Part 1

 

Revan and Carth: The Journey

Foreword

LucasArts and the LucasArts logo are trademarks of LucasFilm Ltd. Bioware, the Bioware Odyssey Engine and the Bioware logo are trademarks of Bioware Corp. All characters, names, creatures, vehicles, places and weapons are property of Lucasarts. I do not own LucasArts or any of its affiliates.

Author's note: Please email me about any spelling or punctuation mistakes, or if any parts of the story don't add up for you. I would be happy to explain. All dialogue was given to me throughout the game, and any dialogue and actions not present in the game will be highlighted in red. Please do not ask me to change the dialogue that is not highlighted. Also, if you have never played the Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic games, please email me about that too, I would love to spread the word about the game!

Prologue
Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic

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 upon an unsuspecting galaxy.                     
 
Crushing all resistance, Malak's war of conquest has left the Jedi Order scattered and vunerable as countless Knights fell 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....

Chapter 1
The Endar Spire

Serena Bellator awoke with a start. It took a few moments of looking at the grey ceiling above her, trying to remember her dream, before she noticed the bangs and crashes that signalled the Endar Spire was under attack. Serena shot out of bed straight away. No sooner had she done this, than her cabin door opened, revealing an old, but strong looking man, who was obviously agitated. Before she could even begin to fathom who he was, however, he yelled, ‘We’ve been ambushed by a Sith battle fleet! The Endar Spire is under attack! Hurry up – we don’t have much time!’
He said this as though it wasn’t already obvious enough.
Serena was gobsmacked by his sudden authority, ‘… Who are you?’ she managed to say, in all her shock.
‘I’m Trask Ulgo, ensign with the Republic fleet. I’m your bunk mate here on the Endar Spire. We work opposite shifts; I guess that’s why you haven’t seen me before. Now hurry up, we have to find Bastila. We have to make sure she makes it off the ship alive!’
Trask was talking so fast it took a few moments for Serena to realise what he had just said.
‘Who’s Bastila?’ she said exasperatedly.
But Trask was on a roll, ‘Bastila’s the commanding officer on the Endar Spire. Well, not an officer, really. But she’s the one in charge of this mission. One of our primary duties is to guarantee her survival in the event of enemy attack! You swore an oath just like everyone else on this mission. Now it’s time to make good on that oath!’
Trask paused for breath before continuing, ‘I know all about your reputation, how you used to smuggle spice and blasters along the Corellian Run. I guess the Republic figured since they couldn’t catch you, they might as well hire you. And I’ll admit, the Republic is in desperate need of someone with your kind of skills. Desperate enough even to overlook your shady past.’
Serena was about to object to this statement, but Trask still carried on.
‘But now that you’ve signed on for this mission, you’re part of the Republic fleet. And Bastila needs all troops at her side during this attack!’
Wow, he sure does talk a lot, Serena thought to herself before replying, ‘Okay, let’s go help Bastila!’ she made the frustration in her voice evident. After all, she had been sleeping soundly until he barged in and started barking orders at her. Her angry stare made it clear that she wasn't happy.
‘So hurry up and grab your gear. You need to suit up so we can get out of here.’
Serena’s anger faded as she became suddenly aware for the first time since she’d woken up, that she was in the same room with a man she barely knew, and she hardly had any clothes on!
She blushed.
‘Okay.’
She turned to the footlocker behind her and grabbed some clothes, a computer spike, a security spike, a blaster, and a stealth field generator out of it. She hurriedly put her clothes on, horribly aware of the fact that Trask was still watching her. What a creep!
When she had done, she turned back to face Trask.
‘Okay, let’s move out,’ he barked at once.
Serena went to open the door, but it was locked.
‘Because of the attack, this room is in lockdown, but don’t worry – I’ve got the override codes,’ Trask said to her, as he punched the code into a terminal.
What was he trying to do? Make himself look the hero or something? He was old enough to be her granddad! If he was trying to flirt with her…
Serena shuddered.
‘Okay,’ she managed to say. She began to walk out of the door when her communicator beeped. She took it out of her jacket to see who was contacting her. She didn’t recognise the man on the screen, but, boy was he hot!
‘This is Carth Onasi – the Sith are threatening to overrun our position. We can’t hold out long against their firepower! All hands to the bridge!’
Trask turned to her.
‘That was Carth contacting us.  He’s one of the Republic’s best pilots! He’s seen more combat than the rest of the Endar Spire’s crew put together. If he says things are bad, you better believe it. We have to get to the bridge to help defend Bastila!’
It took Serena a moment to remember where she was, that Carth looked so cute.
Snap out of it Serena! she thought, You’re on a mission here! 
She turned to Trask, ‘Let’s move out,’ she said, mimicking his earlier statement.
Serena ran down the corridor until she came to another door. That one was locked too. But before Trask could do or say anything about it, she used her security spike to unlock the door. She gave a smug look as she heard the door click. It opened a few seconds later, revealing a skirmish between two Sith soldiers and a Republic soldier.
‘These Sith must be the advance boarding party. For the Republic!’ Trask yelled, before running to fight the Sith along with the other soldier. Serena followed suit.
A few blaster shots later and the two Sith soldiers lay dead. Unfortunately, the Republic soldier also lay dead, and it was back to just Serena and Trask. Serena groaned loudly. Not just because it was back to being alone with Trask again, but because she had taken a particularly bad blaster shot to her left arm. Trask looked at her worryingly.
‘I’ve got a feeling that won’t be our last battle with the Sith. Good thing we have medpacs to heal our wounds. It might be a good idea to use one now before our next battle.’
‘Okay.’
Serena equipped a medpac and immediately felt her wounds begin to heal. She sighed gratefully. She walked down the corridor to the next door and opened it.
Trask had been true to his word when he said that wouldn’t be their last battle with the Sith. Because, sure enough, another two were waiting behind the door that Serena had just opened.
Thankfully, (although Serena hated to admit it), her and Trask made a pretty good team, and the Sith were dead in seconds, although, this was partly thanks to Serena's Frag Grenade. Once the Sith were dead, Serena checked all the containers in the room. They needed to be stocked up on ammo if they hoped to fight the rest of these Sith alone. Thankfully, she found a couple of grenades, a long sword, and a short sword. She felt slightly braver. There was something comforting about knowing you were less likely to get killed with your pockets full of grenades.
There were various more fights along the corridors that continued, but Serena and Trask managed. Serena walked to the next door and opened it. She couldn’t believe her eyes. Right before them, were a Jedi and a Dark Jedi, engaged in a furious battle. Serena was absolutely stunned. She had never seen a Jedi fight before, and now she was witnessing one close up. She heard Trask speaking to the right of her.
‘It’s a Dark Jedi! This fight is too much for us – we better stay back. All we’d do is get in the way.’
Serena was too stunned to even consider fighting, but even so, she was slightly annoyed at the fact that Trask was still treating her like she couldn't handle herself.
'You don't say,' she muttered sarcastically to herself.
Serena watched in awe as the Jedi swept down her lightsaber, and struck the Dark Jedi in the chest. He fell down, dead. Serena was about to whoop when an explosion behind the Jedi caused her to fall dead too. Right next to the man she had just killed.
‘That was one of the Jedi accompanying Bastila. Damn, we could have used her help!’ Trask said in frustration.
Serena felt sick. As her and Trask continued to walk, she silently prayed that they wouldn’t come across any more Dark Jedi. The battle she had just witnessed made bile rise in her throat. Her and Trask came to the bridge, where half a dozen Sith were waiting.
‘How many of these guys are there?’ Serena yelled wildly while fighting off two of them.
Thanks to an explosion at the front of the bridge, however , Serena and Trask were left with just three Sith to fight. This wasn’t as hard as Serena initially thought. When the Sith lay dead, Trask exclaimed.
‘Bastila’s not here on the bridge – they must have retreated to the escape pods! We better head that way too. The Sith want Bastila alive, but once she’s off the ship, there’s nothing stopping them from blasting the Endar Spire into galactic dust!’
Serena felt herself begin to panic as she rooted through a backpack, finding a blaster. What if they didn’t have enough time? What if they didn’t make it?
She walked quickly through the next few corridors, trying to keep her cool. That was, until Trask stopped in front of a door, halting her by holding his arm up.
‘There’s something behind here,’ he said, opening the door up. That was a mistake.
Another Dark Jedi was behind the door. He delivered the final blow to kill a Republic Soldier before turning to them, brandishing a red double-bladed lightsaber threateningly.
‘Damn – another Dark Jedi! I’ll try to hold him off; you get to the escape pods! Go!’
That was it, Serena cracked. She ran blindly through various corridors, trying to put as much distance between her and the Dark Jedi as she possibly could. She slowed down as her communicator beeped again, then stopped entirely when she saw the face on the screen. It was Carth.
‘This is Carth Onasi on your personal communicator. I’m tracking your position through the Endar Spire’s life support systems. Bastila’s escape pod is away. You’re the last surviving crew member of the Endar Spire! I can’t wait for you much longer; you have to get to the escape pods! But be careful. There’s a Sith patrol just down the corridor. Use your stealth field generator to sneak past him.’
Trask was dead. Serena looked down, feeling a little guilty she hadn't stayed to help him. She whimpered slightly.
‘Okay.’
Once Carth had disappeared from her screen, Serena reached for the ‘stealth’ button on her belt, but then paused.
No. She wasn’t going to be a coward. She was going to make that Sith pay for all the Republic soldiers he’d killed!
Serena gripped her blaster pistol carefully and peered round the corner. Sure enough, a Sith patrol was pacing up and down the corridor. Serena stepped round the corner in full view of him. The Sith lifted his blaster rifle, taking aim, but Serena was faster. She blasted him right in the middle of the head and he slumped to the floor, dead.
Serena felt a rush of adrenaline. She exhaled and walked round the corner to another door and opened it, where yet another two Sith were waiting. She shot them carelessly and walked over to a terminal at the other side of the room. But not before her communicator beeped again. This time, Serena knew who it was before she even looked at the screen.
‘Be careful! There’s a whole squad of Sith Troopers on the other side of that door, you need to find some way to thin their numbers. You could reprogram the damaged assault droid to help you, if you have enough repair parts. Or you could use computer spikes to slice into the terminal and use the Endar Spire’s security systems against the Sith.’
Aww, he was looking out for her. Serena smiled as she put the communicator back in her pocket, and took out the computer spike. She walked to the terminal and selected ‘View Starboard Transit Module’. The camera connected to the next room flickered onto the screen. Yep, Carth was right. Five Sith soldiers were stood there, facing the doorway to the room Serena was in. After a few seconds, the picture faded, to be replaced by a new option: ‘’Overload Power Conduit (1 Computer Spike)’. Serena inserted the computer spike into the terminal and pressed ‘Select’. The camera feed reappeared. She watched as the power conduit exploded, leaving all five Sith dead. Serena grinned smugly and walked through. She passed the Sith’s bodies and opened the door at the other side. Her heart leapt when she saw who was behind it – Carth!
‘You made it just in time! There’s only one escape pod left. Come on, we can hide out on the planet below!’
Serena paused, ‘How do I know I can trust you?’ She tried to be wary, but really she knew that she didn’t really care whether he was trustworthy or not.
‘I’m a soldier with the Republic, like you. We’re the last two crew members left on the Endar Spire. Bastila’s escape pod’s already gone, so there’s no reason for us to stick around here and get shot by the Sith. Now come on – there’ll be time for questions later!’
The last two crew members on the Endar Spire … Had they not been in the same situation, Serena would have found that statement oddly romantic.
She clambered into the escape pod, followed by Carth. Once they were in, Carth hit the ‘Eject’ button, and the escape pod shot out of the ship.
As it hurtled downwards, towards the planet below, Serena heard a huge bang from the direction of the Endar Spire. The Sith must have blown it up! Serena thought of how lucky they were to have escaped, she turned and saw Carth’s face go pale, he was obviously thinking the same thing.
As the escape pod hurtled down, Serena felt it begin to burn. They had entered the planet’s atmosphere! Serena felt herself slipping in and out of consciousness from the heat. The last thing she felt, although she could have imagined it, was Carth’s warm hand wrapping round her clammy one, before she fell, deep into darkness.

Chapter 2
Taris

A female Jedi with a yellow lightsaber stood on the bridge of a ship, fighting a Sith. His lightsaber was the familiar red hue The female Jedi struck down the male, and poised herself in a battle position, ready for another attack…

*

Serena awoke suddenly, her vision slightly disorientated. That was such a weird dream … She sat up and looked around the unfamiliar room. Her eyes fell on Carth, who was watching her intently.
‘Good to see you up, instead of thrashing around in your sleep. You must have been having one hell of a nightmare. I was wondering if you were ever gonna wake up…’
Carth said the last sentence quietly, a pained look on his face. Serena gazed at him. He looked so beautiful when he was worried. She sighed quietly but contentedly as Carth continued.
‘I’m Carth, one of the Republic soldiers from the Endar Spire. I was with you on the escape pod, do you remember?’
How could she not? Serena cleared her throat and meant to say something along those lines, but the words got stuck halfway up her throat and instead she said, ‘I had a strange dream. Like a vision or something.’
Carth grimaced, ‘Well you’ve been slipping in and out of consciousness for a couple of days now, so I imagine you’re pretty confused about things. Try not to worry. We’re safe … at least for the moment.’
Serena sat on the floor and wrapped her arms around her knees. It looked like this conversation could go on for a while, and for once, she was happy with that.
‘We’re in an abandoned apartment on the planet of Taris. You were banged up pretty bad when our escape pod crashed but luckily I wasn’t seriously hurt. I was able to drag you from our crash site in all the confusion, and I stumbled onto this abandoned apartment. By the time the Sith arrived on the scene, we were long gone.’
There were a few moments of silence as Serena took this all in. Despite the situation, she felt quite peaceful. She didn’t know whether it was the after-effects of the crash or just Carth’s presence, but either way, she was happier than anyone else in her position would have been. Serena exhaled and smiled.
‘I guess I owe you my life. Thanks.’
Carth grinned sheepishly, ‘You don’t have to thank me. I’ve never abandoned anyone on a mission, and I’m not about to start now. Besides, I’m going to need your help. Taris is under Sith control. Their fleet is orbiting the planet, they’ve declared martial law and they’ve imposed a planet-wide quarantine. But I’ve been in worse spots.’
Serena raised her eyebrows in disbelief. What could be worse than all that? She mouthed the word ‘wow’ as Carth looked at her and spoke again.
‘I saw on your service records that you understand a remarkable number of alien languages. That’s pretty rare in a raw recruit, but it should come in handy while we’re stranded on a foreign world. There’s no way the Republic will be able to get anyone through the Sith blockade to help us. If we’re  going to find Bastila and get off this planet, we can’t rely on anybody but ourselves.’
All this talk about Bastila had started getting to Serena and she finally snapped.
‘Why is it so important to find Bastila?’
Carth looked at Serena as though she was stupid, ‘That smack to your head did more damage than I thought. Bastila’s a Jedi. She was with the strike team that killed Darth Revan, Malak’s Sith Master. Bastila is the key to the whole Republic war effort. The Sith must have found out she was on the Endar Spire and set an ambush for us in this system.  I believe Bastila was on one of the escape pods that crashed down here on Taris. For the sake of the Republic war effort, we have to try and find her.’
Serena was sure he was just exaggerating. Surely she didn’t mean that much?
‘How can one person, even a Jedi, be so important?’
Carth looked as though she’d slapped him, ‘Bastila’s no ordinary Jedi. She has a rare gift the Jedi call Battle Meditation. Bastila’s power can influence entire armies. Through the Force Bastila can inspire her allies with confidence and make her enemies lose the will to fight. Often that’s all it takes to tip the balance in a battle.  Of course there are limits to what she can do. But from what I understand of her ability, it requires great concentration and focus to maintain her Battle Meditation. The attack on the Endar Spire happened so fast she never had a chance to use her Battle Meditation. Like us, she barely got out alive.’
By now, Serena was getting pretty sick of hearing how ‘wonderful’ Bastila was, and it was obvious she couldn’t get Carth to see things from her point of view, so she sighed in defeat.
‘So what do you suggest we do next?’
Carth began to pace up and down, ‘Bastila’s-‘ (Serena groaned) ‘-going to need our help. Many of Darth Malak’s followers can use the Dark Side of the Force, and the Sith have already killed more than their share of Jedi in this war. Nobody will be looking for a couple of common soldiers like us. And if we’re careful we can move about the planet without attracting notice. A luxury Bastila won’t have. She’s going to have half the Sith fleet looking for her. They know how important she is to the war effort. The whole planet is under quarantine.  No ships can land or take-off so if Bastila’s going to escape Taris, she’s going to need our help. And we’ll probably need hers.’
Serena sighed and stood up resignedly, ‘If it means getting off this planet, I guess I can help you find Bastila.’
Carth nodded, ‘Good. We need to work together if we’re going to survive.’
Serena’s jaw dropped. He was so ignorant! Evidently Carth hadn’t registered her annoyance as he carried on.
‘While you were out I did some scouting around. There are reports of a couple escape pods crashing down in the Undercity. That’s probably a good place to start. But the Undercity is a dangerous place. We don’t want to go in there unprepared. It won’t do Bastila any good if we go and get ourselves killed!’
Serena hesitated, ‘I want to ask you some questions.’
Carth looked taken aback, ‘I’ll tell you what I can, though I … I don’t know how much help it’ll be.’
Serena steeled herself for what she was about to say, ‘I’d like to know some more about you, Carth.’
She closed her eyes and mentally hit herself. She opened one eye again cautiously to find Carth’s eyebrows were raised. Evidently he’d never been asked about his personal life from a fellow soldier. He stuttered.
‘I understand why you want to know more about me; I … I kinda get the feeling we’ll be spending a lot of time together over the next while. But this isn’t really the best time for long introductions; we should stay focused on the task at hand. There’ll be time for that later.’
Serena’s shoulders slumped. Rejected. Still, she thought, if her and Carth would be sticking around each other for a while, she would be as persistent as possible. Usually guys would be falling at her feet, but Carth was proving to be quite a challenge. She liked that. But she didn’t want to start bugging him yet, she’d already angered him once and it had only been five minutes, so she squared her shoulders.
‘The sooner we start looking for Bastila the sooner we find her. Let’s go.’
For the first time Serena had seen, Carth smiled properly, ‘Good idea. We can use this abandoned apartment as a base, and we can probably get some equipment and supplies here in the Upper City. Just remember to keep a low profile.’
His smile faded to be replaced by a serious look, ‘I’ve heard some grim stories about the Dark Jedi interrogation techniques. They say the Force can do terrible things to a mind. It can wipe away your memories and destroy your very identity.’
Carth trailed off before shaking his head and looking up at Serena.
‘But I figure if we don’t do anything stupid we should be okay. I mean, after all, they’re … they’re looking for Bastila, not a couple of grunts like us. Alright soldier, let’s move out.’
He saluted and started heading towards the door. Serena giggled. She really needed to teach him to loosen up. Well, she had plenty of time. Besides, this could even form a relationship between them. One thing was for sure, Serena thought as she followed Carth. This was going to be fun.

*

Sure enough, as soon as Carth and Serena were out of the door, the first thing they saw was a scene that had 'trouble' written all over it. Two Duros were being ambushed by a Sith and two menacing looking Sith droids.
'Okay you alien scum, everybody get up against the wall! This is a raid!'
It seemed Carth and Serena had arrived at a pretty convenient time. One of the Duros spoke up in a pleading voice.
'There was a patrol here just yesterday, and they found nothing! Why do you Sith keep bothering us?'
Serena and Carth watched in horror as the Sith carelessly shot him. He seemed to show no remorse as he turned to the remaining Duros.
'That's how we Sith deal with smart-mouth aliens! Now the rest of you get up against the wall before I lose my temper again!'
He suddenly caught sight of Carth and Serena.
'Hey, what's this? Humans hiding out with aliens?'
It took a split second for the confusion on his face to change to anger.
'They're Republic fugitives! Attack!'
Serena sighed and nodded to Carth before blasting the Sith in the head as Carth took aim at the droids.
With added help from the Duros, the droids were taken out in seconds, and the Duros walked over to Serena.
'Poor Ixgil. He should never have talked back to that Sith. Thankfully you were here to step in and help us, human. This isn't the first time the Sith have come in here to cause trouble for us, but hopefully it will be the last.'
Serena smiled warmly at him, 'I'm just glad I could help.'
He nodded in response, 'Don't worry about the bodies. I will move them so it looks like they were killed elsewhere. That should throw the Sith off the track. With any luck, they won't be bothering us again for a while.'
As the Duros walked off, Serena looked at Carth, whose brows were furrowed in deep concentration. Serena cleared her throat and Carth looked up attentively.
'Yes? What's on your mind?'
Serena could tell Carth was dying to tell her something, but she played along anyway and repeated her earlier statement.
'I'd like to know some more about you, Carth.'
As expected, Carth's response was a great contrast to last time, and he seemed almost at ease as he began to share his story with Serena.
'Me? Well, I've been a star-pilot for the Republic for years. I've seen more than my share of wars ... I fought in the Mandalorian Wars before all this started. But with all that, I've never experienced anything like the slaughter these Sith animals can unleash. Not even the Mandalorians were that senseless. My home world was one of the first planets to fall to Malak's fleet. The Sith bombed it into submission, and there wasn't a damn thing our Republic forces could do to stop them!'
Carth looked away angrily and Serena frowned, feeling bad she'd asked. It had finally occurred to her just how much Carth might have been through, and she felt quite selfish for not realising this before.
'I'm sorry, Carth. This must be very painful for you.'
Carth huffed, 'I'm just a soldier; I go where the fleet Admirals tell me to. I follow my orders and I do my duty. It just ...' he sighed, 'doesn't seem right that doing that means I failed them! I didn't!'
He shook his fist in frustration and Serena looked down at the ground sadly.
'I'm sorry, Carth. I didn't mean to upset you.'
Carth's shoulders slumped, and he looked at Serena with a slightly guilty expression.
'I know. Don't worry about it. I just ... must not be making much sense. You probably mean well with your questions. I'm just not accustomed to talking about my past very much. At all, actually. I'm more used to taking action ... keeping my mind focused on the business at hand. So let's just do that. If you have more questions, ask them later.'
Serena nodded and looked round at her surroundings, trying to formulate a plan of action. Considering she didn't know very much about the area, Serena thought it best to check out the rest of the apartments before she left the complex.
Serena walked about 10 feet to an ordinary looking door. She tried to open it, but it was locked. Intuition would have told her that it was someone's personal apartment, and that they wanted their privacy. But somehow, Serena seemed to think there was a bigger mystery behind everything. So, using her skill with security, she picked the lock and the door opened, revealing a pretty, middle-aged woman with black hair. A name badge on her chest read the name 'Dia'. Unfortunately, she didn't look happy.
'Who are you? What are you doing in here? You can't just come barging into someone's home!'
Serena stepped back bashfully, 'I'm sorry. I was just investigating the area.'
Dia squared her shoulders, 'That's no excuse. You can't just go around barging into people's apartments because you're curious! But at least you're more polite than that pig, Holdan.'
Serena frowned, 'Holdan? Who's that?'
Dia clenched her fists, 'Just one of Davik's men who can't keep his hands to himself. But all he got for his trouble was a nasty scar from my vibroblade! Too bad I'm the one still paying the price.'
Serena was intrigued, 'What do you mean?' she said curiously, taking a step forward.
Dia hesitated, 'I ... I don't want to talk about it. I'm in enough trouble already. Besides, I don't know if I can trust you.'
Serena decided if she was going to get anywhere on Taris, she would need to let people know she was trustworthy, so she smiled at Dia.
'You can trust me. Maybe I can help.'
Dia looked her up and down, 'Well, I suppose you seem like an alright sort. When I cut Holdan it made him back off, but it also embarassed him in front of his friends. Holdan's a spiteful little Hutt-slug. He went and put out a bounty on my head for what I did! That's why I'm hiding out here.'
Serena felt proud of herself. Sometimes her curiosity actually did pay off! She looked at Dia.
'Is there anything I can do to help?'
Dia sighed, 'I doubt it. Holdan is one of Davik's men. When you work for the local crime lord the authorities tend to turn a blind eye. I'm afraid this is between me and Holdan now.'
'Maybe I could speak to Holdan for you.' Serena suggested. After all, she needed somewhere to start on this foreign world, and Holdan may hold some valuable information. Dia seemed to think for a moment.
'You could try, I guess. He usually hangs out at the cantina in the Lower City. It probably won't do any good. Holdan's used to getting his own way. That's one of the fringe benefits of being a goon for Davik. Working for the local crime lord lets you get away with things. Still, I appreciate the offer.'
Serena nodded, her mind set, 'I'll be going now.'
Dia smiled, 'Goodbye, and good luck. I hope you can talk some sense into Holdan.'
Serena nodded again and left the room. It seemed Holdan was her best bet at finding information. For now, at least. Serena and Carth had walked about twenty paces when Carth stopped suddenly. Serena turned to look at him. He was looking Serena up and down, frowning. Serena guessed he was making some quick judgements on her actions so far. She thought this was a little harsh considering they hadn't known each other long. Still, she thought, it was understandable considering the things Carth could have potentially been through. Serena shifted her weight onto one leg.
'Is this a good time to ask you some more questions?'
Carth looked her fully in the eyes and grinned slightly, 'I'm all ears, beautiful.'
Serena smiled. It seemed Carth had taken a good overview on her so far, as his attitude had rocketed from bad to excellent in minutes.
'I like the sound of that.' she said, smirking.
Carth's smile grew, 'Which? The fact that I'm all ears or the beautiful part?'
'The beautiful part. Keep calling me that.'
Carth laughed slightly, 'I might consider it. What are you going to call me, in exchange?'
Serena thought for a moment, 'How about "handsome thug"?'
Carth raised his eyebrows, 'I like the first part of that. I'm a bit more partial to "the most handsome pilot in the galaxy". What do you think?'
Serena laughed, 'I'll think about it.'
Carth chuckled, 'Well, then, I guess "gorgeous" will have to do until then, won't it?'
His laughing subsided slightly.
'Kidding aside, I bet you're not about to give up on those questions of yours. Are they really necessary?'
Serena smirked, 'Don't be such a child. It's just a few questions.'
Carth laughed again, 'Oh no, how can I resist a challenge to my manly pride, huh? Ha ha! Fine, you've made your point. Interrogate at will.'
'Excellent. Soon all your secrets will be mine!' said Serena, pretending to laugh evilly.
Carth grinned, 'All my secrets are purely of the mundane variety, unfortunately. Nothing worth extracting, though you're welcome to try.'
He rolled his shoulders back, 'Let me ask you something first, though. I've been going through the battle aboard the Endar Spire over and over in my head since we crashed. Some things just don't add up for me. Maybe you could tell me what happened ... from your perspective.'
Serena folded her arms, 'I wasn't in a position to know what was going on, really.'
Carth shrugged, 'Neither was I, to tell the truth. I was onboard as an advisor for the most part. The battle began so fast, it's anyone's guess as to what actually happened. We lost the ship and a lot of good people ... and for what? On the hope that Jedi powers would save us, somehow. Not that Bastila had much of an opportunity to act. We didn't choose that battle, anyway. It got forced on us. Hell, I'm just surprised that any of us are alive to talk about it. Come to think of it, it's more than a little surprising that you happen to be here, isn't it? Just what is your position with the Republic fleet, anyway?'
Serena sighed, 'I used to be a smuggler, if you must know. I was recruited into the fleet for my knowledge.'
Carth seemed to ponder over this information for a moment.
'A smuggler? I should have guessed. Isn't it odd, however, that a smuggler who was added to the crew at the last minute just happens to be alive?'
Serena raised an eyebrow, 'You'd rather I wasn't?'
Carth shook his head slightly, 'Don't be ridiculous. You've more than proved yourself since the crash ... we wouldn't have made it this far without you. But still ...'
Serena placed her hands on her hips, 'Are you implying I had something to do with the crash?'
Carth sighed, 'No. Well ... maybe. Don't get me wrong, it just seems odd that someone Bastila's party specifically requested to transfer aboard happened to survive.'
Serena's arms dropped to her sides, 'Why would Bastila request my transfer?'
Carth shrugged, 'The Jedi requested numerous things when they came on board ... hell, they practically took over the ship, as far as I could tell. Considering your connection to Bastila and the Jedi ... whether you know it or not ... your presence here seems a little convenient. I'm probably wrong and this is probably nothing, I know. I learned a long time ago not to take things at face value, however. And I hate surprises.
Serena looked at him pleadingly, 'I'm telling you, Carth, I had nothing to do with the crash.'
Carth sighed heavily, 'I expect you're right. I've got no real reason to suspect you of anything. Still ... it's better to be safe than sorry, right?'
Serena looked him in the eyes, 'You do know we're on the same side, right?'
Carth looked back apologetically, 'Look ... it has nothing to do with you, personally. I don't trust anyone, and I have my reasons. And, no, I'm not going to discuss them. So can we just keep our mind on more important things?'
Serena folded her arms again, 'I consider this important.'
'Alright, alright. You must be the most damned persistent woman I've ever met.' Carth said, a half-amused, half-annoyed expression on his face. He rubbed the back of his neck.
'We'll talk about it ... but later. Right now I just want to get going.'
Serena nodded and looked away, hurt. What had she done? She knew Carth would have his reasons for mistrust, but she still felt like it was her fault. Serena shook her head, trying to clear her mind, and began to walk towards the elevator leading to the Upper City. First stop: Holdan.

*

As Serena stepped outside, the first thing she noticed was the strange beauty of Taris' Upper City. The purple light of the setting sun reflected off the shimmery silver floor beneath her feet, giving it a pearl-like sheen. In the center of the area stood an elaborate floating sculpture, it's matching silver colour illuminated by an astounding amount of tiny blue-white lights. Serena walked forward slowly, taking in the splendour of her surroundings. As she looked to her right, Serena saw a stretch of Taris' other buildings: a vast array of tall domes, illuminated by lights that contrasted with the shining blues and purples. As Serena looked around at the brightly lit area in which she stood, she found it hard to believe the Sith could be controlling such a beautiful place.
That was, until she saw one.
A Sith, clad from head to toe in shining black and silver armor patrolled the streets, holding a powerful-looking Blaster Rifle threateningly. Serena ducked her head and walked past him quickly. She made her way over to a cove-like area, out of sight, and turned to Carth.
'Do you know anything about this place?'
Carth raised his eyebrows, 'Taris? The planet's all one big city ... but it's golden years are long past, and things have gotten worse since the Sith occupied it. From what I hear, the wealthy live on the tops of all the tall towers. And if you're poor, you live down in the shadows ... and it gets worse the lower you go. That's all I can think of, at any rate.'
Serena nodded and looked away. That explained why the place looked so pretty. This area was where the rich people lived, so she would probably see the extent of the Sith's damage when she went down to the Lower City, which was where she would find Holdan. As Serena began to step back out into the open, she caught sight of a shop to her left. The sign read 'Equipment Emporium'. Serena realised for the first time just how low her and Carth were on weapons and armor, so she decided to spend the few credits she had on just that. Besides, what use would credits be if you didn't have the gear to keep you alive in the first place?
Serena opened the door, and was greeted by a dark-skinned woman with cropped hair and a friendly smile.
'Hello there. I haven't seen you in my shop before ... allow me to introduce myself. My name is Kebla Yurt. Welcome to the Equipment Emporium.'
Her voice was rich and deep. She had obviously perfected it to gain maximum potential with customers.
'You looking to buy some supplies? My shop's the largest one in all of Upper Taris. Best selection on the planet. Whatever you need, I've got. Well, mostly.'
Serena heard Carth speak behind her, 'Mostly? What do you mean by that?'
Kebla frowned, 'The Sith confiscated all my heavy weapons. And they impounded all my ships and swoop bikes. But I've still got a real nice selection, if you're interested.'
A thought suddenly occurred to Serena. Sure, Holdan may have some information that could be useful to her, but then again, he might not. Kebla, on the other hand would probably have hundreds come through her store in a single week, and imagine all the information she could get with that...
Serena leaned forward and rested her elbows on the desk between them, 'I want to ask you some questions.'
Kebla smiled, 'Anything I can do to help a potential customer out. What do you want to know?'
'Do you know anything about those escape pods that crashed here on Taris?'
Kebla looked down, thinking for a moment, before nodding slowly.
'I heard a couple of pods crashed down in the Undercity. I bet the crash sites have already been stripped clean by the Sith though, unless the swoop gangs or Davik's men got there first.'
Davik. That was the second time he'd been mentioned. Evidently he was well-known around Taris.
'What do you know about Davik?'
Kebla rested her hands on the desk, 'Oh, Davik's a legitimate businessman if you get my drift: smuggling, slaving, extortion. Uh huh. They say he's a member of the Exchange - you know, the big intergalactic criminal organisation.'
Carth spoke up again and Serena turned to look at him.
'Hmm. I've heard of the Exchange. Bad organisation to cross. If anyone has blockade-breaking ships, however, it's them.'
Kebla nodded, 'I have to pay him a protection fee every month, but it's reasonable. And I get most of my inventory through Davik and his suppliers - I'm just smart enough not to ask where it came from, you understand?'
Serena stayed silent for a moment. What if the Exchange was their only way of getting off Taris? Sure, it was a long-shot, but who else would have ships capable of getting through the blockade, other than the Sith?
Serena realised she had been silent for a while, so she said, 'Is Davik working with the Sith?'
Kebla folded her arms, 'Davik hates the Sith as much as anybody - the quarantine has put a real dent in his operations too. But he's keeping a low profile as long as the occupation lasts.'
She smirked, 'Davik stays out of the way, and the Sith don't bother him. The swoop gangs could learn a thing or two from this tidy little arrangement, instead of always going after each other.'
Serena nodded, thoughts brewing in her mind. It seemed Holdan really was their best bet at information, especially considering his connections with Davik. Suddenly, meeting up with Holdan seemed like an extremely important thing to do, so Serena, not wanting to seem rude, bought a blaster and left hurriedly. Checking quickly for Sith patrols, she headed towards the Lower City as fast as she could go without looking too suspicious.

*

A few minutes later, Serena caught sight of the door that would lead to the Lower City. There was just one problem: It was guarded by a Sith Patrol.
Testing her luck, Serena walked up to the door as casually as possible. To her dismay, however, the Sith held out his arm to stop her.
'This elavator is off limits. Only Sith Patrols and those with proper authorization are allowed into the Lower City. It's obvious from the way you're dressed that you're not one of the Sith Patrols, so unless you have the authorization papers you must move along!'
Serena shifted her weight from one leg to the other, 'Where can I get authorization papers?'
'If you were supposed to have them you'd know where to get them. Now quit wasting my time and move along.'
Serena groaned as Carth leant over and whispered in her ear.
'We're going to need some kind of disguise if we want to get past this guy.'
Serena sighed as she began to walk away. Despite Carth's advice, she knew it was hopeless. Where would they get a Sith disguise? Serena racked her brains of places she might be able to find one. The cantina? A shop? Someone's apartment? No. No-one in their right mind would just leave a Sith uniform lying around. Now they were back to square one.
Before long, Serena found herself stood outside the cantina. She sighed and walked in. Well, she had to start somewhere.
As the door closed behind her, Serena's situation seemed hopeless, when in fact, her goal wasn't as far away as it seeemed...

To be continued...