A/N: I want to thank all of you who've followed up with me and my story. I really do appreciate the fantastically kind readers and reviewers of this story. Sincere thanks to those who've inquired about me. I hope you will accept my apologies for the very lengthy delay in posting an update, especially given the cliff hanger ending of the previous chapter. Simply put; I found out I had cancer that required treatment and that consumed most of my life for some time. I'm doing very well now, and it's my full intention to begin posting again on a regular basis. I've missed you all and the characters I've come to love so much in KotOR. Again, thank you.

Sincerely,

Rochelle

Chapter 24

That's my Wife, You...

"Of all the myriad ways we define love, there is perhaps none more honest and powerful than this:

Great love is rooted in great partnership."

- Sarah MacLean

"That's her alright," Carth barely got out, peering through his high-powered electrobinoculars, not noticing the sand that the wind was whipping about like tiny rockets, assaulting everything in its path.

"That is my- wife," he said quietly, making a supreme effort to contain the emotions surging through him. Anyone who knew Carth well, knew that when he used that especially controlled emotionless tone, that's when you had to worry. It meant he was so angry that he was having to keep a tight grip on himself for fear of what he might unleash if he didn't. His subordinates used to hate that tone and would stay especially sharp when they heard it, even if they were not the cause of his anger.

It was Traviata, there was no doubt. Atleastwhat'sleftofher, he thought. The sight of her battered and broken body restrained and motionless on the sandy ground made him nauseous. She was obviously severely hurt, maybe near death; it wasn't like she was a threat to them. The fact that Calo had her restrained just proved what a sick twisted bastard he was. Judging by the crimson pool staining the sand around her, she'd lost a lot of blood, too. Carth hated that he didn't know how extensive her internal injuries were.

"Steady son," Jolee encouraged, placing a hand on Carth's shoulder momentarily. The four of them were standing out of sight of the cave where they were holding Traviata. The sand storm now in full force, Jolee wrapped his scarf further up his neck, covering his mouth when he spoke.

"Can you sense her? Is she- still alive?" Carth struggled with the words; it hurt immensely to state his greatest fear out loud.

"Yes..." Jolee said hesitantly.

"Just barely..." Carth whispered, his eyes holding Jolee's.

"I- well," Jolee stammered.

"What is it? You know something..." Carth said flatly. "I need to know, Jolee," his intense eyes holding the older man's guarded gaze. Carth ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "Tell me."

"I don't know what to say exactly - I can't put my finger on it. I can only tell you- there is darkness in that cave – it clouds things. That's probably why we couldn't sense Traviata more clearly. Now that I'm this close- well, there's no doubt," Jolee replied, meeting Carth's eyes before letting his gaze drift to the cave entrance. "She's in there- alive- and with something evil."

"Really- okay then," Carth swallowed hard. On top of it all, she was stuck in there with something dark. It was probably one of the reasons why Calo was holding her there, camouflage from the Jedi. "She's alive at least. That's something..."

"I count six mercs plus Calo, Fleet," Canderous informed him. "One good thing about the storm: it's providing us great cover and makes their sensors useless," Canderous noted. "What's your plan of attack?"

"Our first priority is extraction," Carth instructed with authority. "Jolee, we'll provide the cover, I'll be on your six. I want you to get to Traviata and do what you do best. I want- I mean, can you use every Jedi hocus pocus trick in your tool chest?" Carth asked, his attention still on the Jedi.

"Of course I will, Carth," Jolee agreed somberly, his big brown eyes looking up over his bushy white eyebrows. "You don't have to ask."

Carth nodded, "Thanks, Jolee, and to all of you. I'll never forget it..."

"Aliit ori'shya tal'din," Canderous said, grasping Carth's forearm, his hand above his wrist in a traditional Mandalorian embrace. "That means-"

"Aliit ori'shya tal'din, Family is more than blood," Carth interrupted in nearly flawless Mandoa, his hand now grasping Canderous just below the elbow. "I know your language very well. And thanks," Carth said clearing his throat. He hated Mandoa, hated Mandalorians, hated he'd heard the quote a thousand times before during the previous war. But not today.

"Exasperated Interruption: Could we get back to the plan to save Master? This unit strongly desires to free my Master."

Carth and Canderous abruptly ended their embrace, Carth nodding in agreement. "Once Jolee has made his way into the cave," Carth informed them, his head then gesturing to Canderous and HK. "You two can do what you do best- use overwhelming force and kill them all" he paused. "Except for Calo; he's mine."

"Yeah, well you won't be too mad I hope if I soften him up a little for you," Canderous replied, checking his blaster rifle. "You know, just a sort of greeting. A great big thank you for the hospitality he's shown our company. The frakin' demagolka."

"Factual Statement: They will pay for what they have done to my master. She has been away from me for too long."

"Do what you have to to stop him; just don't kill him HK. I reserve that privilege," Carth said brusquely. "Let's move out."

"I'm going by foot; they'll never see me coming. I'll wrap a shield around her and begin healing her as soon as I'm there. I won't be able to help the rest-"

"Don't worry about us. You save all your strength for her," Carth said firmly as Canderous nodded in agreement.

"When do we go?" Jolee asked.

"Now," Carth answered watching the Jedi turn into a blur as he moved across the desert.

The Commander ran to his bike and gunned it, following after Jolee. Damn, that man could move fast with the Force.

The men guarding the perimeter didn't seem to notice Jolee and when they looked up with surprised faces at Carth's approach, he throttled the bike as high as she'd go. The bike zoomed past the mercs, the soldier sending a wall of blaster fire at them.

Obviously expecting a rescue attempt, some of the guards set off a series of small explosions while the others returned fire. Carth was moving too fast for anything to make contact. The sound of return rapid fire from heavy blaster rifles followed.

"We've got these bastards, keep going," Canderous said through the headset into Carth's ear.

Like anything would stop him at this point. If it cost him his life to reach Traviata, even if it was just to die beside her, then in his mind it was worth it. He had to reach her.

Carth hit the breaks hard when he reached the interior of the cave. Rolling off the bike, he hit the ground hard, and the bike stopped with a whirring groan as it geared down.

He shook his head slightly to clear it. He looked around to get his bearings, his eyes searching feverishly for Traviata.

"You've got to be kidding me," he said out loud, his eyes widening in shock.

"What is it, Fleet?" Canderous said, the sound of heavy fire fight surging in the background.

"A krayt dragon. Son of a bitch, they have her in here with a krayt dragon..." Carth trailed off, his eyes searching for cover as the creature roared fiercely.

Frag grenades- Carth's mind began working the problem immediately as he dodged behind a large boulder to hide from the quickly approaching animal.

"No problem, use grenades Fleet. Thermal detonator would be faster, but risky," Canderous said nonchalantly, obviously in an intense battle. Carth could hear his heavy boots moving across the sand and then... "Come to daddy," Canderous said right before a large explosion. "Got that merc bastard!"

"Observation: Good kill Mandalorian meatbag."

"You're not doing so bad yourself, you know, for a droid," Canderous returned.

Carth peered around his cover, hoping to spy Traviata. He saw her over in the corner, by something that looked very familiar by this point. His face tightened, and his stomach lurched at the sight of her. Jolee had made it to her, but she looked even worse close up. Every fiber of his being wanted to be where Jolee was right now, but he had to first stop the krayt dragon and then Calo. "Son of a bitch will pay," he mumbled under his breath.

Jolee was by Traviata's side, his hands on her, looking deep in a trance type state. "May the Force be with you," Carth whispered. Whatever the price for saving her, he was willing to pay. Then he turned his attention to the dragon, his eyes taking in the immense creature.

Krayt dragons could live to be a hundred years old, and they grew continuously throughout their lifetime. Judging by the looks of this one, 60 meters and roughly 30,000 kilograms, Carth figured he'd way outlived his time anyway. Unfortunately, krayt dragons were also hard to kill.

The angry creature bared its razor sharp teeth to Carth and let go an ear piercing roar. "Frak, we don't have time for this."

Carth threw off his pack and fished through the contents, his hands finding a thermal detonator first. It was the fastest way he knew of to get rid of the beast. His eyes traveled to Traviata, his wife. That word meant so much to him; what it symbolized, the permanence. Until someone took her away...

Making his decision he began running for the entrance of the cave, the dragon following behind him at a much slower pace.

"Canderous, I'm coming out and I'm bringing company- along with a death blossom. Animal control- you might want to take cover," Carth warned while running.

"You need help?" Canderous replied in his ear.

"Negative, continue mission. I've got it under control- thermal detonator," Carth said coming to a stop about 20 meters outside the cave.

"Oh shit, you sure do," Canderous replied, firing on his opponent as he ran for a large group of boulders. "Roger that."

When the dragon exited the cavern Carth pushed in the button to activate the bomb. Dropping it he ran, mentally counting in his head. He had to get at least 8 meters away from the device; 10 would be better, given its type. It wouldn't affect the interior of the cave at all; he'd made sure he was far enough way for that.

Carth stopped and turned to face the dragon when he knew he reached the minimum safe distance, wanting to make sure its full effect was felt by the monster. Carth was immediately thankful that Canderous and HK had apparently been busy, evidenced by the bodies strewn all over the sand.

The dragon stopped almost on top of the bomb and then it exploded. The expanding particle field atomized everything in its path, which the vicious dragon was now in the middle off. Carth watched, unflinchingly, as the creature fell with a loud shriek, causing the ground to tremble around them. A huge cloud of dust and sand erupted.

Carth changed the setting on his visor, brightening it so that he could see better and he tore off for the cave once again. His only thought was of getting to Traviata, and he ducked as the firefight resumed, even amidst the large plume of debris that still hung in the air.

When he reached Traviata's side he fell to his knees on the other side of Jolee, quickly pulling off his helmet. His eyes scanned her body for injuries. Her clothes were in tatters, barely covering anything at this point. Every bit of exposed skin was swollen, red, bruised, or an open wound.

He ran a tentative hand lightly over her blood soaked hair. Tears welled up in his eyes; he wanted to hold her but he knew that would only cause her more pain. Her skin was deathly white; Carth knew well what death looked and smelled like and… Traviata was dead.

His heart stopped and he let his head fall down to his knees. His tears fell unchecked, as his body racked with silent sobs.

"No-I-she," he mumbled between sobs. How could they do this to her? Why? They could have incapacitated her a hundred different ways. How she must have suffered before the end. How could he have let this happen?

"She's not dead, put those thoughts from your mind," Jolee said, his eyes closed.

Carth sat up slightly, his sobs stopping. "What?" Did he just say she was alive? Could it be true or was he just imagining it?

"She's alive, in a healing trance," Jolee supplied softly.

"She is?" Carth said bolting upright. "She seems so lifeless. You're sure?" he asked sniffing.

"Positive. No question. Though she's lost a lot of blood and her injuries are serious. We need to get her to the ship as soon as possible. The healing trance has helped, but with the extent of her injuries- well, it can only do but so much. You understand what I'm saying Carth?" Jolee asked, opening his eyes for the first time and holding Carth's.

"Yes. I do," Carth said calmly, standing as he spoke. He walked over to where he'd tossed his helmet and back to Jolee's side. "I'll make sure the area is clear and get transport for her."

"Good. Be fast, Sonny," Jolee instructed, his eyes now closed again.

Carth glanced down at Traviata one more time. "I love you, Beautiful. Hang on for me," he whispered, before snugging on his helmet.

"Status?" Carth demanded through the headset, checking his weapons as he walked briskly to the entrance of the cave.

"Nord's the only one left- gah," Canderous replied, his voice racked with pain. "We've uh, sent him your best. He's one tough son of a bitch," he added, the sound of intense blaster fire in the background. "The good news is, all his little minions are dead and the storm just disappeared."

"Affirmation: He is harder to kill than expected, for a meatbag that is."

"HK, go get the speeder we used to haul the vaporator. Take it into the cave; Traviata is in there with Jolee," Carth ordered, breaching the cave's entrance his eyes easily finding where the pair were hunkered down.

"ExcitedAffirmation: Ready." HK was already moving toward the vehicle at a swift pace as he spoke.

"Canderous, I want you to go into the cave and help Jolee get Traviata into the transport. You leave as soon as she's on board. Take HK with you in case you need a translator; I don't want him to touch her though. Be gentle – she's in bad shape. Got it?" Carth asked somberly.

"Well yeah, but Fleet..."Canderous' voice hesitant. "I can stay here and help you once she's on board. Why not let the demon droid take them back? Calo's-"

"Dead," Carth interrupted. "Or he will be. I need to know you're with her."

"Okay, Fleet – sure," Canderous agreed reluctantly.

"Go Canderous. This is between me and him," Carth ground out, his gaze on Calo who'd stopped firing and began walking toward Carth. He seemed to know who Carth was and what he intended. The idea seemed to amuse the bounty hunter; Carth could see him smiling.

Canderous took off in the direction of the cave, looking back once, pausing, and then continuing on his way.

"Well, if it isn't Commander Carth Onasi. I've been trying to collect a bounty on you for a couple of years. And now here you are; mine for the taking," Calo taunted.

Carth gripped his blasters tightly as his eyes took in the hunter's appearance. He was wearing his typical attire of a long, almost ground-length jacket, heavy armor, a skull helmet and goggles. One thing was different though: he looked frazzled, fatigued, and he seemed to be breathing quickly for a human. No doubt a combination of the effects of this recent battle, his armor and the extreme heat, Carth thought to himself. He wouldn't stand up long in a physical confrontation. A plan began to form in his mind.

"Must say you are quite a surprise to me- and I'm as hard to surprise as I am to kill," Calo said coming to a stop roughly ten meters from Carth, a smirk on his face.

"Oh, I don't think you're that hard to kill," Carth said apathetically.

Calo laughed harshly. "Really? You saw my prize in the cave?" Calo's eyes narrowed slightly at the look on Carth's face. "Yes, you did, I can tell. Well if I can take her down, then I think I can manage an insignificant republic soldier."

"You slimy little bastard," Carth said through clenched teeth, moving closer to Calo. "Your prize? You think what you did takes skill? To ambush, then torture and nearly kill a defenseless-"

"Defenseless? Her?" Calo interrupted, his voice reflecting his amazement. "Did you finally lose your mind, Onasi? You must have, explains why you wasted your skills in the military and with your dying Republic. You're kidding-"

"That's my wife, you bastard, that you've abducted and tortured. I've never been more deadly serious," Carth interrupted his voice steely quiet. He moved forward, and was now less than five feet from Calo. He wanted to take the guy's head off.

Calo's mouth opened slightly in shock, his eyes somehow reflecting surprise even with the goggles on. "You really are crazy. You two are married? You realize-"

The rest of Calo's words were lost on Carth as Canderous spoke into his earpiece. "Carth, listen. We've got her on board – but moving her, in her condition– well, she's losing a lot of blood. Jolee says we have to hurry, we can't wait. We're coming out," Canderous said into Carth's earpiece.

Carth didn't hesitate for a moment and charged Calo, causing both of them to tumble to the ground. Carth let his blasters fall to the sand in the free-for-all. Calo was surprised, no doubt expecting a ranged battle. Carth knew he'd never win quickly against him that way, not with all his gadgets and tricks. Calo's shielding though wouldn't protect him in a hand-to-hand fight. Carth only wished he had time to make him suffer the way he made Traviata. He'd have to settle for his death.

Both men quickly found their feet. Calo went to draw a weapon and Carth kicked it out of his hand, causing it to fire, sending off a blast of bolts along the sand.

Carth swung his arm, connecting with Calo's jaw, causing him to spin around slightly. Using his other hand the soldier sent his massive fist into the man's throat.

Calo stumbled back, his hands gripping his throat, gasping for air. Not waiting, Carth sent a knee to his gut, causing Calo to double over.

Carth grabbed his collar, easily evading Calo's wildly flailing arms.

"You're really not that tough- downright frakin' disappointing," Carth sneered, himself now breathless from his exertion in the heat, the twin suns blazing down upon them.

Carth snatched off Calo's googles; he wanted to see the coward's eyes when he died.

"Neither was your wife – not what I expected, thought she'd be more of a challenge. All she did was bleed and moan," Calo shot back.

Carth's grimaced at the mental image. His forearms tightened as he let go of Calo's coat; his arm swung back and caught Calo in the jaw. Then a left and right hook again, followed by a roundhouse kick into the gut, leaving him sprawled out on the ground.

This was going to end way too fast, the war veteran thought. Unfortunately though, it was necessary. He was out of time and patience Carth deftly retrieved the short field sword he kept strapped to his leg. He closed the distance between him and Calo, dropping to his knees beside the hunter.

"Bleed and moan, you dirt bag? It's just what you'll do. Except my wife won't die and she'll go on to live a long, happy life. Think of that while you lie here and die alone in the desert. No one to mourn your pathetic excuse of a life," Carth said tightly before plunging the sword into Calo's throat with both hands, one of the few exposed areas of his body.

"This is for every Republic soldier and official you hunted, you son of a bitch," Carth said, spitting on the man, extracting the sword, a fountain of blood gushing from his throat, mouth and nose.

"And this is for what you did to my wife," he added, running the blade across Calo's throat, causing more of his blood to spill out onto the sand.

Carth noted the transport as it exited the cave. "You're all clear, Canderous." Carth glanced down at his chrono. It had been exactly ten minutes since he'd left Traviata.

"Roger that. We'll see you at the ship," Canderous informed Carth.

Carth stood, stepping back from the quickly growing pool of blood around Calo. He wiped his boots off in the sand, not even wanting Calo's blood on the bottom of his shoes. Carth walked over and retrieved his blasters and then made his way back to Calo.

"Come back from this, bastard," Carth ground out, his fingers squeezing the triggers of both his weapons now aimed at Calo's twitching body.

The Commander looked at Calo's fried and bloody corpse, the smell of burning flesh and blood was heavy in the hot sun. Satisfied the bounty hunter was truly dead, Carth quickly dashed to his bike in the cave, passing by the strewn bodies and the corpse of the krayt dragon.

Carth cast aside the thoughts of Traviata's pain as he entered the much cooler and dark confines of the cave. It reminded him of the atmosphere in the Temple on Dantooine. Damn it, he thought. He should see if he could retrieve the star map. He dashed over to the unit and grabbed it, knowing they'd need the coordinates to continue the mission. "Someone..." Carth said aloud, lost in his thoughts. Someone would need the coordinates, though if Traviata didn't make it, that someone wouldn't be Carth.

He ran over to where his bike sat waiting, still running. He'd never bothered to power it off. He slid on quickly, and eased the bike forward until he was sitting by where Traviata had been held captive. He imagined all that she must have endured during her captivity. He glanced down at this chrono; they'd been married an entire day now.

My wife, he thought. I'm going to go find my wife. And with that thought, the Commander gunned the bike into high gear, not looking back.