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Knights Of The Old Republic: Darkness Falls


DarthSion101

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While the tachyions streaming from the hyperdrive coils of the Ebon Hawk ‘fixed’ the Doctor’s problem, they had an unexpected side effect.

 

The tracer that the Doctor had discovered earlier on Karda’s ship began to vibrate, then glow.

 

******

 

As Jasra was preparing to engage her hyperdrive engines to leave for Taris, an alarm suddenly sounded and a warning light began to flash on the console in front of her.

 

Jasra frowned. “What the…?” There was an unusual energy field building up in the Moon Shadow’s hyperdrive engine matrix.

 

Jasra hit a few buttons on the panel, trying to discover the source of the interference as the energy readings from the engines began to soar to a dangerous level. Finally, she found it—the tracer receiver she had used to track Karda’s ship was somehow feeding high levels of tetryion particles directly into the hyperdrive chamber.

 

“Damn that Jedi!” she said, thinking that Karda had found the tracer and was sending some sort of negative polarity pulse through it to either trace the source or disable it.

 

She started to shut down power, but it was too late. Sparks shot out of the panels around her as the build up of energy suddenly surged through the systems of her ship. The engines seized with a loud thud, followed by gradual waning tone. The cockpit went completely dark for a moment, then the red emergency lights came on.

 

Jasra checked what systems, if any, were still working. With no engines, everything was running on energy reserves. The comm system was damaged, but still partially functional—perhaps still good enough for a local transmission. No thrusters, so the Moon Shadow was now adrift. Life support? Well, the unexplained power surge had completely fried those circuits. She estimated she had about 30 minutes left. And the Moon Shadow was too small to have need of escape pods.

 

Jasra sighed, and then rubbed her forehead. She wasn’t getting out of this situation on her own. “Ebon Hawk, I’ve had a malfunction,” she said into the com link, not knowing if it was even working. “Some sort of energy surge. Power is out and life support systems are failing.” She winced as she said her next words. “Can you assist?”

 

Her finger hovered over the button for the distress beacon. If she didn’t have communications, the beacon would at least let the Ebon Hawk know something was wrong. Of course, it could attract more pirates. She looked again at the life support gauges. She hit the button. Attracting someone was better than no one.

 

What was it that her Master had taught her about breath control? It might buy her some more time if she could regulate her breathing. She closed her eyes as she struggled to remember.

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The Doctor turned at the sound of a woman's voice coming from the TARDIS' speakers.

“Ebon Hawk, I’ve had a malfunction. Some sort of energy surge. Power is out and life support systems are failing. Can you assist?”

*O dear, that's not good, is it?* said the Doctor. *Is it too dangerous to dock with her ship?* he asked. *Right, stupid question,* he said, not waiting for an answer. *Be back in a jiff!*

He turned around again, closing the TARDIS door behind him. The engines began to kick in, and the TARDIS disapeared.

========================================

A console on the Moon Shadow exploded, sending sparks everywhere. Astrange sound filled the small ship, followed by a tall blue box. The door opened, and the Doctor's head poked out. He looked around, and noticed a woman sitting at the pilot station.

*Hello there, I'm the Doctor. Need some help?*

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Having had to shield her eyes from the exploding panel, Jasra struggled to focus on the strange man was peeking out from the box that had just appeared before her.

 

Oxygen deprivation, she surmised. “I must have a hull breach somewhere,” she muttered to herself, shaking her head with disbelief. “I’m hallucinating.”

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*I assure you that I am real. I could prove it, if we had time, but unfortunately, we do not.*

The woman didn't move. The Doctor got out of the TARDIS, walking towards her.

*If I were a hallucination, would I be able to do this?* he poked her hard in the forehead. *Now come along, we don't have much time.*

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Jasra slowly rubbed the spot on her forehead. Her eyes narrowed. “Who are you?” she said slowly.

 

Suddenly, a nearby panel spluttered another shower of sparks, then exploded in a burst of flames.

 

“Oh, who bloody cares!” she said, bolting out of her seat. “Whoever you are, just get me out of here!”

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*Right then, come on!* said the Doctor, grabbing her by the arm and practically throwing her into the TARDIS. He didn't way a word as he worked, flicking switches as fast as he could.

"Do me a favour and pull the lever with the green handle. Right in front of you. Thank you.*

The column in the centre of the console began to move, and the strange sound returned. Once it stopped, the Doctor pushed Jasra out of the way, pulled the lever in the console to her right, opening the door they had entered through.

*Come along, Kira is waiting.*

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Crystal cautiously approached the TARDIS. She'd heard the discussion and suspected the Doctor had gone to rescue Jasra. With the TARDIS back, she felt it safe to assume he'd been successful in doing so. Crystal sighed.

 

Face to face, mind reading is much easier than at greater distances. Crystal suspected that, with Jasra now aboard the Ebon Hawk, she might be able to uncover more secrets Jasra might have... but she was tired. Perhaps later. For now, she thought it would do nicely to meet Jasra face to face.

 

"You're Jasra?" Crystal asked, seeing the other woman step out of the TARDIS. She extended a hand. "I'm Crystal."

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((OOC: Hey guys, sorry I haven't posted in a while. Haven't really been feeling all that well lately.))

 

IC:

 

Kira looked up from her conversation with Karda as the now well-known sound of an appearing TARDIS echoed across the ship. That was strange. Up until now she hadn't even noticed that the TARDIS had left.

 

~*~*~

 

"Jasra, can you still hear me?" Atton asked through the comm. However, an moment later, he saw a burst of flames in the cockpit, but not after there was some strange movement. The annoying screeching sound of the TARDIS reached his ears through one of the speaker systems in the Hawk.

Better go see what Brainiack is up to...

 

~*~*~

 

The Exile leaned against the door frame of the garage, where the TARDIS had appeared.

"I assume that you would be Jasra?" she asked the woman with the Doctor.

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Jasra’s senses were on overload. Adrenaline coursed through her body—a delayed reaction from her narrow escape from her fiery ship and the disorienting journey in the Doctor’s blue box—making it difficult for her to control her fear while still trying to conceal her Force Sensitivity.

 

She remained silent as she cautiously eyed the Exile over. She could sense there were other Jedi on board—and more than just her and Karda at that. Not good, she thought. Not good at all. The last thing she wanted was to have some conniving Jedi attempt to forcibly pry their way into her thoughts. She’d experienced that pain before. Granted, the Jedi in question had turned out to a Sith, and one she had dispatched soon afterward, but she didn’t see much difference between a Jedi and a Sith anymore. None of them could be trusted. Thankfully, she could detect that the dark haired woman called Crystal wasn’t one. Still…

 

She quickly flicked her eyes over Crystal. She was about the same height and build, though her hair was a bit longer than Jasra’s. She looked friendly enough, but still there was something behind those blue-grey eyes that made Jasra hesitate before extending her hand in return.

 

“I feel I’m somewhat at a disadvantage,” Jasra said warily as she briefly shook Crystal’s hand. “But it’s nice to place a face to the voice.”

 

She shifted uncomfortably as she turned to face the Exile. “Kira, right? I’m not quite sure what happened to my ship out there, but I’m glad someone was here to assist me.” She glanced backwards over her shoulder at the Doctor. “Thank you, by the way.”

 

She turned back to Kira. “I can’t exactly escort the Ebon Hawk to Taris without a ship, but I can still serve as a guide when we reach Taris. That is, if you’re still willing to meet with my employer.” She raised an eyebrow. “Oh, and if you are,” she said in afterthought, “you’d better get going. I wasn’t sure if my comm systems were working, so I had to activate the distress beacon. Every pirate within the quadrant will soon descend on these co-ordinates like a pack of hungry Firaxan sharks. And with the two ships docked together, you’ll be an easy target.”

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Jasra could feel eyes upon her. She turned her head slowly towards the garage bay where Karda stood in the doorway, staring at her with piercing eyes.

 

Great, another Jedi, she thought.

 

He looked vaguely familiar.

 

Karda, most likely.

 

She wondered if she had ever seen him when she had been a youngling in training at the Jedi temple. He was taller than she had expected, and although she didn’t really consider him ‘old’, he carried himself in a manner that seemed to demand respect. Like her former Master, Kelva, had.

 

All right, keep calm, she told herself. Don’t panic. He doesn’t know who you are. He doesn’t know what you’ve done. He doesn’t know it was you who put the tracer on his ship. She swallowed hard. I hope.

 

His stare didn’t waver. Jasra’s ice blue eyes narrowed as she looked at him askance. “Why don’t you take a holovid?” she snapped at him, chin up with defiance. “It will last longer.”

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"I see no reason not to take you along." Kira said after a moment, "I haven't been to Taris since its destruction. I doubt we'd find our way without a bit of help." she extended a hand, "Welcome aboard."

"Hey guys," Atton said, coming around the corner, "What'd I--oh."

The Scoundrel's dark eyes traveled to the woman who was the new addition to the crew aboard the Ebon Hawk.

The Exile's brows creased slightly as she turned to the Scoundrel, sensing his thoughts. "You know her?"

"Well--I--er..."

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Jasra cocked an eyebrow as she recognised Atton. “I know you,” she said slowly, looking him up and down. She snapped her fingers as she tried to remember where. “You’re….you’re the hundred credit guy. Three years ago. Sig’s place.” She grinned slightly. “One of the best tips I ever got from a customer.”

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“Cute?” Jasra snorted. “I don’t recall you calling me ‘cute’. I believe you said I was….” She paused while Crystal cringed and spoke in a strange tongue. Her eyes flicked between Atton and Kira, and suddenly she was aware of the relationship between them.

 

So, the Exile has an attachment. She’s definitely not a Jedi then.

 

Jasra’s lips tightened. “Oh,” she said knowingly. “I see. Erm… forget I said anything. It was just business, after all.”

 

Jasra suddenly frowned and she eyed Crystal critically. “Wait a minute,” she said to her. “What do you mean by that was more than you cared to know?"

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Crystal was caught and she knew it, but she tried not to act as if she'd been hiding anything. Shuddering again, she glared at Jasra.

 

"Well let's put it this way," she said with a frown. "I'm a telepath with telekinetic abilities and no Force sensitivity. Most mental barriers don't stand a chance against my invasion skills, but you and Atton were..." she winced, "... were bringing pictures to mind and flinging them about without any cares as to who might be around to see them!"

 

"Fithutviph!" she repeated angrily, shaking her head as she did so.

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“A telepath?!”

 

Jasra visibly blanched as her thoughts suddenly shifted from Atton to….

 

If Crystal’s been in my mind then…then she knows that I disobeyed Master Kelva. Knows I didn’t stay hidden like I was told to. Knows I distracted her. She knows it’s my fault that she died!

 

She tried to keep her breaths steady as a shiver of guilt mingled with the fear of exposure ran up her spine.

 

She stared expressionless at Crystal. “Oh,” she said quietly.

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"You need to learn to keep your thoughts better concealed," Crystal told Jasra. "Come with me. I think we need to talk."

 

She turned and headed away from the group while sending thoughts in Jasra's voice to Jasra's mind, encouraging her to follow.

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*A telepath? Well, that explains why you could perceive me, and the others couldn't.* said the Doctor.

"Doctor!"

Tegan and Nyssa came into the room at that point, Tegan throwing her arms around the Doctor. "Oh Doctor, we were so worried about you!"

*Not to worry, Tegan, I'm alright,* he said, gently pushing her away. *Jasra, these are my companions, Nyssa of Traken and Tegan Jovenka.

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Jasra hesitated in following Crystal, distracted and suddenly uncomfortable at the sudden arrival of two more beautiful women—one wearing a tight violet-red suit, and the other a uniformly purple short skirted one. The last time she’d seen ‘companions’ dressed like that was in Hedra the Hutt’s enclave on Gallia III.

 

“Companions?” she asked the Doctor, her brow arching slightly.

 

She slowly ran her eyes over Nyssa and Tegan, then Crystal, then the Exile, then finally her gaze lingered on Atton.

 

Hmm…the ship just out of Nar Shaddaa; four beautiful women, three of them ‘passengers’ and the other an exiled Jedi with an attachment; one Pazaak-playing, Juma-Juice-drinking, sweet-talking scoundrel; and a Doctor? She swallowed. Suddenly the Jedi staring at her from the garage didn’t seem so bad. Oh, I sincerely hope this isn’t what I think it is….

 

“So,” she asked turning her gaze slowly in the Doctor’s direction, “what kind of ‘Doctor’ are you, exactly?” She locked eyes with Tegan. “Or rather, what kind of ‘companions’ are they?”

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