A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Episode I: Rise of the Neophyte

Four thousand years before the rise of the Galactic Empire, the Republic verges on collapse. DARTH MALAK, last surviving apprentice of the Dark Lord Revan, has unleashed an invincible Sith armada against an unsuspecting galaxy.

Crushing all resistance, Malak's war of conquest has left the Jedi Order scattered and vulnerable as countless Knights fall in battle, and many more swear allegiance to the new Sith Master.

In the skies above the Outer Rim world of Taris, a Jedi battle fleet engages the forces of Darth Malak in a desperate effort to halt the Sith's galactic domination...

My vision blurred.

Pain. My hands shook.

Bastila Shan's lightsaber flared. Sparks flickered into my face like beads of sweat. The body of a dark figure fell to the ground.

"Hello?"

Colorful skies. Red laser beams mixed with green blurred my vision like mist. I tried to shake my head but I couldn't move.

I just stood there.

Like a ghost.

A week passed of boring, grueling space travel on the Endar Spire. My roommates all had opposite shifts as me and I was stuck on night duty. Most of my time was spent in the comm wing listening to dead air. The officers I worked with mentioned that we were heading towards some nothing planet in the middle of nowhere. Not only that, but we occasionally left hyperspace for no reason. Every time we stopped, I became anxious that we'd run into something. After all, what type of mission forced the Battle Meditator away from the war?

The room shook.

I flinched awake and blinked away the mist of dreams.

Colorful red and green lights lit the windows. Twisting stars. The nightmare I had was happening for real.

I jumped to my feet. Kriff...I wasn't supposed to get my neck into this. Isn't the fleet supposed to protect the command ship? This couldn't have been the mission, could it? And why hadn't any alarms gone off? I grabbed my pistol from beneath my pillow and the strong gray doors behind me slid open. The soldier who stepped through the doors was unfamiliar. He looked like a like he was from Alderaan with his golden hair freckled with pure white. His face was frantic.

"Come on, soldier!" he shouted. "How the hell did you sleep through this?"

I glared at him from the floor as I rummaged through my trunk. The Endar Spire's shields were hit again while I was putting on a shirt causing me to trip flat onto my bed. I had been given limited supplies including a standard issue Republic uniform that I never wore. I had been given a few "demerits" because of it.

"What in the galaxy is going on?" I shouted as I threw on my red jacket.

The soldier waved at the window. "The Sith are tearing the Endar Spire apart in search of Bastila, what does it look like?"

"Well, I was thinking that maybe I would get a more detailed explanation!"

Another explosion from a fighter rocked the command ship. I grabbed my pistol again and stormed towards the closed doors. I rummaged through my jacket pockets. Kriff. I forgot to ask for a key at the bridge. I knew procrastinating that hadn't been smart. But I didn't want to run into the Jedi again.

I punched the door.

"Open it."

"Ensign Trask Ulgo, in case you forgot."

I banged the door again.

"Ulgo. Whatever. Open the door before we die."

I could escape during the ruckus. This would be my only chance.

He finally made his way over to unlock the panel. "You're that smuggler they brought on board, aren't you?" I grimaced. "I heard that you smuggled spice and blasters along the Corellian Run. Escaped prison on multiple occasions..."

"Yeah, yeah, people talk. Are you done?"

Trask remained silent as the he finished overriding the emergency locks. The door slid open. "I don't know why the Republic hired someone like you, but you know how to escape. We have to help Bastila escape. She's the only hope the galaxy has to—"

"I don't give a kriff about the galaxy right now. I'm heading for the escape pods and never entering Republic space again."

The hallway had been blown to pieces and a burning T7 unit rammed against the wall. Electrical units steamed out the needed oxygen we all breathed. Something hit me over the head—hard enough to hurt but not enough to knock me down. The Endar Spire rocked. I held the back of my head with both hands, then glared at the ensign.

"What was that for, core slime?"

"Running is considered desertion." Trask continued. "And it's practically suicide to go alone out there. Follow my lead and we'll get to both Bastila and the escape pods. Alive. Alright?"

My face turned into iron and felt like it was burning. My pride left my body like blood flowing out of a wound.

I bit my tongue. "Fine. Lead the way, soldier."

The grenade exploded and blinded my senses as I dove into cover. A few ensigns and other soldiers were blasted into flesh and blood—only smoke remained where five men had once stood. I swallowed my fear and raised my blaster again, however, my aim had been too shaky to deliver the Sith into the graves they belonged in. Trask cursed behind me as another grenade was thrown towards me. Again.

Before I could mutter a final prayer to the hell that awaited me, a strong red and yellow body collided into me and a blue shield encircled us. Another flash and the Sith were torn to pieces by the grenade that had been aimed at us.

The ensign had saved my life for some reason. I shuddered as I tried to stand, but the blast had deafened my senses. Trask smiled and deactivated his shield. Blood rushed down his scalp. The only Sith left had been the one throwing grenades. Ulgo took him out with an easy shot when I finally stood.

The ensign took my arm. "Easy," I heard his dull voice, my ears still ringing. I threw my arm away from his grasp after I was on solid ground.

"I'm fine," I shouted over the loud explosions from inside and out.

The ensign re-gripped his blaster with a frown. "Maybe grab a shield next time you decide to run into a fire fight."

I rolled my eyes as I took the Sith's better pistol. We ran down the hall only to stop at the sound of raving sparks. My heart jumped into my throat. There were Sith here. Ones with lightsabers. We could never hope to defeat one of them. We would die before we could even scream...suffocate in our own throats—

The ensign heard the battle sounds as well. Instead of running away like I intended, he slammed his fist into the door's emergency switch.

"Are you crazy?" I shouted over the sparks.

Trask held a hand up in response. As if I would go in there.

"There's a Jedi here. Maybe she can help us."

I really was not in the mood to deal with more Jedi, but who else could protect us from the Sith? Especially one with a lightsaber.

But...the Jedi didn't help us. At all. Actually, she had been distracted. By us.

With an invisible push, a bald man with a malicious grin took the blue lightsaber from the woman's grip as she hit the wall. Jedi Bitch? The Sith advanced towards the defeated Jedi. My breath froze in my lungs. Then, as if I was possessed, I raised my blaster and shot off a round at the Sith.

My shot rang back into the metal and broken walls of the Endar Spire by the Sith's bright blade.

Am I stupid? Even Trask looked at me like I was a moron.

The dark Jedi marched towards us with a grin on his face that sent shivers down my spine. The blaster dropped from my hands like worthless weight.

I was dead. So dead.

Trask hadn't moved or said a word—the bastard hadn't even tried to shoot back. An invisible force gripped my neck and breath escaped my lungs as I was forced against the wall. I gripped my neck as I frantically tried to find Trask. However, he was missing...gone...where was his courage now?

The darkness surrounding this dangerous man flowed out of him like a river. Eventually, I didn't fear the grip of the Force on my neck but the darkness that whispered to me from his yellow eyes. The Sith smirked and before he could stab me with his little saber, a blue light burned his face in half.

I collapsed to the ground and coughed from both fear and pain. Eventually, I gazed up at my savior with gratitude. Jedi Bitch—well no, she really wasn't a bitch, was she?—kicked the body of the dark Jedi away. I fumbled to my feet as her blue blade returned into its metal casket.

"T-Thanks—"

The blaster fire had created sparks above the Jedi into the electrical circuits. Before I could warn her, a loud explosion ripped away the beams and walls which crushed the Jedi beneath hot steel. I rushed towards the flames and steam only to be pulled back by Trask.

"Stop...don't, recruit!"

"But she just saved our lives!"

"We can't do anything for her." Trask waved at the alarms. "This hall is going to collapse on us any second if we don't move now!"

No time for regrets.

We ran past smoke and my jacket became singed from the flames. A loose beam tripped me, but I was righted again by Trask. A vibroblade fit into my hands as Trask and I moved to the edge of the door to the bridge. Without a moment to lose, the soldier slammed the button and the door hissed open.

Tons of Sith. No Bastila. Of course. We should have gone to the escape pods in the first place.

A Sith crashed down at me with a vibroblade of his own. I struggled with the black masked Sith, my strength faltering only enough for me to step back from the sharp edge in time. Trask fought nearby and had been strong enough to smash the sharp blade into the armored neck of the Sith's mask.

Another explosion rocked the ship as I slipped in my defense. The Sith's blade nicked my shoulder after that distraction. Sucking in a pained breath, I pushed harder and kicked the Sith into the fires that spread on the consoles behind him.

And I enjoyed hearing that man scream.

As soon as the battle ended, Trask grabbed me by my injured shoulder—to my disdain.

"Go, go! They've gone to the escape pods. We have to leave!"

"I heard you the first time!"

The ship rocked again. I had no time to argue as he ran past me. Another explosion broke part of the Spire's shield. We weren't going to last another ten minutes. I sprinted after him over burned bodies and half-dead men I couldn't afford to help save. I hesitated by the doors for a second as one of the sergeant's hands reached out to me. It was the veteran...

Something grabbed on my red sleeve.

"We can't save them!" Trask shouted.

He already had the door opened and he ran ahead into a more stable hallway compared to the bridge. The door hissed closed behind me when I finally entered and Trask pulled the lever for the emergency air lock. The ship was going down. What hope did we have to leave alive?

"Kriff..."

I bent over my knees—the adrenaline winding down. When I first came aboard the Endar Spire, I thought that I would just be accompanying an annoying Jedi and her stupid Republic friends. I hadn't been expecting actual war.

Trask gazed at me with that sympathetic look one would give a puppy.

"We can't save everyone, recruit. Bastila is the only person standing in Malak's way. She needs every able bodied soldier at her disposal."

What he said sounded cruel. Perhaps even sociopathic. But a part of me knew he was right. This Sith war had put a toll on the Republic's numbers and the power they used to hold was crumbling as the Sith fleet destroyed everything in their wake.

I coughed. "Sure, but..."

It was stupid to even argue. But what gave us the right to decide who lived and who died?

The ensign ignored my weak denials and explored the room. He swiped his keycard at a door that probably led to the escape pods. However, before we could go through it, he tilted his head.

"Wait," the ensign called back to me. "There's someone behind here."

And I believed him. There was a presence on the other side of that door. A dark whisper and a mist that threatened to intrude my soul. Goosebumps rose on my skin even with all of the fire that surrounded us.

"Trask..."

The door opened. The yellow eyes and pale skin of a Sith Master revealed himself in the oxygen mists. The Sith stepped towards the ensign who didn't even look like he was going make a run for it. Instead, he pushed me back and rose his vibroblade.

"What are you—?"

"Get to Bastila and make sure she's safe. Find Commander Onasi...anyone. Just go. Run!"

What was he doing? Was he trying to be a hero here?

"Are you insane?"

The door closed in my face was my answer and I was left behind bitter and wordless. Why? What sort of person would place someone who had been in prison just a week ago before his own skin?

I banged at the door. "Trask!" I kicked it. "Bastard!"

He had been serious about leaving people behind...including himself. I let out a tired sigh. If I didn't get out soon, Trask Ulgo's death would have been in vain. So, I turned and sprinted down the hall—lost and frozen. What should I do? Go after Bastila? Find the commander?

What choice did I have left?

I leaned against the locked door and whispered into my comm.

"You sure they're behind here, Onasi?"

A quiet crackle.

"Yes. They've been trying to get to the escape pods. Fortunately, they won't be expecting someone from behind."

I nodded at Carth Onasi's frantic voice and began to concoct some kind of plan. In the far corner of the room, a broken droid was bent over it's dead mechanic on the floor who had failed to defend himself from the Sith. The droid's back was open and only a few bolts need to be spun into the hard drives for it to come back online.

I smirked.

"I have an idea."

Half a minute later, the droid finished taking down the red and black armored Sith just as the door on the opposite side opened. The smoke cleared, revealing the orange jacketed form of Carth Onasi. I stepped over the red body of a Sith captain with a grin.

"Got em'."

Carth narrowed his eyes at me over smoke before he returned his attention to a computer. When he pressed something that appeared to be a shut down key, he faced me.

"You're that recruit..."

"Yes, yes, I'm afraid we don't have time for polite introductions."

When the Spire rocked again I could feel the shields breaking. Carth noticed as well and rushed towards the escape pod—the last one. I slipped past him when the circular doors opened like the jaws of a firaxan shark.

I had no time to secure myself when Carth climbed in after me and slammed a yellow button. An ear-piercing explosion ripped through the thin walls of the pod and both of us held on as we plummeted away from the space junk that was now the Endar Spire. The gravity wells that held me to the ship faded only to be replaced by the shocking rush of real gravity that threw me into the back of the pod.

The ground of the unknown planet outside was the last thing I saw before the darkness.