushed after her, blasters in hand.
The Czerka guard's face was filled with fear when Traviata appeared at his side.
She extended a hand to him to help him up. He hesitantly accepted confusion plainly on his face. Traviata placed her hand on top of his.
"You want to leave your post and not tell anyone that you've seen us," Traviata suggested, reaching out with the Force, she sought to influence him, even if it was just to go somewhere and nap. Then she felt something she wasn't expecting, a different side to this man, convincing her to attempt more than she'd planned on.
"You want to leave this place and take some time to think about the decisions you've made that led you here. You can choose to lead a different life, a life that doesn't hurt others. That was never your goal-"
She looked up as Carth came running up to her, his face a thundercloud of anger and concern. Traviata returned her attention to the man at her side, wanting to reach him. She touched on something in him again, a spark of goodness under the rough facade.
"I think I should go, I shouldn't be here. The credits aren't worth it; I don't even know what I'm doing here. I wanted to travel, be successful and then," he replied, with a shrug.
"You need to take control of your life. I can feel some good buried deep in you, but you won't find it here," she paused, her eyes closed now. "Yes, that's it. You need to go somewhere that you can nurture and be nourished yourself."
"I think I'll go spend some time on my Uncle's farm. He raised me, I'm the closest thing he has to a son. He's been wanting me to come and help out; he hates Czerka and what I'm doing," the guard said, not entirely sure where the idea came from.
"That's a wise choice. You alone can change the direction of the path you're on," Traviata said, her eyes now open. "Enslavement is wrong, and you know it."
"Yeah," the guard said, looking down at the ground. "Uh, thanks. I don't know who the hell you are, but thanks for uh, whatever it is that just happened here," he added, his face and voice both confused. He rubbed his head, his eyes now fully on Traviata.
Traviata nodded once, "You should take the first transport out of here."
"Yeah, good idea," the guard said, before turning, making his way quickly down the path toward the docking bay.
Traviata felt Carth's gaze on her and she turned to face him, bracing herself for his wrath.
"What the hell was that?" Carth asked incredulously. "What did you do to him?"
"I just made a suggestion for him to keep quiet and leave his post and the Force showed me the rest," Traviata replied with a shrug.
"Did you make him do that? Can you do that? Control people's minds?" Carth asked soberly. He knew it was possible through the Force to completely rip someone's mind right out of them. He didn't think it was something that Traviata was capable of though in anyway. Kinder to kill the rotten bastard than to make him some puppet. Was this some skill she'd acquired like healing that she failed to mention?
"No," she shook her head. "I mean, I don't know if I could do it, I have no desire to find out either," she answered.
"The Force. Damn, I still wish you weren't playing with this kind of power. It's dangerous," Carth replied.
"I was just going to make a suggestion that he leave, or at least take a long nap in his quarters. When I touched his mind though, I felt something good in it. It was just a glimmer, but it was there. The Force just showed me what door to open, it was his choice to walk through. Carth, I didn't make him do anything," Traviata finished.
"That is the way of a true Jedi. Once again, you remind me of the Jedi I once knew," Juhani said from the side of the gate where she'd been watching unobserved with Bastilla. Juhani bowed slightly to Traviata and walked back toward the rest of the group.
Bastilla stared at Carth and Traviata for a moment. "Only time will tell which path he stays on. Traviata is telling the truth though, Commander. She merely gave him the opportunity to feel what was deep down within him at one time," Bastilla offered, before walking off slowly behind Juhani.
Carth's eyes scanned Traviata's face, "I don't really know how you did that, or what the hell just happened. I do know that you could have killed the kid though. I also know that there was a part of you that wanted to, and you chose not to," he shook his head slightly.
"You have compassion for even the most vile," he added. "I wonder how long before it all comes back to bite you in the ass?" he asked. "Never mind, it was rhetorical. Let's go." The pair began walking toward the group.
"Everyone deserves a second chance," she murmured as they joined the others, the entire group now moving forward. Traviata and Carth trailed slightly behind lost in their discussion.
"Not everyone," he paused. "But we're not having that conversation again, at least not right now. We are going to just have to agree to disagree on the point for the time being."
"Okay. That's fine. I mean I think I'm making headway. Look at you and Canderous, here working together. Juhani as well," Traviata said shooting him a sideways look. "You have a big heart Commander, anyone who spent ten minutes watching how you were with Mission would know that."
"Viata-," Carth said and he came to a stop.
She came to a stop beside him, her eyes searching his. "What?"
There were so many things he wanted to tell her. She drove him completely crazy with her opinions about redemption and her naievete about evil people doing heinous things and their ability to change. He realized he loved that about her though. He pushed a few loose strands of hair off her face, his eyes locked with hers.
"It will take me a lifetime to figure you out, and even then I don't think that will be long enough" he paused. "I love you, Viata" his gaze carefully watched her for her reaction.
Traviata swallowed her mouth suddenly dry, "I love you too, Carth. For me there is no life without you, not anymore."
The words had been implied previously, but never actually said. Now that they'd been said, Traviata wondered if it would change things. It didn't matter; she was totally and completely in love with the Commander. There was nothing that would ever change that.
Carth moved forward to take her into his arms, confusion on his face as she took several steps back. He froze as her light saber appeared in her hand with an agitated snap hiss.
"We're in danger," Traviata stammered, her breath coming quickly, her gaze darting around the area.
Carth unholstered both his sidearms. "Where?"
The rest of the group came running to them, Bastilla and Juhani both had their light sabers at the ready.
"You feel it too?" Juhani asked Traviata.
Traviata nodded her response.
Three Sith Acolytes dropped down into the middle of the group from a tree limb above. Dressed entirely in black, their faces covered by masks, the ominous looking trio spun their light sabers. Each of them held two weapons, one in each hand.
"Lord Malak will be most pleased when he hears I've found and captured you," one of the three said, momentarily halting their movements.
"Only if he communicates with the dead," Carth said sarcastically, firing at the man with his blasters.
"I'm sure he could, there is no end to the dark lord's talents," he replied, raising a hand he nodded to the other two Sith.
Instantly Carth, Zaalbar and Canderous were in stasis. Traviata jumped in front of Carth her light saber twirling expertly in her hands, flanked on either side by Juhani and Bastilla.
"You'll find we have a fewof our own," Traviata shot back.
"We know all about you and your skills and it will be I who bring you back to Lord Malak," he said taking a small step forward toward Traviata. "My reward will be great."
A massive free for all ensued, the sound of the light sabers clashing drowned out all else.
Bastilla and Juhani were busy fending off the attack of one of the Sith and the other two seemed to focus their attention on Traviata. She led them away from the rest of the group, spinning and flipping to avoid the brunt of their blows. Then one of them caught her on the side with their blade, causing her to fall to the ground.
The dark Sith smiled thinly, and the pair attacked her with a draining dark electrical attack like she'd seen in her dreams, causing her to writhe in pain, helpless against them.
"Leave her alone!" a volley of blaster fire accompanied the warning from Mission who appeared suddenly, coming up behind the group.
Juhani and Bastilla now having killed the sith attacking them, jumped in between the remaining acolytes and Traviata, engaging them in battle. The stasis wore off on the others allowing them to join in the fight. Then it was over, all three sith acolytes were dead.
Carth came quickly to Traviata's side, Mission standing close by. "Don't say anything right now. I'll deal with you later," he said darkly to Mission, cutting her off before she could speak, turning his attention to Traviata.
"I'm fine," she responded to his questioning look.
She tried to reach out with the Force to sense if the others were hurt and felt her head spin, causing her to put a hand on Carth's arm to balance. Apparently the dark energy the acolytes were sending in waves at her had injured her more than she'd realized.
"Sure you are," Carth quipped, wrapping his arm around her in response.
"I just need a minute. Really, I'm okay," Traviata responded, leaning onto Carth. "Is that really Mission?" her vision was getting fuzzy.
Carth nodded, "Yes," he said soberly.
"They saw you as the biggest threat apparently," Carth commented, pulling her closer to him. He'd watched the three Sith fighting the Jedi. They engaged all of them, but they definitely concentrated their efforts on Traviata. There was a downside to being as skilled a fighter as she was; it painted a target on her back, he thought grimacing inwardly.
"Now that was a good time, for starters anyway," Canderous commented, approaching Carth.
"I don't sense any others," Juhani said, retracting her light saber, coming to stand by Canderous.
"It's a good bet that Malak knows that we're here already. At the very least when these three don't report in he'll investigate," Carth replied. "I wonder how he knows about all of us," he added, giving Traviata a sideways glance. She seemed to be melting into his side.
"His network is vast, Fleet. You know that. His resources are phenomenal," Canderous answered. "He probably picked us up on a holo-feed that he has his many minions monitoring."
"Perhaps he is using the Force in some dark twisted way to find you, Bastilla," Juhani offered.
"Undoubtedly, thank goodness there were only three of them. They were scouts, merely apprentices in the dark arts," Bastilla put in. "Are you okay, Traviata?" she asked with concern.
"Just a little weak, I'm fine. That type of attack, I've seen it in my dreams," she responded, a little breathless and finding her own weight impossible to support.
"Yes, it's an incidious form of offense favored by the Sith. They use it for torture and to debilitate their opponents. Its affects linger, draining you. It's quite effective," she informed her. "We can't heal you in our present state; a medpak will do little to help that type of injury. We can heal you when we regain our strength. They attacked us as well, leaving us in an extremely weak state."
"It seems like she's getting worse," Carth noted, his tone tense, shifting his arm to help hold her up more securely. Canderous quickly moved to her other side. Wrapping his arm around her waist, he helped hold Traviata steady.
"Anything to make a move," Carth said under his breath.
"It will pass," Bastilla assured him. "She will make a full recovery, it will just take a little time, Commander."
"Okay, everybody back to the ship. We'll regroup there," Carth announced his face like stone. One reason he'd lived through so many battles was because he knew when to retreat.
"Zalbaar, Canderous? You guys are on our six, Bastilla, Juhani you've got point. Mission and Viata are with me," Carth ordered.
"Uh, Fleet? The wookie is MIA," Canderous answered.
Carth's eyes quickly scanned the area, swearing under his breath. Well that explained why he didn't rush to Mission's side.
"We have to look for him, Carth," Mission chimed in.
"We are not doing anything but going back to the ship, Mission," Carth replied sharply.
Traviata knew he was seriously mad when he didn't call Mission, kid. She cast Mission a sympathetic look. "I'm fine, really. You don't have to do that for me, go look for Zalbaar. I'll wait here," Traviata began.
"It's not a discussion, we're all going back to the ship, now," Carth informed her, his tone and expression clearly exasperated. Not the best omen for their quest. So far they'd lost one crew member and gained one that shouldn't be there. Not to mention the Sith attack that left them with one severely injured.
By the time they'd reached the Hawk, Carth was carrying Traviata and Juhani and Bastilla were leaning on Canderous. The dark Jedi had apparently damaged them all more than they'd realized. Carth was glad they'd started back when they did.
Hours later Carth walked quickly down the passageway from the bridge to his quarters; he paused at the doorway, leaning against the opening. Traviata had been in a deep sleep; he'd used several medpaks on her but as Bastilla predicted they had little effect. She was starting to toss and turn a bit now; hopefully she'd wake soon.
"Hey Fleet, I've isolated the comlink signal of the wookie, it was tough with all this dense cover. Well I had a little help – ouch kid, what's your problem now?" Canderous's voice came over the earpiece Carth was wearing.
Carth stepped away from the doorway down the hall, "Okay, I'll be there in a few minutes."
"Okay, kid, shut up and quit elbowing me. You're such a pain in the ass, I was going to ask if there was any change in her," Canderous said in Carth's ear. "How is Vee now?"
"No real change," he paused, "and Canderous, get Mission off my bridge," Carth replied just above a whisper but his anger still evident, moving back toward where Traviata lie, he switched off the earpiece.
Carth went in the room this time, standing by the bed, staring at Traviata's sleeping form. The veins on her face and arms were almost back to normal now. When she'd nearly collapsed on their way back to the Hawk, Carth barely catching her up in his arms in time to keep her from falling, her veins had raised so that you could see them through her skin. He'd never seen anything like it in all his dealings with Jedi or on videos. Hell, he'd never even heard stories of that type of attack by Sith before, he thought ruefully.
They'd started off their search for the star map in a frakin' mess, and just as he'd feared Traviata had been injured. Not only that, but it had happened almost immediately and he'd been unable to protect her from the dark forces assailing her. He'd tried to shake of the guilt and fear of losing her, but it continued to come back. He thought of his wife and Dustil, he couldn't go through that again. He couldn't bear the thought of not having her in his life.
Carth looked down at his comlink; it was Mission trying to reach him again, he thumbed the ignore button, walking over to the small viewport. He stared unseeing at the jungle just past the landing pads. He'd been too preoccupied with Traviata's condition and trying to locate Zalbaar using the stronger onboard scanners, to talk to Mission yet.
Mission. Another person he cared about and was failing to protect despite his best efforts, he thought, letting go a ragged breath. Both of the people he cared most about he was having a really hard time keeping safe. He wished that was not so familiar to him.
The sounds of Traviata crying out drew his attention away from the viewport and back to her. The name she cried out as she bolted upright in bed made a cold chill run up his spine.
He rushed over to the bedside, taking her up partially into his arms, shaking her slightly, noting the freezing temperature of her body. "You're awake now, it was just a nightmare. You're with me, it's okay."
Her eyes wildly searched the room and then his face, before wrapping her arms around his neck pulling him closely to her. "Carth," she whispered into his chest, the thoughts of Malak fading away in his embrace.
"Shh, you're alright, I've got you," he murmured as if comforting a child after a bad dream, his arms tightly enveloping her. "It was just a 're safe, you're on the Ebon Hawk."
"Yes, unless this is the dream," she paused, pulling back from him slightly so she could look at him. "This seems familiar, reminds me of waking up on Taris," Traviata said with a small smile.
"Yes it does to me too a little," Carth replied, gently wiping some hair off her face. "Though I don't think I would have dreamed of holding you like this when you woke up on Taris."
"My hero. Seems like you've been saving me from one thing or another since we first met on the Endar Spire," Traviata said shifting her weight so that she was sitting up slightly, holding her own weight.
"Saving you? I don't know, feels like I'm doing a poor job of protecting you," he paused, his eyes studying her. "How do you feel now?" Carth asked, sitting on the bed beside her, keeping an arm loosely about her waist.
"You can't protect me from everything you know and the Sith don't play fair. We'll find a way to even our odds with them. It's not your fault, Carth, quit beating yourself up over it," Traviata's eyes held his. "Stop your worrying, I can feel it you know. I'm much better, just a bit tired. "
"You can feel that? Not sure I like the sounds of that. At any rate it's a relief that you're better," Carth looked down at his comlink; Mission was trying to reach him again. "I should let you rest some more and I have a few things to take care of. Do you want or need anything?"
"Mission?" Traviata asked, eyeing his comlink,sitting up further in bed. She closed her eyes momentarily, the room spinning at the action. Those dark Jedi packed a nasty wallop. "How did that talk go?" she asked, opening her eyes, carefully watching him.
"I haven't spoken to her yet," he said guardedly. "That's one of things I need to take care of."
Traviata nodded slightly, everything going fuzzy at the movement. "We'll get her someplace safe and until then we'll just have to do our best to-"
"I had it worked out where she'd be taken care of, doesn't do any good if she's going to track us down or stowaway somehow," Carth cut in. "I don't even know how she ended up here on Kashyyyk, but I'm going to go find out," he said rising, not wanting to display his anger in front of her. He'd noticed how weak she still was, she didn't need to worry about any of this now.
Traviata caught his hand. "Wait. What about Zalbaar? Do we know where he is?"
"Canderous just found his location," he heaved a breath. "With Mission's help," he added, a certain amount of pride in his tone couldn't be denied.
Carth looked down at her small cold hand wrapped around his, his eyes coming up to meet hers, and he leaned down, bringing him face to face with her. "You had me worried, Beautiful" he admitted, kissing her forehead before pulling her blanket up around her.
Traviata put both of her hands on either side of his head, pushing back the covers, bringing his head to hers so she could look into his eyes. There were a million things she wanted to say to him, it wasn't the right time though. She knew his mind now relieved that she was going to be okay had moved on to handling the issue with Mission, finding Zalbaar, and the logistics of locating the star map now that he had the new danger of the Sith knowing their whereabouts. The best thing she could do to help him was to get better as fast as she could.
"I'm fine, really, so stop your worrying," was all she said, trying her best to look and sound convincing.
"Not in my nature, you know that. Besides, you know you're a terrible liar," he replied.
There was no use denying it, she didn't have the strength or desire to argue the point anyway.
"Get some rest. I'll check on you later," he told her standing upright, pulling her blankets up once again. He wondered if she realized just how hollow her words sounded. He gave a quick glance at his chrono; she had been out for over 10 hours. Bastilla and Juhani had just started moving around themselves a few hours ago.
"Carth, go easy on Mission. She adores you and see's you as a father figure. She's never had that and doesn't want to let it go, at any cost," Traviata informed him.
Carth's gaze narrowed, "Did she tell you that or is that the Force talking?"
"It doesn't take the Force to know that," Traviata replied.
He gave a slight shake of his head. "Problem is, Viata, I see her as a sort of daughter. That being said, there'd be hell to pay if my child pulled a stunt like this," he paused, swallowing hard.
Giving her hand a squeeze he headed for the door, where he lingered. "Don't you worry about anything but getting better," he paused, his eyes holding hers. "I'm sorry the timing wasn't better earlier but it doesn't change anything. I love you, Viata," he added and then disappeared down the hallway not waiting for a response.
Traviata sunk back further into her pillows, her head spinning not only from the residual affects of the Sith but from Carth's words. So she hadn't dreamed it, he had told her he loved her right before they were attacked, and she had told him she loved him too. Her joy made her sit up, quickly throwing her feet over the edge of the bed.
The movement made her nauseous, making the room spin violently causing her to lie back across the bed. With all her strength she used the Force to calm her body and reach out for Bastilla. She knew the Jedi would be able to help her now.
"You're old, but you're not my father, Carth," Mission yelled from across the main hold.
"I'm old enough to know that you've got no business here, and don't you take that tone or attitude with me, Missy," Carth paused trying to tamp down his anger. They'd been fighting since he found her in the hold 20 minutes earlier. When she'd told him she'd used her feminine wiles to convince the pilot of her ship to bring her to Kashyyyk he'd gone ballistic.
"Did you think about what would have happened to you if we hadn't been on Kashyyyk. Your ship is long gone now," Carth continued, feeling his anger rising once again.
"No it's not! I'm on my ship, I should have never left. I can take care of myself, you don't have to worry about me getting hurt or in the way. I got to Kashyyyk by myself easy enough," Mission put in. "I belong here with you guys, not with a bunch of strangers," she finished softly.
Carth watched the young Twi'lek as a single large tear ran down her face, he felt his anger waver for a moment. "Nice try, Kid, but I'm not falling for your tears. That may have worked on that pilot, but this isn't my first swoop race"
Her gaze narrowed. "You're so mean, Carth. Fine, but I meant what I said."
"I believe that you do, that's the only reason we're still talking," Carth fired back.
"Come here," Carth said sitting down on the nearby couch. "Listen, I know you're tough and smart and have taken care of yourself for a long time," he paused as she joined him. "I wanted something better for you and you threw it away. How do you think that makes me feel? I was trying to protect you and give you a chance at a happy future."
Mission surprised Carth throwing herself into his arms, hugging him tightly before letting him go. "I know that, and I'm sorry and I do appreciate it, really I do. I want to be here with you though, I want to see this through with you and Traviata. I just can't leave yet. Just let me stay until we're finished," she said, her hand gripping his tightly.
"That's a great sentiment, I admire it, I do. Your loyalty and love for the Republic is wonderful, but you're so young with so much ahead of you. Mission, the probability of our surviving this is," he paused not wanting to actually say the number outloud.
"Well, it's most likely that at least some of us won't make it through this. We're getting ready to take on Darth Malak and we just got our collective asses handed to us by three of his trainees," he shook his head at the memory. "Traviata's still recovering."
"Traviata is fine now," she replied from the entry, steadying herself against the doorway as Mission rushed to her with a huge hug. "Or I was before that hug."
"How? Bastilla?" Carth asked coming over to her.
"Yes, Commander. I have healed her. I couldn't do anything earlier due to my own injuries. Only a Jedi can fully and speedily heal that type of injury. Traviata, had endured the intense attack of not only one but two dark Jedi, it's amazing she made such a quick recovery," Bastilla commented.
"I think Bastilla overstates the extent of their power, but anyway, I feel fine now," Traviata responded.
"What if it's five Sith next time against you?" Carth asked, his brow puckered. "It could easily happen you know."
Traviata held his gaze for a moment. "Easy, we start leaving at least one Jedi on board the Hawk. That way someone who can heal will always be healthy enough to do it immediately," she explained, wrapping an arm around Mission's waist.
"I missed you," Traviata whispered in Mission's ear, her eyes on Carth.
"Providing we can get the person back to the ship in time to be healed," Carth returned, not satisfied with her plan.
"Granted, but it's all we can do for now until I learn more," Traviata started.
"Mission, we're not finished by a long shot, so don't think that this is over," Carth said to Mission, his eyes boring holes into her and then Traviata.
"Excuse us Bastilla. A word in private, Traviata?" Carth asked quickly making his exit to the communications room.
Traviata gave Mission a quick hug, "For the record I'm mad at you too, but we'll talk about it later."
Traviata met Bastilla's concerned gaze before following Carth.
"First, are you sure you're okay?" Carth asked, keying the door closed.
"Yes, I'm fine now," Traviata replied.
"Yeah, now. I don't like you taking all these chances," Carth shot back.
"You take the same ones. I'm a Republic soldier like you, there's no difference," Traviata returned.
"You know, this is ridiculous. Why didn't they send a Jedi Master with you? I mean you're not trained to handle this. I don't like having to rely on Bastilla and Juhani to keep you safe the next time we're attacked," Carth explained.
"Hey, I'm learning more all the time. I can heal some-"
"Yeah, so I discovered. When we're you going to tell me about that anyway?" Carth cut in.
"When it came up. It wasn't a secret-"
"Any more abilities you have that you haven't told me about that aren't a secret?" Carth interupted.
"No, not that I can think of," Traviata paused. "You're worried again, about the mission."
"Yeah," Carth ran a hand through his hair. "I'm going to go for Zalbaar. I know you'll want to come and I'm not sure what will be waiting there. Could be a trap."
"We're soldiers, it's what we do, we take risks, every moment of every day. We do it for the Republic. That's why it's so important that we live every day, not leave things undone or unsaid. We never know if we'll return from a mission," she paused. "That doesn't change who and what I am though, any more than it changes who you are. After all, being in the military is part of what makes us who we are."
Carth considered her words, she was right. He couldn't argue with one single point.
"That's why I'm so glad you told me you loved me today. I love you too," she said running her fingers through his hair near his face.
"I'm glad I told you, too," he said catching her hand in his, bringing it to his lips to kiss her palm.
Traviata reached out with the Force, trying to get a sense of Zalbaar. "Zalbaar's being held by his brother and his followers only. They're all wookies," she added.
Carth's eyebrow shot up at that. "You can tell all that with the Force?"
"I'm growing stronger everyday in the Force. I reached out to sense Zalbaar and that's what he's thinking about most strongly, he's mad at being confined but he's mostly unharmed," she explained.
Carth grimaced, "Okay, we'll take Canderous and Juhani. Mission should be able to keep an eye on Bastilla for me if I leave her here on the ship."
"You really don't trust her," Traivata said.
"Not in the least, you shouldn't either. You're not are you?" Carth asked with reproof.
"No, not really. I just- I don't know, I feel sorry for her somehow. It's like she got handed this huge problem to deal with and she's really just so young. I want to help her is all," Traviata explained.
"You want to help everyone," Carth countered.
"You're suspicious of everyone. I sometimes wonder if you really trust me," Traviata commented.
Carth held her eyes and came up to her, his head lowering to bring them eye level. "You can stop wondering - I do," he paused, kissing her on the mouth. "You're the only one though."