[FIC]Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic: Light and Shadow

[Lord Spitfire]

This is my second fic. It starts in the Endar Spire, and goes a little past the battle of the Star Forge.

 

Throughout this story, you might notice that this is very dfferent from the gameplay in the game. That's because I've changed the game a lot to fit the fic. That, and I don't really like the fics that are exactly like the game.

 

This deals with a male scoundrel Revan, and you will have to see whether he chooses from the light . . . or the shadow . . . Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 1: Endar Spire

 

 

Kale Star finally got up from his bed. He had light – yet tanned –skin, fierce brown eyes, and long brown hair combed back and coming down in locks to his eyes.

 

He wore a black windcheater jacket, track pants, black gloves, and held two pistols at his sides.

 

Kale paced around his room. He was bored. Being a smuggler, he was always on the run from either Republic soldiers, authorities, or various Crime Lords who wanted his head. He had seen a lot in the twenty eight years in his life. Or at least, he was quite sure it was twenty eight. That or twenty seven, he never knew for sure. In fact, most of his childhood was blurred, and he only could remember a few flashes. He could remember a poor world, their family living in poverty. He knew that to be Derelia, his home planet. But there were no memories of his teenager life and anything after five years old, for that matter. He had memories of a grassland world, and some type of hidden building there. He also had flashes of a black world, and a huge battle, and then some flashes of something like a . . . tomb on that black planet.

 

But he simply shrugged those thoughts off. It was only his mind playing tricks on him. Besides, what need of their was the past, so why remember it? It was probably a head injury or something. But Kale’s apathy of him not remembering anything surprised him greatly. It was almost as if there was this power in the back of his mind telling him; ‘You do not want to find your past.’

 

“Announcement,” rang the voice in the speaker on the top of the room, “we are about a week away from our destination of Onderon. It will take about that much time to arrive to Coruscant.”

 

He closed his eyes and rested his body on the soft cushion. It had been a long day. The training session for the recruits that day had been intense, and they were working on melee - not exactly his strongest point. Though he knew that he could probably take down all the soldiers with his nearly insane pistol shooting.

 

‘One week, then back again! This better be worth the credits,’ he thought wearily to himself. He was so tired. Unnaturally tired.

 

It wasn’t until he realized that he was losing awareness fast that he noticed something was wrong. He couldn’t possibly be THAT tired. He fought the intense urge to just drift away and sleep, and instead tried to comprehend that the ship was shaking uncontrollably. He tried to make out the blaster noises that were slipping past his consciousness. He wanted to get up, but there was this strange force that was influencing him, and making his vision blurry. Suddenly, his eyes saw only black for a few seconds, but then a picture was made clear:

 

A man clad in black robes, a black hood, and near-black gray armor that covered his chest plate and down to his stomach. He held a crimson lightsaber in his right hand, holding it parallel to the floor, his body leaning on his back leg. He stood still as a Jedi with a blue blade lunged at him, but the figure stepped aside and the Jedi made contact with the front window which overlooked a space battle. The figure held the Jedi up in the air with the force and unleashed a wave of a strange purple lightning that killed the Jedi instantly and fueled the figure’s powers as he turned back to see a female Jedi charging at him.

 

He lazily held his hand out in the air in the form of holding a cup, and the woman suddenly gasped and held her throat, only now feeling the consequences of forgetting to throw up her walls of Force Defense. After about half a minute of gasping and coughing, the woman’s body fell limp to the ground, and the figure went back to his original position. Another female Jedi with a golden single blade took a defense stance as she circled him, two male Jedi flanking her.

 

“You cannot win, Revan!” she said with a determined edge in her voice. But Revan simply thrust out his hand and the woman was sent flying back, and rolling till almost the entrance of the bridge. Just before Revan could unleash his attack on the other two Jedi, there was a huge blast that rang through the air, and a huge bolt of energy landed at his feet, causing an explosion that send him flying through the air until he landed two meters away from where the woman had been force-pushed. And ironically, the fact that she had been Force-pushed saved her from the explosion while the other two Jedi perished.

 

Kale’s eyes snapped open as his head jerked up, and he realized that his room was on fire. The flames were burning on the opposite side of the room, and smoke was engulfing a thick gray coat over everything in the room.

 

He stumbled out of his bed as he became aware of the loud firing noises that boomed through the ship. He got up and fumbled for his windbreaker jacket. After he found it, he slipped it on and zipped it up, and quickly put his gloves on, and put both his pistols on his belt. He yelped in surprise as the table caught on fire; then the walls; then the bed.

 

The entire room was burning, and smoke clouded Kale’s vision. He was able to make out the door and he immediately lunged to it, barely missing death as the place that he was previously standing on caught on fire seconds after he had jumped.

 

Kale banged on the door and was jabbing the buttons, but screamed in agony as the screen read nothing but; Lockdown: Codes Required.

 

He kept on banging. This was it. He was going to die here, on the Endar Spire, the end of his pathetic smuggling life. He mindlessly banged on the door, but as it suddenly opened, he lost his balance and knocked over the man who was about to get in, as they were both sprawled on the floor.

 

Almost immediately after the both of them got up, the man – who had white hair and looked in his early thirties – closed the door to the room immediately. He then turned to Kale. “I’m Trask Ulgo. The Endar Spire is under attack, and we need to move fast if we’re going to rescue Bastila!”

 

Kale simply nodded. He was still in shock. He just brushed the ash off his jacked and continued on through the debris, smoke, embers, and burning fires everywhere. Who was attacking them? Why? How were they going to rescue Bastila? ‘No,’ Kale corrected himself as a spot three feet away from him exploded. ‘I’ll think later. Now I just need to move!’ And that was it.

 

He trudged through dead bodies of Republic – and Sith - Soldiers and burning and broken objects, occasionally looking back to see if Trask was following close. There was no time to stop; if they didn’t move quickly, they would be blown up by the debris, or engulfed in the smoke or flame.

 

But suddenly, Kale’s leg caught a piece of metal and he fell over. His vision was blurred as he heard gunfire very close to them, and then saw bolts of blaster rifles zooming over his head. He grabbed out one of his pistols – an Echani pistol that he had made himself – and got up, only to duck as he saw a soldier dressed in slightly thin silver body plating shooting at him and Trask. He leapt back to Trask’s side as he counted how many of those strange soldiers were shooting at them. Five.

 

They didn’t stand a chance. They would be out shot eventually. So Kale quickly grabbed a frag grenade from his black windbreaker and hurl at the soldiers. There was a loud explosion, but Kale went up to see all soldiers dead, and one gasping for breath as his backside was on fire. Kale gave him a triumphant kick on his stomach as he led on, Trask following right behind him, until they finally entered a room that wasn’t completely on fire. They sealed the door quickly behind them, and stopped for a breather once they realized that they were in the part of the ship that hadn’t caught fire yet. Kale hadn’t noticed that less fire and explosions were coming at them as they went in farther.

 

As he wiped the sweat off of his brow, he turned to Trask, who was injecting a med pack onto his side. Apparently, a blaster bolt had grazed there.

 

“Who were those soldiers who were attacking us?” asked Kale as he gulped down some water from the pack of a dead Republic Soldier in the room.

 

“They’re the Sith. They’ve boarded our ship, looking for Bastila,” he explained.

 

Kale groaned. The last thing he needed were Sith Troops barging on the ship that was going to get him paid. But he was diverted from his thoughts as he smelled smoke. He looked at the door. The fire was starting to break through. He nodded to Trask, and they began again going through the doors, except they made an encounter with three Sith Troops shortly. Kale killed one with a sniper to the head, and the other with a rapid score of blaster fire. He looked to see that Trask had made quick use of the other one with his vibroblade.

 

They continued on until they reached the Bridge. It was completely abandoned. They continued on, but as they passed through one of the doors, Kale could hear something behind the next one. As they opened it, Kale was shocked to see a dark Jedi standing right there with a cold smile on his face, as if he were waiting for them.

 

“I’ll hold him off! You get to the escape pods, go!” screamed Trask as he lunged at the Dark Jedi, sealing the door behind him.

 

‘Gladly,’ thought Kale as went through the door next to where he was that would take him to the Starboard section. The last thing he heard before opening the door to continue on was a scream, and then the sound of a lightsaber trying to blast open a door.

 

He wasn’t going to sit there and start feeling guilty. On impulse he dashed past the door, and through a hall, where he found about seven Republic troops that were standing in a corner, facing an elite commando.

 

“The Sith have taken strong position in the West hall,” he said, greeting Kale with a simple nod. “So, we’ll have to bring out someone to place the mines. From there, he or she will fall back, and we’ll assault their lines. If we do that, hopefully, some of us will make it to the escape pods alive! So, who’ll bring out the mines?”

 

Kale simple stepped up and snatched the mine packs from the commando’s hand, using his stealth field generator as he set them along the west hall, were a squad of Sith were grouped around. Before going back, he threw a grenade, pulling the Sith into confusion.

 

“NOW!” he roared to the Commando as Kale started hysterically shooting the Sith lines, occasionally sniping. The Republic troops came around the corner and advanced on the Sith lines, decimating their ranks, until only two Sith stood , raising their hands in surrender when only one Republic soldier had fallen. Kale mercilessly shot down the soldiers and ran on, not waiting for the soldiers to catch up. Though he could use their help, he could take no chances. The Dark Jedi was coming, and the ship could explode at any time.

 

He simply ran on in his stealth mode, silently slipping past a room of two Sith Troops. It was only a matter of time before he got to the last main corridor before the escape pods. He grunted when he saw a Sith patrol. He was exhausted from running all through the debris of a Interdictor-Class Capitol Ship, and was injured from a blaster shot to his side, with only a mild injection to clean it up. He had taken too much to take a soldier head-on, and his stealth field generator had taken a blaster hit. His heart quickened as he heard a lightsaber slashing in the room behind him.

 

In desperation, he leapt out of the corner and launched a concussion grenade at the patrol, and took him out with blasters while he was in a state of shock. He ran on, hearing the Dark Jedi using his lightsaber to cut through the door. Kale opened the next door and almost stumbled in, but in doing so missed the two Sith guards shooting on his head. Taking his chance, Kale slid between one of the Sith’s legs and shot up. The Sith screamed in total agony, which diverted the other guard’s concentration, and Kale shot his shoulder with a blaster shot.

 

The Sith guard grunted in pain as he rubbed his burning soldier, but in a second he took his rifle and shot Kale in the stomach.

 

Kale screamed in pain as he fell back, but his finger slipped and pulled the trigger. The shot went into the Sith’s unarmored neck. Kale was just able to notice the Sith’s death as he was breathing heavily in pain, his vision blurring. He was fortunate to have his hand land on one of the Sith’s packs, were he found an advanced med pack. As soon as he realized what it was, he immediately injected it into his stomach. A new, tighter pain filled him and he grunted, but he knew the damage that the blaster shot had done was washing away.

 

He groaned as he got himself up. There was one more room until the escape pods. One more room! But he was too tired to fight anymore Sith. He walked over to the terminal and gasped to see a heavily armed squadron of Sith Elite Troopers on the next door. He had one chance. He went back to the footlocker and rummaged through it, relieved to find five computer spikes. He quickly ran back to the terminal and hacked into the main system. With his skill with computers, he was hacked into the main functions within a minute. He quickly inserted the spikes to channel the system into the power collector into the next room.

 

He smiled in satisfaction as he saw all the Sith in the room crumple to the ground after a scream. He opened the door and saw the mangled bodies of the dead Sith. He took a look at their remains.

 

There were not too many things. He was able to find a few credits and a pretty good blaster pistol that replaced his other one, but he was surprised to find an Eradu Stealth Unit. He put it on his belt, and put the Stealth generator on the ground.

 

Kale was just about to open the door, until he heard a low chuckle. He turned around, and was horrified to see the Dark Jedi standing in the doorway, lightsaber in hand. Instinctually, Kale dived past the Dark Jedi before he could react, and quickly inserted the repair parts into the droid. There was no system to hack, and there was only very minor damage, thank god. In a few seconds, the droid was working and started to shoot at the Dark Jedi, who was concentrating on deflecting its insane blaster fire.

 

As Kale sneaked behind the Dark Jedi, about to pull the trigger to his neck, the Dark Jedi turned around and slashed at Kale. Kale was able to just jump back in time, although the lightsaber had grazed his right side. He was writhing in pain on the ground, as he saw the Dark Jedi standing over him, having destroyed the droid, and about to strike his lightsaber down.

 

But just as the lightsaber was coming down, the door to the escape pods opened and a man that looked in his forties emerged, wearing an orange jacket and a French beard covering his upper lip to his chin. The Dark Jedi looked and saw the grenade clutched in his hand. The man threw the grenade at the Dark Jedi, who sidestepped it. But the force of the blast send him flying back past the door behind them.

 

The man who had thrown the grenade hurried to Kale’s side and helped him up, and then helped him walk into the escape pod. The man looked in horror to see the Dark Jedi running at them, so he quickly jumped into the escape pod and sealed the capsule with the Dark Jedi only meters away.

 

Kale’s vision was blurred as he desperately fought to remain conscious. The last thing he saw was a blurred image of the man pressing a few buttons, and then seeing the escape pod being launched into space, away from the Endar Spire.

[Diego Varen]

I have to agree that I like to see differences from the game itself and you've done that, giving a prequel feel to this chapter, before the Endar Spire is attacked. Shouldn't the dialogue be split up? Anyway, I'm looking foward to more, but I recommend writing only one Fan Fic at a time, since writing more can be stressful.

[The_Catto]

Differences from the game are always great to see, and this one is no exception.

Amazing work so far.

And i agree with Topsite . . . Writing multiple Fics at a time can really be hazardous to your health, lol.

[ExiledFish]

This is good. I like it

[Lord Spitfire]

Thanks for the comments.

 

This is the next chapter. Chapter Three will be on hold fo rthe moment, as I am trying to finish up the next chapter on my other Fic. Enjoy!

 

Chapter Two: Taris

 

Kale’s mind was in a complete daze. His consciousness was slipping in and out, and he could make out only a few flashes. Being dragged across a dark street was the only thing that he could make out with his eyesight, but from then on, he had been in a deep sleep. There were no dreams. Just a black, haunting feeling, as if his mind was being attacked and tortured.

 

And so, it was a great surprise to the Republic Soldier when his head snapped up one afternoon, sweat dripping all over his face, and his forehead burning.

 

Kale gave a slight groan, followed by a sigh, until he could finally comprehend that they were in a safe place. Then, he could comprehend they were in a room. And after a while of lying down in bed and panting, he was able to comprehend that the soldier standing in front of him was the one who had saved him from the Dark Jedi.

 

“Uh . . . where . . . where are we?” he said in a hoarse voice.

 

“We’re on Taris,” said the man. “This is where we crash landed in our escape pod. Luckily, we landed on the night side of the planet. I was able to drag you into this apartment without being seen. You were extremely close to death, so I was able to salvage a few implants from the escape pod. I used it to keep you alive. I was wondering if you were ever going to wake up.”

 

Kale rubbed his eyes and got up. “So we’re on Taris?” said Kale, still slightly disorientated. “But isn’t this a Sith Planet?”

 

“Yes,” said the man, “but we’ll be safe. The Sith have no information about me, and even those who do, don’t know my face. You will definitely be safe. The Sith will have no idea about a recruited smuggler.”

 

Kale sighed and leaned against the wall. “So you saved my life – for the second time. I have to say, you have my thanks. But I am NOT going to take any chances. The last thing I need is a debt – I barely have enough to keep going.”

 

The man chuckled slightly. “No need to thank me. I’ve never abandoned a soldier before, and I’m not about to start doing so.”

 

Kale simply nodded. After a while of looking out the window, Kale asked, “So what do we do now? We need a way off the planet, with the quarantine, right? But am I still going to get my pay, if we manage to get to the Republic alive?”

 

The man blinked. It seemed like money was the first thing on Kale’s mind. “Hold on a minute. We have a bigger issue to deal with here. Bastila is here, on Taris. She crashed in the Undercity in her escape pod, and we have to find her.”

 

Kale cocked an eyebrow. “Why? Why should I waste my time finding her, when I can get off the planet?” he questioned coldly.

 

The man nearly groaned in frustration. This guy was really difficult. “You know why,” he said impatiently. “Her Battle Meditation is the key to the Republic war effort. If we fail to find her here, the Republic might lose the war!”

 

Kale scoffed. “You know, I could care less about the Republic. They hired me because they needed my skills, and they were tired of chasing me around. I accepted because I wanted credits. I don’t care about the Republic, just my credits, which I STILL don’t have, by the way. Why should I help you?” he said vehemently.

 

The man grunted in anger. “Just look where we are! Do you think you have ANY chance of getting off this rock without help? And would you care for something other than credits for just one second? The fate of the galaxy is at stake, and you’re worrying if you’ll still get paid! Think about it; you NEED me.”

 

Kale frowned for a moment. ‘Well, I do need his help to get off this planet. Plus, he did save my life twice; and I think that I’m worth a little bit.’ “Alright, I’ll help you,” he said finally.

 

The man sighed. “Good. Well, we should search in the Undercity then. But that’s dangerous place. We need to build up supplies first. And the Sith won’t notice a couple of soldiers like us, anyways. We have time.”

 

Kale scoffed. “I can brave whatever petty things the Undercity can throw at me. Oh and, I’m not a soldier, by the way.”

 

The man rolled his eyes. “What should I call you then? A scoundrel?”

 

“Now that I think about it . . . I like the sound of that,” said Kale.

 

The man ignored him. “Then we should get going. Get your boots on. We should start scouting around to try and find a way into the lower city,” proposed the man.

 

“Hold on, now. We’re not doing ANY scouting until I’ve had something to eat. I’ve been in bed for three days!” exclaimed Kale.

 

The man rolled his eyes. “Alright, fine. Let’s head to the Cantina, then. We could also find the latest news there, too. When I’ve been out scouting the past days, I’ve learned the basic background of the planet. The lower city is crowded with gangs, and the Undercity with monsters. I’ve also been able to get a few credits there, too.”

 

Kale simply slipped on his socks, then buckled on his tight boots, dusting the dust off of his windbreaker.

 

Before he left the room, something occurred to him. “Tell me,” he asked, “what is your name?”

 

“Carth Onasi.” Carth then looked at Kale before he opened the door. “What about you?”

 

Kale stood where he was, facing the door, thinking. Finally he said, “You can call me Kale.”

 

Kale breathed out as he opened the door into the apartment complex. As they walked around it, Kale was surprised to see that most of the people there were aliens. When he asked Carth, he had said, “On Taris, most aliens are forbidden to walk the upper city. So, some have come here, hiding in these apartments, stuck here by the quarantine.”

 

But just as they got to the door to the Upper City, Kale stopped.

 

“What is it?” asked Carth.

 

Kale didn’t answer. He simply walked back to the door that they had just passed. He saw the lock, and immediately starting trying to pick it.

 

“What are you doing?” exclaimed Carth. “You can’t just walk into people’s homes like that!”

 

“Oh?” Kale cocked an eyebrow. “Says who? We need the supplies, anyways.”

 

“And now we’re resorting to stealing them?”

 

“Hey, I’m a smuggler. That’s what I do,” said Kale simply as the door opened. Kale saw that the room was empty, and that there was a footlocker in the corner. As he rummaged through the supplies, he managed to pick out fifty credits, and a med pack.

 

As Kale strolled out of the room, Carth was glowering at him. ‘That guy doesn’t have lick of conscience!’ he thought to himself as he followed Kale into the Upper City streets.

 

As they got into the bustling area, Kale inhaled and exhaled deeply, taking in the cold, yet fresh, air. He motioned to Carth. “Lead on from here. I don’t know where the Cantina is.”

 

Carth simply nodded and walked though the main square into a smaller street, past a weapon’s shop, and then onto a road with a door at the end of it, a Sith Guarding the door.

 

The guard merely nodded as they went through the door into the Cantina. As they entered, Kale looked around. It was bustling all around, people laughing and sharing drinks, pazaak tables, a band, and a dueling organization.

 

Kale and Carth took a seat in the central room. As a waiter came to their table, Kale spoke almost immediately. He ordered about three plates of food, which came almost instantly. As Kale began eating like a pig, Carth coughed to get his attention. “Are you going to sit here eating the rest of the day, or are we actually going to get something done?”

 

Kale gulped down his bite. “Hey, I haven’t eaten in three days, remember? So I guess I’m going to be a little bit hungry, no? Besides, we need credits. Play some pazaak,” he said apathetically.

 

Carth rolled his eyes. “Fine then. I’ll get a few credits from pazaak. But what are you going to do once you’re done?” he asked.

 

Kale brushed the brown hair out of his eyes as he took another huge bite. “Well,” he said, nodding to the waiter as she took his food away, “I thought that I’d try myself in the dueling ring.”

 

Carth narrowed his eyes. “Are you crazy?” he said. “You’ll be practically announcing yourself to the public! This could bring the eyes of the Sith, you know.”

 

“Whatever,” said Kale. Carth wasn’t convinced that he’d do what he said, or was even listening, but he went to the pazaak tables nonetheless.

 

Making sure that Carth was gone, Kale ran into the dueling organization. Just as he went in, he saw a man who looked in his mid-thirties limping out the door right next to a hutt, and another man following him, a triumphant glare in his eyes.

 

Kale walked to the injured man. “Did you just fight in the dueling ring?” he asked.

 

The man grunted. Kale suspected his duel hadn’t really gone well.

 

“Well,” said Kale, “I need information on where I can register for these duels.”

 

The man’s eyes lit up immediately. A smile crept on his face. “Finally, fresh meat!” he said with excitement. He pointed to the hutt next to the door. “Go talk to Ajuur, he’ll set up a fight with me for you. But I have to warn you, I won’t go easy on you. I’m the number five-ranked duelist around here, alright! I don’t have time to make rookies feel good that they came close to beating me!”

 

Kale had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. “Number five ranked duelist? Funny, aren’t there only five duelists around here?”

 

The man’s face paled. “Well . . . this is an elite group! The best fighters in this entire continent come here! But enough talking – I’ll enjoy roughening you up, fresh meat!”

 

Kale scoffed as he walked to the hutt, who was counting his credits. [What do you want?] he asked in heavy Huttese. [i don’t have time for this! I have money to count!]

 

Kale rolled his eyes. Typical Hutt. “I want you to set up a fight with me,” he said simply.

 

For the first time, Ajuur looked up. A smile started to work on his slimy face. [A new duelist! Finally! Alright, I’ll set up a fight with Deadeye Duncan for you, a hundred credits if you win. Actually, I can get you in the ring right now – I can reschedule the Ice vs. Marl fight that is in five minutes. So, are you up to it?]

 

“Deadeye Duncan?”

 

Ajuur pointed to the man that Kale had talked to. “Alright,” said Kale, already on his way to the door.

 

* * *

 

Carth frowned as he looked at the pazaak table. He wasn’t in a good position. If he went for a new draw, he risked losing the entire thing if it didn’t land on one. So, he did the orthodox move. “I stand by on nineteen,” he said, leaning back on his chair.

 

He now looked intently at his opponent. His total was fourteen, and he had a plus five as his last card. The question was whether he was going to use it to draw the round, or if he was going to use the random draw twice, hoping it would go on twenty, which would be completely stupid, thought Carth. Shockingly, the opponent did an automatic draw.

 

The result was ten.

 

The opponent sank back in his chair, head in his hands. Carth, on the other hand, gave a sigh of relief. He had one the round 3-2, and had one the match 5 rounds to 3.

 

He nodded as he was handed the hundred credits from the win. But just as he was going back into the main room of the Cantina to look for Kale, he heard someone behind him say, “Look, there’s a new member of the dueling ring!”

 

There was a low murmur as everyone turned to the huge flat screen on the wall. Carth slapped his forehead. ‘That scoundrel!’

 

On the screen was a dueling arena, with a crowd aligned in the stands. And in a corner, there he was. Kale, with his windbreaker and track pants, the gloves covering his hands, and that apathetic brown hair going past his collar and coming down in locks at his eyes. Carth growled.

 

Though, he did notice a Mandalorian in rusted gold armor slowly tilt his head toward the screen. ‘Is he Bendak Starkiller, the famous duelist?’ Carth asked himself.

 

But he turned his attention back at the screen. “Welcome, fans. Today, we have a brand knew addition to our dueling ring! At this corner, with no past, no history, and no name . . . meet the Mysterious Stranger!” said the commentary.

 

A loud cheer broke out amongst the crowd. The people in the pazaak den started to talk amongst each other.

 

“And over in this corner, looking to climb the ranks yet again, is the ever persistent Deadeye Duncan!” There was a much softer cheer amongst the crowd.

 

There was a siren, and Kale immediately got out his Echani Pistol. Duncan quickly drew his vibroblade, but it slipped out of his hand and rolled along the ground to the middle of the ring. As he ran to get it, Kale casually shot one blast to Duncan’s head. Luckily, he got up in time and it hit his stomach instead.

 

As Kale got ready to dive out of the way and start a new attack on him, he just realized that Duncan had fallen unconscious. He looked around the arena in surprise, to find the crowd cheering. Suddenly, a small smile crept on Kale’s face.

 

People in the pazaak room starting clapping and cheering as well as people brought Duncan out on a stretcher. Carth growled as he saw Kale signing the auto prints of fans in the front row. After about five minutes, he went through the door, and the screen turned to a different channel.

 

* * *

 

Kale was greeted with clapping and cheering as he came out the door next to Ajuur and into the duel organization. His smile grew to a grin as he saw the groaning and injured form of Deadeye Duncan in front of him, sitting on a bench, nursing his wounds. He slowly walked to him, then sat next to him on the chair.

 

“Don’t worry,” said Kale in a mocking tone. He was going to have fun with this. “I’ll play easy on you next time so I only slaughter you by a little bit.” He sneered gleefully. Duncan grunted.

 

“Must be embarrassing, going down with a simply stun bolt to the stomach! It’s alright . . . you’re only the worst of the amateurs by a little bit, [cough, cough]”

 

Duncan slapped his cloth to the ground and turned his head to Kale. “Alright, I admit it, you’re better than me! A one-eyed tack with a broken blaster could beat me, okay? Is that what you wanted to hear? Are you happy now that you’ve shred the last piece of dignity that I ever had?” he croaked.

 

Kale laughed out loud. “Yeah, I’m happy . . . for now, at least!” He got up from the couch and Duncan just took his cloth back up.

 

“Slime rat,” he muttered under his breath. Kale scoffed and continued to smile.

 

As he collected the hundred credits from the Ajuur, the head spoke to him. [That was some quick reflexes out there . . . even against Duncan, it was obvious you knew what you were doing and was prepared for everything he could do. I’ll try to set up a fight with you against Gerlon Two-Fingers. But I warn you . . . he’s very good,] proposed the Hutt.

 

Kale scoffed. “Go ahead. I’ll enjoy squishing these pathetic duelists,” he said with arrogance as he turned around, only to find Carth standing there, with his arms crossed.

 

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he exclaimed. He brought his mouth closer so that he could whisper, “You just basically announced ourselves to the public; to the Sith!”

 

“You said it yourself; they couldn’t even know me,” he shrugged casually as he strolled out of the Duel Organization, to be met by clapping in the main Cantina room as he and Carth walked in.

 

He ignored the ovation. “How much did you get?”

 

“A hundred credits,” said Carth, showing him the money.

 

“Me too.”

 

Kale got more claps as he walked into the pazaak room. He was starting to enjoy this. “By the way,” he said softly to Carth, “how are we going to get to the lower city?”

 

Carth frowned. “I don’t know. There’s a guard who won’t let ANYONE in, unless we have the proper security papers. I don’t know how we’re going to get that, though.”

 

Kale yawned as he got a seat. He casually looked at the man who was standing next to him, and made no signs of surprise when he realized it was Bendak Starkiller.

 

“A moment?” asked Bendak curtly. His voice was cold and could send chills up your spine.

 

“Are you talking to me?” said Kale rudely.

 

Bendak laughed slightly. “Perhaps you don’t know that I’m Bendak Starkiller, greatest duelist ever on Taris?”

 

Kale sat in his chair and continued to sip the full drink he had picked from the table. “You don’t look so tough to me.”

 

In a second, Bendak drew his twin vibroblades and brought them at Kale’s throat.

 

Kale smiled. “Okay, NOW you look tough. Tell me, what did you want to speak to me for?”

[ExiledFish]

Another good chapter. Keep Writing.

[Lord Spitfire]

Chapter Three: Gang War

 

Kale slid the door open to Bendak Starkiller’s apartment room. It was quite huge, with a very large center room, with many medals lined across the walls, with a fireplace at the end of the wall, with three sofas spread around. Kale took a seat on one of the sofas, resting his legs on the table disrespectfully (though casually) as he looked out at the Tarisian afternoon in the huge window that took up the entire wall.

 

He looked at Carth and Bendak, who were still standing. “Well, what are you waiting for, Starkiller? This better be worth my time, or Flyboy and I are leaving,” he said in an impatient voice. Both Carth and Bendak blinked at his brave rudeness. Carth simply sat down on another sofa. There would be time to yell at Kale for being rude to a Mandalorian who had killed hundreds later. But for now he simply watched as Bendak took off his helmet, and sat on the other sofa, his armor plating still on.

 

Kale and Carth looked at his face. It was completely pale, almost paper-white. He had short, black hair that was trimmed in a buzz cut. He had a French beard like Carth’s except it was quite thicker and it was whitish-gray, though the color was only made prominent by his pale nose, which had a scar across it. There were other scars. Two ran through his two eyes, almost symmetrical, except for the fact that his left eye was completely white, and Kale thought it as an orb to replace the spot where his eye had popped out. There was another huge scar that started in the spot below his right ear and worked down almost up until his chin. All in all, his looks alone were enough to make any man start shaking. But Kale simply yawned in order to get his attention, while Carth was brought on edge by Bendak’s menacing appearance.

 

Bendak smiled, revealing his teeth – though they could almost pass for fangs. The devilish smile could make a man get light-headed, and that did happen for Carth. But Kale shrugged, waiting for Bendak to continue on. “I see you are not at all intimidated by my looks. Most people are,” said Bendak to a hissing voice that could make someone jump.

 

Kale brushed a few stray brown locks out of his eyes. “I’m not afraid of someone who thinks he is so menacing because of his looks. Now can you please get to the point? Flyboy here might wet himself,” he said, motioning to Carth, who only just realized that he had paled while looking at Bendak. Embarrassed, Carth straightened himself and gathered courage the best he could.

 

Bendak’s smile grew to a grin. “Right to the point. I like that. But of course, I wanted to speak to you about the conversation you and your friend had as you were just about to leave the Cantina. And now I know that you are trying to get into the Lower City. Well, it would normally be very difficult for an off-worlder to get into the lower city. But I’m willing to make a deal; do something for me, tell me why you need to get to the Lower City, and I’ll give you the Sith authorization papers. But first, tell me why you need to get to the Lower City.”

 

Before Carth could even start to weigh out the consequences and decide whether or nor to tell Bendak, Kale jumped right out and said, “We’re Republic Soldiers – well, Carth is, I’m just a rogue – and we’re trying to find a Jedi named Bastila. Her escape pod crash landed in the Under City, and we’re trying to get there,” he said bluntly and with no emotion.

 

Bendak’s grin immediately took a serious expression as he took in everything Kale said. “A Jedi you say? I’ve heard that A Republic Officer named Bastila crashed in the Under City and got captured, but I never knew that she was a Jedi.”

 

“Captured?” Kale’s casual expression turned immediately serious just as Bendak’s did. He leaned forward in his sofa. “Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?” he demanded Bendak curtly.

 

Bendak sighed. “The Black Vulkar Gang found her in the Under City and took her prisoner. They’ll probably sell her off to some slaver, or else hold her for a prize in the big swoop race. But that’s about all I know. And just a little tip from when you get into the Lower City; I suggest you team up with Gadon Thek, leader of the Hidden Beks. They’re at war with the Vulkars,” he suggested.

 

Kale leaned back a little, but now held a piercing glare at Bendak that made even the great Starkiller shift uncomfortably a little bit. “Tell me the terms of the deal. Now,” he ordered Bendak.

 

“You’re very good at interrogation,” Bendak noted seriously, almost as if he were avoiding the question until it could not be rewarded anymore. Or perhaps he was trying to see how angry Kale dared get in the presence of Bendak Starkiller. Bendak himself didn’t even know. He had a strange urge to . . . toy with Kale.

 

“Just spit out the Gaddamn terms!” spat Kale.

 

Bendak sighed. The Rogue was on the brink of going insane. “Okay, here’s what I want you to do. There’s an assassin in the North Avenue apartments. Her name is Selven, and she’s got a hefty price on her head. To put it straight; I want you to kill Selven, and bring me her head, which I will give to the Hutt Zax and collect the bounty. Then I’ll give you the Papers. Deal?” he held out his hand.

 

Without hesitation, Kale shook it.

 

* * *

 

Kale ran his hands through his hand-crafted Derelian Pistol, which he had just upgraded at Kebla Yurt’s Equipment Emporium as he walked down the street, Carth following close behind. They had managed to buy twelve small med packs, which Carth kept in a two inch wide tray inside his jacket pocket. They had also managed to buy an extremely thin – but light - military suit, which Kale buckled on above his polo shirt but under his windbreaker jacket. That was probably the only thing he and Carth had in common, besides from both being human. They both always wore their jacket on top of their armor.

 

Carth felt his armor – a much heavier Battle armor – beneath his orange jacket, but though heavy, the armor was still quite thing, barely changing the shape of his jacket. Besides, the two of them appreciated the heat while in the freezing cold Taris. Though there was no snow, the wind cut to their very bones. Kale wondered how the Tarisians could get used to it!

 

But as they were walking through the streets, they met up with a few drunks on the street. They were making unintelligible slurs, but Kale could make out that they were insulting their clothing and that they shouldn’t be in the upper city. Something along those lines.

 

But as Carth held Kale’s shoulder and said, “Come on, these guys aren’t worth it,” Kale brushed him off and glared at the sheepish drunks.

 

“If you want a fight, you’ve got one,” growled Kale as he twirled his head, brushing a few stray brown locks out of his eyes again. The drunks now babbled completely unintelligibly, and brought out their stun batons.

 

‘Three drunks trying to take me on with electric pencils?’ he laughed inwardly, referring to the name he used for the ‘completely worthless’ stun batons.

 

Since they were only about a meter away, Kale would usually take out his vibroblade, but he wanted to test the new upgrades on his Pistol. Before Carth could interfere, Kale rained upon the drunken men a hail of rapid fire, and they lay dead after only a few shots. One died with three shots to the stomach – or he was almost dead – the other died from a single blaster hit to the pressure point at his neck, and the third one died of two shots to the heart.

 

Carth kicked the ground in frustration as Kale drew his pistol. “Dammit, Scoundrel! Why do you always have to kill them! Why does it always have to end in violence for you?” Carth fumed. He had had enough of this.

 

Kale shrugged as he picked a hundred credits from one of the men’s corpses and slid it in his pocket. “Well, anyone who insults my windbreaker – and my hair – winds up dead,” he chuckled shortly.

 

“I’m damn serious!” spat Carth.

 

Kale frowned. “These people are worthless, spoiled angry, drunks!”

 

Carth rolled his eyes. “And are we so desperate as to fight drunks off the street?”

 

Kale smiled mischievously. “Think of it as ‘cleaning up’ the streets of those bastards.”

 

Kale gave rough cough – almost as if to clear himself of his train of thought - as he straightened himself up, regaining his dominant composure. “Let’s keep going,” he said sternly, and Carth followed.

 

It was not that they had walked about fifty more meters that at the end of the road, they found a bunch of bounty hunters loan sharking an old man for a hundred credits, which he had borrowed from the Crime Lord Davik.

 

“Hold on. It seems we have ourselves a witness, here,” said one of the bounty hunters.

 

[Davik doesn’t like witnesses!] finished another aqualish bounty hunter.

 

“Leave that man alone. He’s not worth the trouble. Nothing would be worth the trouble for a spoiled Crime Boss who sits in his Estate all day, killing people for a hobby. Tell your Davik that I want his head. If you survive me, of course,” said Kale casually, yet impulsively, with a relaxed, apathetic emotion.

 

The bounty hunters took out their vibroblades, and this time, Carth joined in the fight. Kale knew it would be suicide to try and shoot them down at such a close range, so he took out his vibroblade. The tip of the hilt was sticking out of his back, and when he pulled it out, he revealed that its sheath was beneath his windbreaker.

 

He lunged in such a way that he could sort of engage both bounty hunters in melee combat, while Carth could gun them down. Melee was Kale’s worst point, but he was still a pretty skilled swordsman, and was able to quite easily defend the attack of both the bounty hunters before they fell to Carth’s Power Blasts.

 

The old man was still breathing heavily. He finally relaxed and looked at Kale. “You saved my life! But . . . now I can’t pay Davik back!”

 

Kale cocked an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

 

The man sighed. “You already helped me by saving my life. But if you’re willing to help, I need a hundred credits to pay back my loan to Davik,” he said hopefully, abandoning all thought of acknowledging Kale and Carth’s rescue.

 

“You know,” said Kale simply, “you’re pretty stupid for someone so old. Who borrows money from a Crime Lord? I’m not helping you. Go jump in a pit if you don’t want to be tortured to death by Davik, old man. And please don’t talk to me. The way you’re begging for me to give you a hundred credits on top of saving your life sickens me! Now go away, now!” The man blinked as Kale collected the hundred credits from both of the Bounty Hunter’s pockets.

 

It was only when Kale brought his vibroblade at the man’s throat that he ran away into the South Street.

 

He looked at Carth, who rolled his eyes again. “Why do you ALWAYS have to cause SOME suffering in every single situation? Why must you always have to find some evil in everything?” he growled.

 

Kale smiled lightly. “Call it what you want, but stupid people like those don’t deserve ANY sympathy. They are weak!” he snapped in a whispered tone.

 

Kale ignored Carth’s constant babbling until they got to the apartment complex, when Carth finally gave up. Kale smiled lightly in his triumph. Kale barged through every single apartment door they passed, taking just some money in each room – but not completely looting it. “There’s not enough room to carry everything if we steal every last thing in people’s homes,” said Kale, but Carth was beginning to think that this guy had some kind of conscience.

 

Suddenly, they got passed one door, and saw a heavily armed woman, two pistols in her hands, as if she was just planning to go out. She glowered at the two of them. “If you boys want to live, then get out of here, now!” she hissed.

 

“Who are you?” interjected Kale.

 

The woman’s eyes narrowed even more. “I’m Selven, greatest assassin on Taris,” she said coldly. “Now, I’ll give you one more warning; go back to the lower city and find yourselves some clothes so that you can fit in THERE.”

 

Kale sighed. “Oh . . . Selven? THE Selven? I’m . . . I’m sorry, I didn’t mean any trouble, I’ll be going now, just don’t hurt me!” he whimpered.

 

Carth blinked. What was going on? But he simply followed Kale out of the room, who was being closely eyed by Selven. But just as they got to the doorway, and Selven had relaxed a little, Kale whirled around – Derelian Pistol in one hand and Echani blaster in his left – and shot a Power Blast that hit Selven square in the chest.

 

But her extremely heavy armor saved her from the blow – though she was still in shock. Kale quickly drew his blasters, took out his vibroblade, and lunged at Selven, who put on her Arkanian Energy Shield. Selven took out her vibroblade, and the two of them locked in a deadly duel. Kale looked back and saw that Selven had thrown a concussion grenade at Carth while he wasn’t looking, throwing him back and leaving him unconsious. But Kale turned his attention back to Selven, who launched a flurry of heavy strikes on him.

 

He was barely able to keep up. Even with a mortal hit, she was far stronger than he was, and soon he would be finished. Kale started to sweat as he tried his best to block every attack, just being able to not get chopped up. He had to act fast, somehow. But her ruthless attacks left him no time to think. Finally, he blocked one of her attacks with extra force. He had a nanosecond to act. He slashed his vibroblade at her unguarded body.

 

Just before it made contact, she caught it with her hand. Kale was in utter shock as she yanked it from his grip. Kale backed away. Surprisingly, Selven tossed away the vibroblade. Kale took this oppurtinity and threw a right hook at her head. However, she just grasped his fist and twisted it severely, finally releasing it as Kale grabbed his hand in pain. Selven wound up her arm and punched Kale square in the chest, sending him hurling back until he hit the wall. He slowly crumpled to the ground, moaning in pain as he started spitting out blood.

 

Selven smiled. "You were foolish to think you could defeat me. If you beg, I might kill you quickly and not torture you to death," she laughed as she took out a knife.

 

Kale moaned. He had underestimated her. 'It's all over,' he thought to himself. 'The end of my pathetic life.' However, just as he thought that, Carth started limping towards them, his blaster pointed at Selven. Just as she was about to tear open Kale's leg, Carth sent a blast right into her head. The evil smile on her face froze as blood started trickling from the hole in her head. Her lifeless body crumpled to the ground.

 

Carth helped Kale up as they stared at the Assassin's body. "Not so tough are you now, huh?" said Carth with the hint of a smile. "Like you said, you're not soldier."

 

"Shut up," grunted Kale as he sliced her head off, carrying it in his arm as the two of them walked out of the apartment complex.

 

* * *

 

Kale turned off his Stealth Field Generator whiles him and Carth where in the elevator to the lower city. Since the authorization papers Bendak had given had only been for one person, Kale had to go into Stealth.

 

Kale breathed as they got to their destination. He could see his breath as a thin sheet of gray air, slowly wisp away, disappearing into the air. “It’s even colder here than it is in the Upper City!” breathed Kale. Even with his armor on, he was still feeling quite cold, with nothing but his thin armor and a windcheater jacket.

 

The scene had changed completely from the upper city. The walking path that they were on was covered with a roof and walls at the side, and outside the window Kale could see Speeders driving on the Tarisian ground, the huge skyscrapers a distant view. The entire image was industrial, and even the skies seemed to be dark red. And for one of the first times, Kale felt uncomfortable.

 

“Are you all right?” asked Carth, noticing Kale shifting uneasily. He was surprised that Carth was as calm as he was, and he wasn’t.

 

Kale jumped for a moment. “I . . . I don’t know,” he whispered. “It’s almost as if . . . as if I can feel all the poverty and suffering that goes down here, like it’s venting through me . . . I don’t know, but I don’t like it!”

 

Carth frowned. For the first time, Kale looked scared. He couldn’t help but pity him somewhat. Anything that got Kale edgy, they should really watch out for.

 

But just a few meters ahead, they could see two gangs fighting with vibroblades and blasters. After an explosion, some flashes, one group of aliens stood over a group of dead human bodies. Immediately, Kale yanked onto Carth and pulled him into a corner, while activating his Stealth field Generator.

 

The aliens – Kale predicted them to be Vulkar Gang Members – walked past Kale as if there was nothing there, and Carth was too much into the darkness of the corner for them to be seen. Kale took out an Ion Grenade and threw at the bunch only a second before he came out of Stealth. Before they could react, the three Vulkars lay dead. Carth stepped out of the corner as Kale grabbed a short sword from one of their corpses, then tossed it to Carth.

 

“Here, you can use it if an enemy gets too close,” said Kale simply, regaining his demeanor somewhat. Carth shook it and the blade slid into the hilt as he buckled it onto his belt.

 

“Who were they?” he asked.

 

“Members of the Black Vulkar Gang.”

 

Carth nodded simply. A little bit of fear was sparked in him. The Vulkars were the most dangerous group on Taris, almost as much as the Exchange.

 

Knocked out of his thoughts, he found that he had to run to catch up with Kale. They walked through the streets. Occasionally witnessing the odd gang fight, they tried to stay out of the heat of trouble, before they got to the Cantina.

 

Carth continued on, but Kale’s cold voice cut him off. “No, we’re staying at the Cantina for a while. I’m starving!” he rasped.

 

Carth shrugged, but now that the thought came to his find, a gaping hole appeared in his stomach. He had no complaints as they walked through the door.

 

When they were in the pazaak room, before the main room, Kale stopped Carth with a warning. “Now remember, this isn’t the Upper City Cantina. You’d never know when someone could take a shot at ya’. Stay cautious . . .” his voice trailed off ominously.

 

And only seconds later, when they got into the main room, they saw four thugs trying to hold down a wookie. The wookie was already on the ground, and one of the Vulkar Gang members stood up to his head, the other three holding his massive body down. Kale noticed another Black Vulkar holding a blue twi-lek girl on the side.

 

The wookie roared in pain as the Vulkar over him slid his vibroblade in the space in between his outstretched left arm, smiling at the grotesque sound of the blade cutting through the soft flesh. The wookie howled in intense pain as the blade was yanked out of the arm. Blood gushed out of his arm.

 

Kale noticed the twi-lek crying, still held back by the Vulkar. There was a huge circle around the whole scene, the crowd whispering amongst each other.

 

‘Should I help him?’ Kale asked himself as he saw Carth’s desperate look as he looked at Kale helplessly. Kale immediately shook off any compassion that could slow him down. ‘Of course not! He never did anything for me . . . but still . . . he IS hurt, and I don’t believe in slavery . . . and the girl is crying . . . Bah! What the hell!’

 

Without any warning or provocation, he swung his hand around, whirling his vibroblade, which hit the Vulkar standing over the wookie square in the chest. The Rodian Vulkar’s face went pale as he crumpled to the ground.

 

In the meanwhile, Carth took out his short vibroblade and threw it at one of the Vulkar’s holding the wookie down. The Vulkar’s head immediately flew off with contact to the spinning sword, which landed inside the flat plasma screen, blowing it up.

 

The wookie yanked himself up, and clawed one of the Vulkars to a gory and bloody death, while Kale finished off the other one with a single sniper hit to the pressure point on his neck.

 

He whirled around to the girl, and found that Carth had already shot down the Vulkar that had been holding her, and the twi-lek now lay on the ground. Kale stretched out his hand, the twi-lek took it. Once she was up, all she could say was, “Thank you!” in a squeak.

 

The wookie growled as he got himself up, rubbing the spot on his arm that had been cut. Kale looked at the twi-lek coldly. “Take your pet and leave now. You have no use to me anymore,” he hissed.

 

The twi-lek was so surprised that she staggered back. The crowd began to resume their chatting. They were used to this.

 

The twi-lek finally mustered up the courage to somewhat glare at Kale. “Zaalbar is NOT my pet! He’s my friend! And I said thank you for saving me, you could be a little nicer, couldn’t ya?” she snapped.

 

The wookie – Zaalbar – had gotten up fully now. He turned to Kale, who looked at him as he was about to leave, completely ignoring the twi-lek’s words. [You . . . you have saved my life! Stranger, as the custom of my people, I pledge my life to yours; I am pledging myself to a life debt,] he said in a highly cultured Wookie language. It seemed to be more archaic than the normal Wookie that Kale had heard, but he ignored it, turning his attention to Zaalbar again.

 

“I don't believe in slavery,” he said simply.

 

[Please, my master. Let me honor the traditions of my people! Please! I want to prove my loyalty,] he said.

 

Kale grunted. “All right. But once we’re off this planet, you’re freed. I could use your help getting out of here, but I don’t want a walking carpet following me wherever I go, and I don’t like the idea of making a living thing a mindless slave, okay?” he said simply.

 

Zaalbar nodded, honored. But the twi-lek frowned. “You sure about this, Big Z? Sweating a life debt?”

 

Zaalbar nodded. [i would gladly honor the traditions of my people.]

 

“You’re coming with us. We might be able to use your help,” said Kale. But as Zaalbar followed the twi-lek cut them off. “Wait! I’m coming with you too! Wherever Big Z is going, I’m going too. So I guess you have my stuck with you on the way – oh, and I’m Mission, by the way. Mission Vao.”

 

Kale nodded. “The two of you, follow us. We’re trying to rescue a Jedi named Bastila. Do you know anything?” he asked Mission and Zaalbar. Zaalbar simply growled, but Mission spoke up.

 

“Last I heard, she was captured by the Black Vulkars,” she said.

 

“I know that,” said Kale impatiently. “But do you know how I can get the Hidden Beks to help me? I’ll need them to rescue Bastila.”

 

Mission shrugged. “I can show you to the base and help you make a deal with them, but I really don’t know how they’re going to help you; unless you charge into the Vulkar base single-handedly and rescue her THAT way, but that’s impossible.”

 

Kale nodded, taking all of the information in, trying to put together a plan of action. ‘Bendak said that she would probably be the prize for the swoop race,” he thought to himself. ‘So if I could get in the race somehow, and win, I could free her . . . No, no, that wouldn’t work. First I’d have to assume that she would even BE the prize, and then I’d have to assume that the Beks are going to let me race, and then I’d have to assume that I’m going to win. No, the price is to great.’

 

But Kale contemplated the only other option; breaking into the Vulkar base and single-handedly fighting off the most powerful gang on Taris, which sounded even more daunting. So, he picked the best choice.

 

“Uh . . . Kale?” said Carth, waving a hand in front of Kale’s still face. Kale suddenly snapped out of his trance of thought and looked at the three of them.

 

“I’m going to try and win the swoop race for the Beks and win Bastila as my prize,” he said flatly.

 

There was silence, each person in their thoughts. Before anyone could object, Kale added, “I know I’m not even sure that Bastila is going to be the prize, but there’s a ninety percent chance . . . what else will the Vulkars hold up for the prize? And I think that Gadon Thek will let me ride – I’ve been chased by Republic Law Force speeders throughout the streets of Coruscant – so I think I can handle a petty swoop race on some backwater planet, no?” He tried to convince them to agree with him. There was no other way to perform the rescue.

 

Even Zaalbar was in thought. Carth was the first to speak. “I don’t like it, but it looks like we have no other choice.”

 

* * *

 

Kale walked down to the Sith Guard guarding the entrance to the Under City. He had made a deal with Gadon Thek that if he could get back the prototype accelerator from the Vulkar Base, he would be allowed in the swoop race. He would have to go through the Under City, then through the Sewers, through the Black Vulkar base, and from there to the Garages, where the Accelerator would be there. They would then have to take the transport back to the lower City, though still in Vulkar Territory, and fight their way to the Hidden Bek Base. It was daunting, to say the least.

 

‘Well, at least we know that Bastila is the prize for the swoop race and they’re going to let me race for them,’ Kale tried to cheer himself – no, trying to look at the whole picture, and figure out what was necessary to get his goal.

 

The Sith Guard let the four of them to them into the Under City, and it was even MORE cold there, so cold that Kale was constantly shivering.

 

The outcasts there ignored them. They had petty rags on their backs and sat in the mud, the huge roof covering them, almost like capturing the depression from spreading, but only making in thicker in there.

 

Not only that, but as they walked through the dark pits of the Outcast village, the rotting roof above them, and the poverty, death, and sickness all around him. As he saw the depressed faces of the Under City, it was almost as if he could feel their problems . . . and he fell to his knees, and suddenly he found himself screaming. The suffering – the sudden wave of death caught him off guard, and he was getting light headed.

 

His control over his consciousness was fading, and the last thing he saw was the murmur of his companions as he fainted.

[Empress Padme]

It's a nice version of the game ,yet making it your own with the added dialogue.Nice

[Lord Spitfire]

Well, it's been almost a year snice I've even been on this forum, but might as well continue my story.

 

 

Chapter Four: Excess of Sewage

 

Kale felt the splash of water on his face. His body jerked with the sudden cold, and he coughed, finally opening his eyes. The first thing he saw was Carth's face looking over him. He blinked, getting to his senses as he sprang up. "What happened?" he croaked weakly.

 

Carth Hesitated. "Well, you just fell over as we entered the Undercity. I don't know how, you just fell over." He then fell silent. Kale turned over to see a worried Mission and a silent Zalbaar. "We thenn took you over to this corner and splashed some sewer water on you to wake you up."

 

Kale coughed spat out the water in his mouth. He sprung to his feet and shook his head. "Well?" he spat at his companions, "let's get to the sewers!" Suddenly the three of them jumped up, surprised at his sudden hostility. In truth, Kale himself was extremely shaken. 'How did this happen?' he thought to himself before shaking the incident out of his mind.

 

He took some time to scan his surroundings. It was truly a pathetic scene - the dirt, the suffering, everything.

 

They advanced on through the village until they reached the gate. Kale could make out white, slime beasts crawling beyond - rakghouls.

 

"Do not open the gate!" yelled the gatekeeper so loudly he mad Kale jump. "We'll all die!"

 

Kale scoffed. "I'm sorry sir, but I need to get past this gate." H ereached for the lever, but the gatekeeper grabbed Kale's hand. Kale glared at the Gatekeeper. "Let go of me, now," he said menacingly. The gatekeeper shook his head. "I don't want to hurt," Kale said again, "but if you don't open the gate than I will!"

 

"If you do open the gate, then we'll all die!" yelled the gatekeeper exasperatedly.

 

KAle hesitated for a second, then grabbed the Gatekeeper's arm, twisted it so that his back was to Kale, and then he kicked him to the ground. Kale turned and pulled the lever.

 

Suddenly, the Rakghouls swarmed in, four of them, and as that happened Kale grabbed Mission with his right hand and Carth with his left and pinned them both to the ground with him. The Rakghouls jumped over the three of them. Before anyone knew what was going on, Kale pulled them both up, and while still holding on to them he jumped over on the other side, where Zalbaar was already there.

 

Kale jumped up and pulled the outside lever, closing the gate and trapping the Rakghouls inside. He sighed and sat against the wall.

 

Mission and Carth were in complete shock, and as was Zalbaar. Kale was the first one to get up, looking at the other three. "Come on," he said, "there'll be more of them coming."

 

Carth stood up, glaring at Kale. "Why did you do that?"

 

"We had no choice! They would have killed us if we'd have fought!" But before Carth could utter an arguement, Kale swiftly took out his Echani blaster and shot a laser which missed Carth's head by just inches. There was a crumpling noise, and carth whirled around to see a dead Rakghoul on the ground behind him.

 

"Well," said Kale as Carth turned back to him, "let's keep moving." Kale walked ahead. Carth glared at him, but followed, along with Mission and Zalbaar.

 

***

 

"Home sweet home!" said Mission as they descended down into the sewers. Kale was coughing at the stench.

 

He motioned to Mission. "Lead the way," he said.

 

And so they made their way through the tunnels, the putrid stench hanging heavily in the cold, damp air. Kale was surprised at how well Mission could navigate through these sewers - it was as if she knew them as well as the back of her hand.

 

After travelling through the tunnels, Mission stopped behind a door. "What is it?" asked Kale.

 

"There's a rancor behind this door," said Mission matter-of-factly, though anyone could tell she was trying to conceal her fear.

 

"What?" exclaimed Carth, and Kale was equally in shock, "How come you never told us?"

 

Mission was taken back. "I-I thought that you wouldn't go ahead with it if you knew about the rancor." She looked more scared of her companions at the moment than the rancor itself.

 

As Kale stepped back, he stepped on something soft. Looking down, he realized that it was actually a severed arm. He reached down and found out that there was something clutched in its hand. Taking it from its fingers, Kale stood up, examining it in his hand.

 

"What is it?" asked Carth. Kale didn't reply, he simply looked towards the door and opened it. Before any of his companions could stop him, he disentigrated into stealth and ran into the room, stopping a pile of boddies behind the rancor, placing the object he had found and a frag grenade in the pile.

 

And then he ran as fast as he could.

[Lord Spitfire]

After a long time, I've decided t ogo back on this forum and restart this fanfic. The next chapter should be up in a bit, as long as I know at least one person is gonna read it.

[Lord Spitfire]

It would be good if people replied to this story. The whole reason I'm writing this is for people to read it.

 

Well . . . Enjoy!

 

 

Chapter 5: The First Infiltration

 

"What the hell did you just do?" spluttered Carth. Kale responded with a small smile.

 

"It was an odor," he whispered as he gazed at the charging rancor. "I put a frag grenade in it. Once the beast swallows it up, it'll explode from the inside."

 

The sewers stunk already. The fumes were filled with the thunk, suffocatting stink of death and decay. The internal organs of a rancor splattered across the area would not help much. "Hold your nose," whispered Kale.

 

The rancor was charging toward the pile of corpses. He stopped. He bent down, about to devour the meat in which the odor and frag grenade was hidden. However, he did something that would change the entire plan. The rancor shifted around to try and take the other side of the corpse, and as a result, he stepped on it.

 

The rancor roared as the frag grenaded exploded on his foot, mutilating his left leg.

 

"****!" muttered Kale under his breath. He turned to his companions, an exassperrated look on his face. "Run!" he bellowed. The four of them sprinted through the large empty space in which the Rancor resided. The door to the vulkar base was at the end of the hall.

 

Kale might not have had Carth's strength or dexderity in battle, but he was quick. He could always rely on his speed and agility. Thus, as Mission, Zaalbar, and Carth, ran off towards the door, Kale broke away into the pile of bodies. Swiftly rummaging through it, he found a little bit of the odor left in the pile. He quickly grabbed it and ran off towards the door.

 

Carth looked back to see the massive beast limping towards Kale, who was sprinting in their direction. Why the hell did he have the odor in his hand? Carth was sure he was signing a death wish.

 

Kale finally caught up to them, with the rancor close behind. "Open the door!" he yelled. Without hesitating, Mission punched in the code, opening the door. However, as they ran in, they saw five heavily armoured Vulkar guards guarding the entrance to the base. They raised their weapons, and Kale smiled mischievously. He quickly ran into the hall, and all five guards ran after him, as his three companions had thrown themselves against the wall, diverting the attention from them.

 

Kale stopped right before the entrace into the hall as he saw the rancor waiting outside. He turned towards the Vulkars. The Vulkars hesitated as Kale started running towards them, then took the opportunity and raised their weapons. However, Kale quickly turned on his stealth generator.

 

The Vulkars stopped in their tracks. looking around in confusion. Kale slowly tossed the odor into the hall. The Vulkars, knowing that Kale was holding it, ran into the hall, thinking that Kale was still holding the odor, only to findd empty air as they converged upon it. Before they even had time to comprehend what had happened, the rancor blocked their path towards the door. They turned aorund to see Kale turn off his Stealth generator, standing safely behind the door with a small smile on his face.

 

He then watched the Rancor rip the hopeless Vulkars into pieces, one by one as they ran hopelessly in disarray. Kale tossed a mine right in front of the door as this was happening, and noticed one of the Vulkars had managed to get away from the rancor and was running towards him.

 

He was then blown to smithereens.

 

Kale chuckled as he turned to his shell-shocked party members. He shrugged. "It's all about thinking fast," he said nonchalantly as he walked towards the entrance. "I knew there were going to be guards in there, so I took some odor with me so that I could somehow draw them out and lead them to be eaten alive." He stopped at the entrance and turned to Mission, gesturing towards the panel on the right.

 

Mission nodded and entered in the code as they walked into the hallway.

 

"O - Okay," started Mission, still a bit shaken from seeing five people ripped to pieces, mutilated, and eaten alive. "The next door leads to the main hall. There are usually about three or four guards patrolling the area, but they shouldn't be much trouble for you boys. Once you take care of them, you can get some stuff from the armory."

 

Kale nodded simply. "And from there?"

 

Mission continued, "Well, to get to the garage, which is where the prototype accelerator will be, we'll need to get past three turrets. This will be a bit tricky. You'll need to get the codes to shut them down. From there, I've never been to the garage, so that's all I can say."

 

Kale nodded. "I guess you weren't completely useless," he said reluctantly. As he walked down the hall, Carth saw the slightly indignant look on Mission's face.

 

"That's a huge compliment for him," he whispered in her ear.

 

Kale gestured towards his party. "Alright Carth, you're the soldier here, so tell us the plan." His usual sarcasm was now replaced by seriousness.

 

Carth nodded. "Alright, so Mission, I think you should stay back with you pistol. You can cover us," he started. Mission looked as if she was about to say something, but Carth cut her off. "One of us has to do it, and no offence, but it should be the one least experienced in combat." He ignored his indignance, his gaze shifting to Zaalbar. "You and I will be the melee attack. We'll take our vibroswords and fight the Vulkars straight up." Zaalbar nodded.

 

He then turned to Kale. "Use you blasters to help us bring them down. Throw a grenade when necessary, and if the Wookie and I are overwhelmed, take our vibrosword and give us a hand," he said in a voice different than his usual one. Kale noticed a charisma about Carth now that he had not noticed before. He wasn't used to taking orders, but he realized that the person with the most combat experience would have to lead this mission.

 

Carth and Zalbaar went ahead and opened the door. Kale scanned the area. It was a large area with a sort of bunker in the middle. It was drab and dull, with an eerie silence about it. Kale turned on his stealth generator, and as did Mission.

 

The four of them slowly walked into the room. They could hear a set of three footsteps. They all turned towards the bunker. Out of the left side emerged three Black Vulkars.

 

At first, they were shocked to see Carth and Zaalbar. Kale took this oppurtunity and used his Derelian pistol to snipe one of them in the head with a silent laser. As soon as they could comprehend the situation, the other two brought their weapons up, but Carth and Zaalbar were already on them, and before the Vulkars could take out their melee weapons, their slashed, lifeless bodies fell limp to the floor.

 

Kale wordlessly opened the door to the small bunker and found an array of weapons and armor. Carth and Zaalbar dumped the bodies into the room as Kale looked at anything they could use. Carth took sixteen medpacs and passed them four each.

 

"These aren't normal medpacs," inquired Mission.

 

Carth nodded. "These are combat medpacs. You don't get a doctor to slowly give you an injection. If you're badly hurt, just stab yourself with one of these in a large muscle, preferably your thigh," he explained. Mission nervously eyed the medpac. She obviously didn't like the idea of stabbing yourself in the thigh in order to stop the pain. Nevertheless, she strapped them onto her belt.

 

Kale and Carth took some grenades and upgraded their vibroblades. "Ready," said Kale. The three of them nodded, and they moved on, better equipped.

 

They then walked into the cooking areas, making short work of the cooks and defence droids. Moving throughout the base silently, they took care of the odd Black Vulkar on their way with ease, hacking into computers and overloading terminals along the way, slowly sabotaging the Vulkar base.

 

In one room, however, they found a slave. She was pleading for them not to kill her. Kale walked up to her, grabbed her by the shirt, and pinned her the wall. Mission was taken back at his hostility, and Carth moved forward to stop him. "What are you doing?" he demanded.

 

Kale ignored him, his menacing gaze focused on the poor girl. "Where is the main terminal?" he said in a soft yet threatening voice.

 

"I . . . I . . . you . . . just go down this next hallway, and walk into a room. It's . . . it's heavily guarded, but the terminal's in there," he stuttered. She began to sob as Kale held her throat. "Please . . . please let me go, I'm just a slave!"

 

Kale shook his head. "And a slave helps the master. If I let you go, you're not going to make it to the Lower City, and you'll make the Vulkars outside know were in their base." He pushed his fingers in on her throat. "Sorry," he said simply, "you don't get to live."

 

Tears rolled down the slave's face as she started turning blue. He then threw her against the ground. "I've changed my mind," he said simply. "But I'm gonna make sure you can't get attention by screaming, or you can't alert anyone by running away.

 

"No!" yelled Carth. Mission looked sick, as if she was about to throw up, but Zaalbar stood motionless, in complete docility to his master.

 

Kale took some tape on the table and covered her mouth completely so that she could only breathe through her nose. He then took out his vibroblade . . .

 

Carth ran forward to stop him, but Zaalbar held him back. Carth had a bad feeling the pit of his stomach that Kale was going to cause her some unimaginable pain.

 

But just as he was about to bring the vibroblade down, he stopped. He closed his eyes, letting the anger and rage he suddenly realized was controlling him slowly cool down. He looked down at the whimpering woman. He made a small slash across her thigh, giving her a bleeding gash as she grunted in pain.

 

"You'll be fine," he said simply as he put back his vibroblade. "But you won't be able to run out of here fast enough. By the time your leg heals, everyone here will be dead, and it won't matter if you leave." His voice was suddenly calm as he walked into the hallway. Carth pulled at his shoulder, stopping him.

 

"What the hell was that?" he spluttered. "It seemed to me as if you were about to rip her legs off. Then, you just suddenly calmed down. What is it with you?"

 

Kale turned around and Carth was shocked to see that his face was pale. A jint of fear was on his face. He quickly shook it off. "I was never really going to kill her," he lied, "just wanted to have some fun scaring her." Kale was still in shock. He didn't know what gave him the urge to cause the woman pain, but he didn't like it. Throughout his smuggling life, he had one rule for himself; unless it is totally necassary, never kill an innocent civillian.

 

He knew he had suddenly gotten a rage boiling within him, and he didn't like it. He shook it off and stopped at the next room, turning to his companions. "Okay, let's back into formation. This room is heavily guarded, so be ready." The three of them nodded as Kale walked back and went into stealth.

 

Carth opened the door, and the first sight that greeted them was six heavily armed Vulkars. Kale swore under his breath as he launched a plasma grenade into the middle of them. It detonated on impact, instantly killing three of them and sending the other four against the ground. As Carth and Zaalbar charged, Kale sent a barage of blaster fire, taking out two of them. He then moved forward to see that Zaalbar had made quick work of one of them and was helping Carth take down the other.

 

However, just as he died, five more heavily guarded Vulkars emerged. Kale threw a grenade, killing one of them, and quickly drew his vibrobalde and charged into the fray. What followed was an intense three vs four melee duel. Kale and Carth feinted, dodged, and ducked through the area, constantly catching their opponents off guard while Zaalbar valiantly fought off two Vulkars at once. Mission stayed tentatively in the back, not wanting to shoot one of her companions. Finally, Kale and Carth and defeated their two Vulkars, and swiftly moved twoards Zaalbar, helping him kill his. Within minutes the battle was over.

 

Kale was breathing heavily. He had a bad gash in his thigh, where he quickly injected a medpac, as with Carth and Zaalbar. Kale limped towards the terminal, deactivating the turrets. He looked towards his party.

 

"No point standing here. Carth, lead the way."

[SynysterGates]

Ah...so your an A7x lover too, huh?

 

btw this is a really good fanfic, it's nice to see how you have imaginatively changed the story of the game. A male scoundrel is also a much harder way to progress through the game so congratulations on that! There are a few grammatical errors here and there and some typos as well in your tale, and isn't dialogue supposed to be in individual lines for each speaker? I like your conflicting character design and it fits well with a scoundrel's background too. You have good description and great use of language. Keep it up!

 

P.S. Waiting for the new chapter, so post soon, and let there always be godly rock in this pop generation world!

[machievelli]

read