Before - Legends The Blue Side of the Force: Book I- Complements (6/14 -An unknown planet and an ACTUAL NEW CHAPTER)

Title: The Blue Side of the Force: Book I- Complements
Author: DWH
Characters: The usual KOTOR crew, OCs
Genre: A little bit of everything, I reckon.
Timeframe: Knights of the Old Republic
Summary: The story of Knights of the Old Republic, from the eyes of a barefoot, rather hippified Jedi.
Notes: Rewrite of Complementary Colours, consoldiating the Taris experience into a prologue. The interesting part of the story doesn't start until after Taris, anyway.

Awards: Best Action, Best Female OC (Leiraya Moran) - Winter 2006

Okay, a few of you might've noticed I stopped updating The Blue Side of the Force and Complementary Colours. This is because I've been restructuring, and this is the result. Well, some of it. The first Blue Side thread will just be edited slightly, unless I make bigger changes. But Complementary Colours required a complete scrapping of the beginning (it may end up being short story fodder later, but it's really not that important to the overall story). So, yeah... new beginning, and stuff.

PMs are available upon request- just post saying you'd like to be added, and I'll happily keep you in the updating loop. Similarly, if at any time you wish to stop receiving PMs, just let me know and I'll remove you.

PM list of d00m
RK_Striker_JK_5
padawanlissa
kotorchick
obi_webb
oqidaun
JadeSolo
princess_of_naboo
Lovely-in-Orange
jedi_of_ennth
Handmaiden_Azul
Rogue_Pilot_2347
emerald54
dark_jedi_lover
Entropist
Corellian_Ale
SoA
East_Coast_Ryder



Dramatis Personae:

The Good Guys:

Aiden Star- Human male from Deralia, Republic soldier, Jedi
Leiraya Moran- Human female from Corellia, Jedi
Carth Onasi- Human male from Telos, Republic soldier
Bastila Shan- Human female of Dantooine, Jedi
Mission Vao- Twi'lek female of Taris
Zaalbar- Wookiee male from Kashyyyk
T3-M4- astromech 'droid
Canderous Ordo- Mandalorian male
Juhani- Cathar female of Taris, Jedi
Jolee Bindo- Human male, Jedi
HK-47- assassination 'droid

The Bad Guys:

Darth Malak- Human male, Sith
Darth Bandon- Human male, Sith Apprentice
Calo Nord- Human male, bounty hunter
Saul Karath- Human male, Admiral of the Sith Fleet
Dead Sith #3- Human male, favourite character of the BioWare KOTOR boards

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Prologue
Taris.
It seemed like a somewhat odd place for anything extreme to happen. An immaculately kept city that stretched to the edges of vision, and spotless citizens walking the streets. On the surface, at least, it seemed like a rather innocuous place. Oh, some might tell of the swoop gang wars taking place in the lower city, or the Rakghoul infestation of the undercity, but no self-respecting person would tread below the surface anyway. Such problems were, quite literally, beneath them. The inhabitants of the world were content to ignore such problems, and ignore the rest of the galaxy.



A shame, then, that the rest of the galaxy was not interested in ignoring them.


It all started with the attack on the Endar Spire, a Republic ship carrying a party of Jedi. Most notable of these was the young Padawan Bastila Shan. Despite her young age and relative inexperience, she was considered to be the key to the Republic war effort. This largely had to do with her rare ability of Battle Meditation- the power to strengthen the wills of her allies, and sap the fighting spirit from her enemies. Quite often, that was all it took to turn the tide of the battle, and the Republic and the Republic used her wherever they could.


The Sith, of course, were not about to let this pass unnoticed.


Darth Malak, the leader of the Sith since his betrayal of his master Revan, had never been known for his subtlety. Even in the Mandalorian Wars, before he and Revan had turned to the dark side, his brute-force tactics had given many pause. Of course, Of course, as the galaxy was getting smashed flat by the Mandalorians, there were few objections. It was Revan, however, that really won the war for them. His tactical genius turned the tide of the war, ultimately forcing the Mandalorians to their defeat at Malachor V.


Something happened, though. After the war, Revan and Malak went to search the Unknown Regions, with the apparent intent of tracking down the remaining Mandalorian clans. Out there, they found something. No one knows what. But when they came back, they were no longer Jedi. They had claimed the mantle of the Sith Lords, and taken half the Republic fleet with them.


And so the Republic found itself once more at war, this time weakened and with half its forces gone. Even worse, the Sith seemed to have unlimited resources for the manufacturing of their ships. No shipyards were located; no explanation could be given. They were, however, impossible to ignore.


Malak intended to keep it that way, and he would ruthlessly exterminate any opposition to his advance. Bastila was merely the newest challenge, and he intended to have her either captured to turn to the dark side of the Force, or killed.


The attack on the Endar Spire could be seen as successful by some, given that the ship was destroyed with almost no survivors. However, the few survivors there were could reclassify the attack as an utter failure.


First, there was Bastila herself. She managed to find her way to an escape pod before the ship was destroyed, crashing in the undercity. The situation only went downhill from there, for the Black Vulkars, a ruthless swoop gang, captured her. She was packed away to be put up as a prize in the next swoop racing championship.


Second, there was Carth Onasi. One of the Republic’s best pilots, and with a keen sense for finding the appropriate things to get the job done. Some might describe him as distant, distrustful, or standoffish, and they would probably be right. On the surface, anyway. But just as the immaculate surface of Taris concealed a much more unsavory world, the rough exterior of Carth concealed a kindhearted person long forgotten. He was, however, loyal to a fault, and could be entrusted to finish any mission given to him, no matter what the cost.


Third, and perhaps most importantly, there was Aiden Star. A rising star in the Republic military, he was quick-witted and good with his vibroblades. An experienced oceanic safety officer with the Deralian Watchmen, he was certainly most comfortable around the water, but he had learned to deal with many different environments. Focused and dedicated, he tackled problems presented to him with great enthusiasm. He was, however, more softhearted than the average soldier. He was never too busy to stop and help someone else in need, but he never let it distract him from what he was doing.


It was the task of Carth and Aiden to find and rescue Bastila, something they were less than sure they could do. However, they were likely the two most dedicated soldiers in the Republic military, so perhaps their chances were greater than the average, even though the planet was under quarantine, enforced by the ruthless Sith. In any case, they set themselves to their investigations, bargaining and wheedling information from the natives and Sith alike. Their search led them through all the levels of Taris, allying themselves with the Hidden Beks. The Beks were a swoop gang, but with considerably more honour than the Vulkars. They were also the only way either Aiden or Carth could enter the swoop championship in an effort to “win” Bastila. Of course, they had to steal back a prototype engine from the Vulkars to be able to do it, but traipsing through the sewers did not seem so onerous, if it were for the greater good.


Leading them on the search for the prototype engine was Mission Vao, a young, blue-skinned Twi’lek street urchin. Her help was given in exchange for helping find her best friend, a Wookiee named Zaalbar. He was held in the same sewers that led to the Vulkar base, and it was a fairly simple matter to fight through the Gammoreans and Rakghouls that they would have had to fight through anyway to rescue Zaalbar before they headed in.


The accelerator was retrieved, with no small amount of effort, and returned to the Beks promptly. And none too soon, either, as the swoop racing championships were the following day. It was decided that Aiden would ride the bike with the prototype accelerator, under the flag of the Beks. It was not, perhaps, the safest modification ever made to a swoop bike, but as his usual sense of duty dictated, he would do whatever it took to ensure Bastila’s return.
Sure enough, Aiden won the day at the swoop race. The prototype engine accelerator did not explode, and Aiden was brought to the winner’s circle. Even though Brejik, the leader of the Black Vulkars, accused him of cheating (a ludicrous claim, given that had Aiden not retrieved the stolen upgrade, the Vulkars would have used it themselves), he still managed to win the day.


Well, with Bastila’s help, anyway.


She was able to break out of her cage in time to help him defeat the Vulkar opposition, and though she was initially disinclined to follow him, she eventually realised he was a Republic soldier, a crewman from the Spire, trying to rescue her. She was far from gracious, but was willing to go back to the hideout where Carth was waiting for them. It was then they discovered that Aiden had some sort of strange bond with Bastila, and had the potential to be Force sensitive.


After conferring together, they decided to head out and try to find a ship to escape the planet. As usual, they did not know exactly what they were looking for, but lack of knowledge is such a small impediment for a determined individual. Canderous Ordo, a Mandalorian mercenary in the employ of Davik Kang, local Exchange crime lord, tracked them down and recruited their services. He needed help in order to steal Davik’s ship, the Ebon Hawk, and he figured anyone crazy enough to win the swoop race in the lower city was good enough to help him.
This sent them on an adventure into the Sith Military base, with the help of a T3 astromech ‘droid. T3-M4 had been built for Davik, but Canderous had the authority to pick him up, and thus he sent the little ‘droid along with Aiden and Bastila into the base. After fighting their way through the many defenses, they finally found themselves facing off against a Sith Governor who nearly took them all down. It was only the resourcefulness of T3 that finally neutralized the Governor so that they could retrieve the launch codes to get past the blockade.


Satisfied with their results, Canderous took them into Davik’s estate, under the false premise that they were mercenaries looking for work with the Exchange. It was there that they needed to find the codes to deactivate the shields to the Ebon Hawk.


In the meantime, one barefooted Jedi from Corellia had been thrown into a force cage elsewhere in the estate for hacking the databases that held those very codes.


It was now up to Aiden, Bastila, and Canderous to find her. From that point forth, nothing would be the same.

 

Well bless my curcuits, another KOTOR story, wonderful.

Even if it is ressurected, it's still wonderful.

Can't wait for another re-update Commander-DWH ( Salutes )

 

Wow, nice setup! Is the bit about Malak and Revan from the KOTOR game? I don't know anything about it.

Dead Sith #3- Human male, favourite character of the BioWare KOTOR boards

I can't wait for this guy to show up.

 

I'm so glad you are working on this again! I read the original threads of both a while back, but it looked like had stopped working on them. I'm looking foward to seeing more of this being written.

 

Aiden_Sanic: *salutes back* Here's to KOTOR stories! May they spread like gizka.

JadeSolo: Thanks! And this is, in fact, going to end up being the story of KOTOR, but with some extra characters thrown in, and from a slightly different perspective.

And Dead Sith #3 is quite the character, just you wait...

Iryla: Thank you! I hope you will enjoy what I come up with, but I have no plans of abandoning this any time soon, so expect more. Hopefully soon, I still need to hear back from my beta.

 

Woo, updateage! I'm off to Canada in the morning, and this just recieved my beta's stamp of approval, so on with the new stuff! (Actually, it may look slightly familiar, it's a revised version of an old OC Dueling circle piece, but hey, it's part of the story).

Chapter One
Leiraya Moran sat alone in her force cage.

Not that this was a new state of being, as Davik’s thugs had rather ingloriously tossed her in there a few days ago, and nobody showed any signs of letting her out. Or letting her sleep. Or really letting her eat, for that matter. She didn’t really think her daily bottle of water counted as eating, but at least she wasn’t dehydrated. Yet.

Of course, she thought, I really only have myself to blame. Step number one to toughing it out: admit responsibility. It was true that, had she remembered to perform all the security checks when she was hacking into Davik’s system, she never would have been caught. It was a novice mistake, and she was paying for it. I at least got the codes… for all the good they’re doing me.

She sighed and tried to make herself more comfortable. It was a nearly impossible venture, as force cages weren’t designed for comfort. Her frustration, however, was curbed by a distraction.

The door was opening.

She quickly stood and straightened the icy green skirt that hung in voluminous folds to just below her knees, and brushed the dust from her fitted, sleeveless navy top and matching gauntlets. If it was another set of guards, she did not need to look as miserable as she felt.

Three people entered. One of them she recognized- Canderous Ordo, Davik’s top man. It was odd, however, to see him with, well… anyone. Canderous, she had heard, was a loner. Too good to work with anyone else, or maybe the Mandalorian considered himself more honourable than the typical mercenary scum. His companions, however, were completely unfamiliar to her. There was one male, about six feet tall, she guessed. Dark hair, fair skin, overall decent looking. The female was shorter, also with dark hair, creamy skin, and brilliant blue eyes, and carried a lightsaber.

Ah. Jedi.

This was going to go over wonderfully.

It wasn’t that Leiraya didn’t like the Jedi. In fact, she was one of their Order, strictly speaking. It was more of a case of the majority of the Order disapproving of her particular branch of it. This disapproval could range anywhere from the shaking of heads to the outright disowning of her kind. She had no idea which school this one belonged to, yet, but things could get interesting.

Not seeing any point to continue with the staring competition, Leiraya spoke. “So, who are you, and what brings you to my humble abode?”

The male spoke first. “My name is Aiden Star… and we were told that you could give us the codes to the shields to the Ebon Hawk.”

“Well, you sure jump straight to the point in a conversation. My name is Leiraya Moran, and I do, in fact, have the codes.” She crossed her arms. “But you’re going to have to take me with you if you want them.”

The Jedi frowned. “Why is that? Can’t you just give them to us, while we let you free?”

“Are you kidding me? I want off this planet. Davik will have all his thugs after me regardless, and I’d like to get some space between me and him.” She smirked. “Besides, I don’t have them written down, only memorized.”

During this exchange, Aiden had taken the liberty of shutting down the force cage. “Now, I don’t see any particular problem with bringing her along…”

The Jedi’s eyes narrowed. “We do not need to have even more people tagging along, and I do not think-“

“You do not think what?” Leiraya’s eyes narrowed, mirroring her expression. “That I’m trustworthy? That I’m worth the time?”

“Listen here, you…” the Jedi’s hand dropped to her lightsaber, but Leiraya was faster. Quick as a flash, the lightsaber was in her hand.

“You know, people keep waving weapons around and expecting everyone else to comply.” Leiraya looked over the weapon. “Nice construction and all, but do you really have to shove it in peoples’ faces?”

“A Jedi does not shove a lightsaber in anyone’s face. Besides, sometimes it is necessary to defend oneself.”

“Necessary? I’m unarmed here, and you’re talking about defending yourself?” Leiraya crossed her arms. “Somehow, I’m not buying your argument.

“I do not need you to ‘buy’ my argument, and even so, anyone with hands and feet is armed.” Bastila looked dangerously close to using those weapons on Leiraya. Leiraya, on the other hand, looked as though she was gearing up for a lengthy debate, in spite of the fact that she was well aware that there was no time for arguing.

“Uhh… ladies?” Aiden’s voice reminded them of where they were. They both turned to glare at him, and he had to consciously keep himself from taking a step backward. “Can we finish this later?”

The Jedi spoke first, keeping her tone neutral. “I expect that would be for the best. We really should move on.”

Aiden, noting the continued resentful glares between the women, quickly responded. “Yes, yes we should.” He turned on his heel and walked out the door, looking distinctly like he was trying not to look uncomfortable.

Annoyed counterarguments and insults continued to form in Leiraya’s mind, screaming to be let out. However, the Jedi was correct in one respect- the sooner they left, the better. She could sense that something bad was brewing on the horizon, and sticking around would not be beneficial for anyone. Reluctantly, she handed the lightsaber back to the Jedi, who snatched it back rather ungraciously and followed directly behind Aiden and Canderous.

Shaking her head, Leiraya followed the trio out of her prison. That Aiden person, at least, seemed to be all right. Sprinting down the hall towards the hangar, she started to notice the building was shaking.

Shaking buildings were never a good sign.

Aiden had cracked into a security terminal, and was fiddling with something. “Got it,” he announced with a degree of satisfaction. “Now let’s get to that ship before this building decides it wants to do more than shake.”

They ran into the hangar, but were stopped short by the sight of Calo Nord with Davik in his bright purple armour. Leiraya briefly wondered which fashion diva had designed it for him, but such thoughts were interrupted by the exchange between him and Aiden. Of course, getting out of here isn’t going to be that easy.

Next thing she knew, Aiden thrust a few grenades at her. “Here, throw these.”

“But-“ she started to protest. She didn’t suppose it was the best time to bring up the fact that she was a pacifist. Besides, the hangar was starting to fall apart around them, and living long enough to make it to the Hawk would be preferable. She shook her head and stared at the grenades blankly for a moment, not quite sure what to do with them. Fortunately, she was spared making that decision as Davik was shot down. Calo Nord, on the other hand, was not about to be taken down so quickly. He whipped out a thermal detonator and yelled something only half-coherent about taking everyone with him.

“Quick, run!” Aiden shouted and motioned for them to sprint as far away as possible. Nobody argued, and Calo let off the detonator. At least, he would have, had the ceiling not chosen that particular moment to fall on him. Crushed beneath durasteel girders, he was effectively dead. Seeing that nobody was a threat any longer, except for perhaps the orbital fleet that appeared to be blasting the planet to shreds, if what was happening to Davik’s estate was any indication, Aiden ran to the ship.

Leiraya was close behind, and she sprinted to the small terminal next to the ship that controlled the hangar shield system. Punching in the code she had memorized from the databases before her incarceration, she couldn’t help but wonder if the hangar would hold up long enough for them to exit it. Finally, the shields went down, and they all ran inside.

“Come on, we’ll go pick up your friends, and then we have to get out of here.” Canderous ran to take over the cockpit.

Leiraya made it on board, but stumbled a bit once she was inside. She grabbed a wall to keep her balance, but she was apparently about out of adrenaline. The lack of food and sleep was finally catching up with her.

Aiden saw this. “Ahh… do you need some place to lie down?”

“I think so, yes.” She closed her eyes and nodded. “I haven’t slept in a while.”

“Well, come on, then.” She took his proffered arm for support, and stumbled along as he searched the unfamiliar layout of the ship for something that looked like bunks. Finally finding something on the far side of the ship, she mumbled a few words of thanks before completely collapsing. She was dimly aware of Aiden’s retreating footsteps and the roar of the ship’s engines, but she fell asleep before she could even process what may possibly happen next.

 

I like Leiraya! She's got moxy.

It was more of a case of the majority of the Order disapproving of her particular branch of it. This disapproval could range anywhere from the shaking of heads to the outright disowning of her kind.

Because she's a pacifist? That would certainly cause tension, considering what's happening in the galaxy at that time. Or is it because she goes barefoot?

Have fun in Canada!

 

Nice story. So where are you going to in Canada? Have a nice time there.

 

JadeSolo: Thanks! I like her, too. She's a fun one, you don't even know the half of it yet...

padawanlissa: *concert musician bow*

Crazydan: Thank you! And I'm kinda near Toronto, visiting grandparents. And writing stuff, since I can apparently type on my laptop once more! That's exciting. Long story why, but trust me, it's happy.

And I'll probably update before the week's end... lots of writing to be done, and 'tis my week OFF.

 

Nice. What Toronto is like? I never had been to East Canada. Oh, and if you like Canada, I suggest you go to British Columbia, and especially Vancouver, the city. It's a very beautiful city, and BC is just an amazing place and a great vacation place.

 

Oh darn, I just missed you leaving.


Well I still like where this story is going, I never read The Blue Side of the Force.

Or Complementary Colours, but I'm sure this story will have plenty of fun stuff about.


Here's to Canada! Cheers.

 

Victoria is much nicer than Vancouver. Toronto is awful. A hour or so away from Toronto is fine though.

 

Mmmm, why you would say Victoria is better than Vancouver? Through, they're both good, and I'm been to Victoria too.

What you think of the province Alberta, and the city Calgary?

 

What's this? My story is bombarded with inquiries about this strange Canada place?

The quality of comments on these boards, these days...

 

Shush, you. We'll get back to posting about you soon enough.

I always rather liked Toronto, it's just as nice as Chicago, and I love Chicago. Thinking of possibly going to grad school there, too. In any case, I'm about an hour away, just outside Oshawa. And maybe someday I'll make it over to western Canada, I've been told before that I have to go there before I die.

Anywhoo, since I'm posting anyway, I might as well give you an update. I was gonna hold off until tomorrow, but eh, why not?

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

Chapter Two
All around them, Taris erupted into flame.

Turbolaser beams cut through ships, buildings, and people. The Ebon Hawk dodged shrapnel as it crazily soared to the Upper City South apartments. They made it with just enough time to hover above the walkway as Zaalbar tossed everyone, one by one, up to the landing ramp. He pulled himself up last, and the ramp closed even as he ran.

Carth ran immediately to the cockpit, where Canderous relinquished the pilot’s seat to the more experienced pilot. He immediately punched the drive as fast as it would go, and they hurtled out of the burning remains of the once glorious Upper City.

They made it to space, but departure codes were not going to get them out of this mess anymore.

“Sith fighters coming in! Aiden, man the laser cannons, this is going to be a rough flight out!” Carth pulled the ship into a maneuver that most pilots wouldn’t even have dreamed of attempting, and it definitely had Bastila hanging on to the co-pilot’s chair for dear life. Aiden sprinted to the laser cannons and strapped himself in.

The targeting computer registered six targets. He was unfamiliar with the system, but he didn’t suppose he had much of a choice, either. Immediately, he started blasting as fast as the cannons would let him. This took out two of the ships fairly quickly, but the remaining four were much trickier to catch. Between Carth’s breakneck maneuvering, and the Sith fighters zooming every which way, it was near impossible to get a lock on them. Aiden swore it was merely dumb luck that allowed him to hit any of them.

Or, it might be the Force… not that I’d know the difference if it hit me over the head.

Finally, Aiden was able to dispatch the last of the fighters. “Got ‘em!” he shouted into the ship’s comm system. “Now let’s get out of here before they decide to send something with even more teeth.”

“Copy that,” Carth agreed wholeheartedly. “Course set for Dantooine, and we’re heading to hyperspace. Punch it!”

With that, the Ebon Hawk winked out of sight, leaving the charred remains of a planet behind.

* * *

Aiden returned to the cockpit once they were in space, where he found Carth intently fiddling with the controls. “Having fun, there?”

Carth gave a half-smile. “Give a pilot a new ship to play with, and he’ll have plenty of fun. This baby’s got a lot of modifications, it’s going to take a while to figure out what all of these controls do. I think I’m going to spend some quality time with her, if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all,” Aiden shrugged. “What else are we going to do… and what’s our ETA, anyway?”

Bastila spoke up. “Dantooine is a two day journey from here, so you will have plenty of time to rest before we arrive.”

“Works for me. I think I’m going to go find some food… I can’t believe a crime lord like Davik wouldn’t have a food synthesizer on his ship.”

Carth chuckled. “Yeah, if nothing else, he’d probably keep his stomach in mind.”

And so Aiden ambled off in search of a food synthesizer. During his search, he noted the layout of the ship. It seemed they had a swoop bike aboard, which Canderous was intently tinkering with, and several bunks available. Mission had retreated to the bunks near the landing ramp. He had rather hoped that she would set up shop on the same side as Leiraya, but he could also understand her need to be alone at the moment. Her home had just been blown to dust, and hanging out in a room with a sleeping stranger would not appeal to him in that situation, either.

Finally, he located a synthesizer in the cargo hold, of all places. And it was actually a nice, top-of-the-line model, too. Gotta love ships pilfered from crime lords…

He punched in a code that made up a meal that looked fairly edible, and then briefly thought that perhaps their sleeping passenger might like something, too. After all, if she hadn’t slept in a while, it was also likely that they hadn’t fed her, either. He shook his head. Bastila may not have been too keen on the idea of bringing the feisty young lady along, but he was certainly glad he had been able to retrieve one more person off the planet.

It was several billion people too few, but there was little point in dwelling on that line of thought.

Punching a few more buttons, he managed to concoct some sort of soup-like substance that was an odd shade of green, but at least smelled appetizing. He grabbed a spoon and a glass of water, and put it on a tray to take to her bunk. Sure enough, she was still sleeping. Not wishing to wake her up, he put the tray down on the bunk next to hers, hoping that maybe she’d notice it when she finally did wake.

Until then, he was hungry.

* * *

After a few hours of exploring the control systems of the Hawk, Carth decided it was time for a bit of a rest. He hadn’t had very much down time since, well… since before the Endar Spire was attacked. He stood and stretched, then headed towards the bunks. Aiden had already dropped by to warn him not to bother Mission for a while, and he was more than willing to comply. Poor kid… though she’d punch my eye out if she heard me calling her that, he thought ruefully. She was, however, tougher than she looked, and he was confident that she’d be able to make it all right.

That left him heading towards the other side of the ship, where he was ready to kick off his boots and just take a nice, long nap. He yawned slightly as he rounded the corner-

-only to find that someone was already in the room.

* * *

Leiraya’s friends had told her many times that she could, quite likely, sleep through nuclear holocaust.

This was only partially true.

She had been fast asleep for the last four hours, blissfully unaware of the events that had transpired during her slumber. However, she was very acutely aware of the sudden voice ripping into the room with a friendly greeting.


“Who the hell are you, and what are you doing in here?”

Not yet fully awake, all Leiraya could do was follow her reflex, which immediately kicked her out of bed and into a defensive stance. Midway through her roll, she sensed that her caller did not appreciate sudden motion, and he was pulling out his blaster.

Well, that was a charming greeting. She briefly wondered if he had tested that one out on any other girls, to see if it worked.

Still, it would do her no good to be defenseless against him, even if she was pretty sure he wouldn’t shoot. Quite often, the appearance of strength was enough to avert combat entirely. She reached out with the Force, hoping to pull in any weapons in the room. She found the closest thing she could, and within seconds it was in her hand.

Much to her dismay, she found herself holding a spoon.

For the love of- she smothered a grimace, and put on her best determined face. Why do I always find myself in these ridiculous situations?

Oddly enough, the thoughts running through Carth Onasi’s head were not much different.

* * *

How do I manage to find myself in these ridiculous situations? he wondered. His blaster was still out of his holster, but what he saw was odd enough to knock him off-balance.

The woman standing before him was wearing a navy top that well concealed the dirt and charring it had endured. The icy green skirt she wore, however, did not. It was speckled brown in an irregular pattern from all the burn marks, some of which left tiny holes. Her feet were bare, her waist-length hair was a reddish-purple colour, and disheveled though she was, her hazel eyes showed her fierce determination. From her stance, he could tell that she was trained at least in self-defense, though she looked quite ready to take on the entire Sith fleet with the spoon she held out menacingly in front of her.

He lowered his blaster slightly. “Ahh… would you mind explaining how you got here?”

Spoon still at ready, she simply smirked. “That’s some sort of greeting for the person who got you into this ship in the first place. I had the codes to the Ebon Hawk’s shields. My only price was getting off that planet.”

“Well… I can’t really blame you for that one. Even before it was blasted to smithereens.”

The woman winced, and nodded. “Yeah, though I confess I’m doubly glad, now.”

“I, ah…” he holstered his blaster. “I wasn’t going to blast you or anything. I just hate surprises.”

“Well,” she said, finally lowering her spoon, “in that case, I suppose I won’t have to subject you to the horror of a spoon attack.”

Carth found himself laughing. “Oh, I’m shaking in my boots.”

She put her hand on her hip and waved the spoon at him. “You haven’t seen what I can do with a spoon, flyboy.”

“Well, then you’ll have to show me someday.” He extended his hand. “I’m Carth Onasi, by the way.”

She accepted the handshake. “Leiraya Moran. I guess we’ll be getting to know each other over the next while. And I’m also guessing you wanted to sleep here… shall I relocate?”

“If it’s too much trouble, don’t bother.”

“Oh no,” she waved her hand dismissively. “I can use the walk around the ship, anyway. I’ll be seeing you around.” And with that, she turned and left.

Carth couldn’t help but stare at the empty air where she had been standing. Certainly he’d met some interesting people in the course of his lifetime… but this Leiraya woman was another breed altogether. Shaking his head, he simply smiled and kicked off his boots. At least I know I won’t be bored while she’s still around.

* * *

Carth woke to the sound of music.

Rolling out of bed and pulling on his jacket, he set out in search of the source. He did not have to look far.

Leiraya sat cross-legged in the middle of the cargo hold, strumming a stringed instrument and singing softly:

The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.*

“That… that was really nice.” He found himself speaking before he even realized the words were coming out.

Leiraya turned around, clearly startled. “I’m, ah… sorry to bother anyone, I figured I’d be out of the way back here.”

“Don’t apologize, it was beautiful.” Even though he didn’t usually care for music, he found himself really meaning it. You’re getting soft, Onasi, he inwardly scolded himself.

Leiraya shrugged with a tinge of embarrassment, and smiled. “It’s not exactly what I’m used to playing on, the Corellian model is a bit different… but I found this in one of the storage bins, and I couldn’t help it. It’s been so long since I played.”

“What was it?”

“A folk song I learned on Corellia. I don’t know where it comes from, but I’m reminded of it every time I travel.”

“Look…” Carth scratched his head. For the first time in a few years, he found himself just not knowing what to do with a person. He hadn’t trusted anyone since before Telos, even people who deserved it. But the people he was traveling with were starting to erode his old defenses. Aiden started chipping away at the walls, and Leiraya’s spoon had hit at a fracture point. Even Mission had managed to squirm her way into his good graces, and he didn’t entirely mind.

He wasn’t sure he liked this.

“Yeah?”

Leiraya’s questioning voice broke his thoughts, bringing him back to the Ebon Hawk. “I, ah… I’m glad I didn’t blast you.”

She smiled and shook her head. “I’m glad you didn’t blast me, too.”

“You still have to show me what you can do with that spoon.”

Leiraya smiled mischievously. “And someday, I will. But I can’t reveal all my secrets the first day we meet, can I?”

“No,” Carth agreed wholeheartedly. “No, you can’t.”

==================
*Tolkien, obviously, not me.

 

He he he, that Carth is quite a player isn't he. Using the old blast you when you wake up trick, yeah that never gets old.


Wasn't that sweet of me to leave some food for Leiraya?


Seriously though, I can't believe I didn't notice the original version of this story. Can't wait for more DWH.

 

Well, Carth is changing for good, eh?

Hooray, another new update! It's good to hear that you're having a good time in Toronto. Any problems with this city?

Chicago sounds like a cool place.

Now, I have a question about one sentence from this story:

"He had rather hoped that she would set up shop on the same side as Leiraya". Why did Aiden hopes Mission would be in the same room as Leiraya?

 

Aiden started chipping away at the walls, and Leiraya?s spoon had hit at a fracture point. Even Mission had managed to squirm her way into his good graces, and he didn?t entirely mind.

Awwww, what a big softie. I liked those little sparks flying between Carth and Leiraya, too.

And hey, spoons are useful and painful weapons! Especially when they're rusty.

 

Chapter Three

Bastila found Aiden in the main lounge, attempting to make the holoprojector run a game of dejarik.

“Well, we should arrive on Dantooine before too long, and I expect we can drop off a few excess people.”

Aiden looked up at her in surprise. “Excess people? I wasn’t aware we had any.”

Bastila smirked. “Oh, I suppose they’re all useful in their own way, but really, do we need a Mandalorian and a rogue Corellian Jedi along? Not to mention the Twi’lek and the Wookiee…”

“Every single one of those people has helped get us where we are now, Bastila.” Aiden continued to fiddle with the console. “And what makes you think Leiraya is a rogue Jedi?”

“You must be joking.” Bastila laughed derisively. “For starters, all Corellians are rogues in their own way. Besides, the Corellian Jedi never leave their own system. What she could possibly be doing so far from home is beyond me, but she is definitely Corellian, and definitely odd.”

Aiden was not about to argue that, her accent had given her away almost immediately. He did not, however, know much about the Corellian Jedi, or how they would be any different from any of the other Jedi. He suspected he would be finding out.

“Think what you will about them, but do keep in mind they’re people, too.” Aiden closed down the console, giving up on dejarik for the evening. “Even if they don’t happen to have Force powers- or use them in the same way as you do.” Bastila looked like she was ready to spit back a scathing reply, but she held her tongue.

“Lectures are something I do not need from you, thank you. I get enough of that from my Masters, and they at least have the rank to back it up.” She spun on her heel and left the room without saying anything further. Shrugging, Aiden stretched and headed off to his own bunk. Interpersonal relations could wait until they all had a good night’s rest.

* * *

It had taken Leiraya three circuits about the ship to find the ‘fresher.

One would think that a ship that had belonged to a crime lord in the Exchange would have had a nicer shower. This ‘fresher unit, however, was so tiny that anyone larger than she would have to turn sideways to get through the door, and there was barely enough room for her to stand between the ‘fresher itself and the shower. It was apparent that Davik valued economy of space over comfort in this particular instance.

However, she hadn’t had a shower since before her imprisonment, and covered in sweat and debris as she was, she felt a shower was required. A cursory look at the system revealed that it was, at least, a high quality system that was unlikely to run out of hot water quickly. Better than nothing, I suppose. She located the soap compartment, pulled the curtain around her, removed her slightly charred clothing, and commenced the cleaning process. It was going to take a good bit of time, given the sheer volume of hair she had. Fortunately, everyone else seemed to be asleep, so it seemed like a good time to commandeer the shower.

Humming softly to herself, she set in to enjoy her washing, cramped though it was.

* * *

Aiden was the first to stumble blearily into the ‘fresher. Not being fully awake, he didn’t notice that the shower was on. Or the lights. Or much of anything, for that matter. He was able to squeeze in through the door without injuring himself, though he had to catch himself on the wall to keep from falling. He stopped to rub his eyes for a moment when he finally did take note of something. Of course, he would have had to be deaf to not notice it.

In a screech three pitches higher than he was aware humans were capable of uttering, Aiden was made acutely aware of the fact that he was not alone in the ‘fresher unit.

“Whoever you are, if you have any shred of decency, you’ll get out this instant!”

Aiden blinked. “Is that you, Leiraya?”

“No, it’s T3.” The voice from behind the curtain sounded dangerously irritated. “Of course it’s me.”

“Well, how was I supposed to know-“

“Why are you still talking to me?”

“I…” Aiden trailed off, paused, and shook his head. “I’ll be going.”

He squeezed himself back out of the ‘fresher unit, completely befuddled by what had just happened. Of course, being awake usually aids in the understanding of such things, but if there was one thing he was quite certain that, even at his most lucid, he would never understand, it was definitely women.

Stretching and yawning, he stumbled back into his bunk and fell back asleep, quickly forgetting he had even tried to use the ‘fresher.

* * *

It was not long after Aiden fell asleep that Carth woke, needing to use the ‘fresher. He had a bit of difficulty fitting through the door, even turned sideways, but he made it in with a minimum of jostling. He yawned and surveyed the ‘fresher unit, and couldn’t help but wonder why Davik would put such a small unit on his ship. Turning around to face the shower, he paused. The water was running. That was not a good sign.

Unfortunately for him, the occupant of the shower had also taken note of his arrival. She also, apparently, had been disturbed before. Without warning, the curtain flew open, revealing Leiraya Moran, suds-streaked hair covering anything indecent, but doing nothing to hide anything else. “For the love of Corellian brandy-“ she started to rant, then her eyes went wide. She hastily snatched up the bottom of the curtain and wrapped it around herself. “I, ah… thought you were someone else.”

Carth was unable to say anything for a few seconds; his mind was too busy churning out a disturbing number of colourful images at record speed. His voice, however, finally found its way to his throat. “Am I interrupting?”

Her eyes narrowed slightly, clearly saying, what do you think? She held her tongue, however, and simply answered, “You might say that, yes.”

“Well, I, ah… wouldn’t want to keep you from showering.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Are you saying I smell, flyboy?”

“No, no, I wasn’t implying that… I’m sure you smell great.” Even sleepy as he was, he inwardly grimaced as soon as the words left his mouth. “Not that I’ve been sniffing you or anything…”

He trailed off, realising he was only digging himself in deeper with every word. After pulling his blaster on her earlier in the day, and now talking about sniffing her, she probably wouldn’t ever speak to him again. Wouldn’t be a first, but usually he stopped speaking to people because he just didn’t trust them, not because he had acted so bizarrely that they started questioning his sanity.

Much to his surprise, however, Leiraya looked as though she was holding in gales of laughter. She was still wrapped in the shower curtain, but she appeared a little less tense than before.

Carth scratched his head. “Did I say something wrong?”

“Oh, no,” Leiraya laughed. “It’s just that that’s one of the funniest responses I’ve ever heard. Not that people often walk in on me in the shower,” she paused, “excepting tonight, but that was just classic.”

“So…” he stood there for a moment, trying to decide what to say. “I’m not going be impaled with a spoon in my sleep?”

She grinned. “Not tonight, but you’d better be on your best behaviour- your record thus far isn’t looking so hot.” She paused and looked towards the door, and then pointedly at him. “And as much as I enjoy our chats, I’ve got limited hot water.”

Carth blinked for a second, and then realised she was asking him to leave. “Oh, right. Well… have a good, uh, shower.” He waved slightly, and stumbled back out the door.

Leiraya smirked at the doorway for a few seconds after he exited, then returned to her shower. This is, without a doubt, going to be an interesting trip.

 

You been to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto? That's one of the places I would like to visit if I goes to Toronto at all.

Spoon being powerful? Ha, a spoon is weak compared to the powers of.... a spork! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spork

I challenges you to a spork/spoon lightsaber duel, and see who is the most powerful.

 

Yep, I saw that post in the Dueling Circle.

And seeing it again makes me smile just as wide as when I saw it the first time.

Good posting Commander.

Oh by the way, are you in that lightsaber spoon picture?

 

Crazydan- No, I have not, in fact, been there. I've been to the zoo, the Science Centre, and Skydome, though. Next stop: The World's Largest Bookstore. We were going to do the Royal Ontario Museum, but it was under renovations. Oh well. If I go to grad school there, I'll be right down the street.

But I'm gonna stop thinking about grad school for now. Scares me to death, it does.

Aiden_Sanic- Yeah, I'm the dork in the Padme costume. Costuming is my other hobby. I have too many time-consuming hobbies.

I'm probably not going to make another post until I'm back on campus. Tomorrow is packing day, and Tuesday we're driving down. So... Wednesday or Thursday.

 

Okay, I promised an update, so update I will.

Chapter Four

“So, I had the strangest dream last night,” Leiraya related over her breakfast. Zaalbar looked up in mild curiosity, and T3 trilled inquisitively.

Aiden had just entered the room. “Yeah, me too… I was back on Deralia running one of my ocean patrols, when the water suddenly froze, and I was surrounded by Jedi who were ice-skating and having lightsaber duels.” He scratched his head. “It was really weird.”

Looking up from her food, Mission raised an eyebrow. “Ice-skating Jedi? Sounds like something out of a bad holovid.”

“Yeah, you’re telling me.” Aiden nodded to Carth as he entered, and sat down with his breakfast. “Could’ve been worse, I guess.”

“So what was your dream?” Mission turned back to Leiraya. “Was it weirder than ice-skating Jedi?”

“Well, it mostly involved people walking in on me while I was in the shower.” Glancing up casually, she took note of the way both Carth and Aiden’s faces were turning different shades of red. “Oh, wait… I forgot. That actually happened.”

Mission’s eyes went wide, and she had to keep herself from giggling. “Oh, man… you guys ever hear of knocking? I mean, sheesh…”

“It was an accident,” Aiden said defensively. “Why would I try to walk in on her?”

Zaalbar wuffled innocently. Only half the crew could understand Shyriiwook, but everyone present caught the gist of it. “And here I thought you didn’t talk.” Aiden looked slightly disgruntled. “Besides, judging from the colour of Mr. Pilot’s face over here, I wasn’t the only one. So why don’t you go bother him for a while?”

“Because you were the one to get defensive.” Mission shrugged. “Nothing personal.”

“Besides,” Leiraya interjected, “It’s interesting to see how many different shades Carth’s face will go through before we find one that matches his jacket.” At this, his face flushed bright red, clashing horribly with the bright orange of his flight jacket.

“I personally don’t see what’s so funny about it,” Bastila spoke, finally deciding to enter the conversation.

“Funny about what? The incident, or his jacket?” Leiraya grinned wickedly.

Bastila narrowed her eyes and waved her fork in Leiraya’s general direction. “You should not be so quick to torment the other crew members. This is still my mission-“

“-And we’re in this together, right?” Carth interrupted, finishing the sentence for her. “At least until we get to Dantooine.”

“Well, I suppose we are…”

“Then can we please knock off the disparaging remarks? Personally, I’d like to keep everyone together, especially if there’s going to be more fighting.”

“Whoa, whoa.” Leiraya looked up sharply. “Back up the freedom airbus. I’m not interested in fighting.”

“You’re… what?” Aiden looked slightly confused. “But you’re a Jedi, right?”“Not all Jedi are into this whole fighting deal,” she shot back defensively. “I’m a pacifist.”

Carth looked at her incredulously. “Do you think you can honestly avoid fighting these days? The galaxy is at war, in case you hadn’t noticed.”

“And for what?” Her arms crossed over her chest and her eyes narrowed. “Some Jedi’s dream of power. Revan should never have left for the Mandalorian Wars in the first place, and fighting isn’t getting the galaxy anywhere!”

“And what, precisely, do you propose?” He looked at her angrily, fists clenched. “Sending them cookies?”

“It’s better than trying to blow them up,” she retorted. “No one deserves what we’re doing to the galaxy.”

“No one?” Carth looked as though he were on the verge of explosion. “You’re trying to tell me that no one deserves to be destroyed?”

Leiraya looked him straight in the eye. “No, they don’t! What could anyone do to deserve that?”

“Revan and Malak destroyed my homeworld- my family- my LIFE!”

Shocked silence followed. Carth’s face fell, and Leiraya’s face lost all its colour. They just stood there for several seconds, both unable to say anything. It was Carth who broke the silence first, muttering something about how he shouldn’t have said anything, followed by him abruptly stalking out of the room.

Aiden looked at the door where Carth had left, then back at Leiraya. “What the hell was that all about?”

“I… I think I upset him.”


“That’s one word for it.” Aiden shook his head. “You know, he’s a trouble case to start with when it comes to the whole teamwork and getting along sort of thing, did you have to go and make him explode like that?”

“Do you think I purposely pushed a big red ‘Make Carth Explode’ button or something? How was I supposed to know he’d fly off the handle?”

“Well, I don’t know what you did, but fix it.” Aiden picked up the remains of his breakfast to dispose of. “We don’t need exploding crew members.”

Regaining some of her colour, Leiraya looked at him in irritation. “Right, and there’s a quick fix for it, too.” Not waiting for a reply, she stormed out of the room.

* * *

The time between breakfast and their arrival at Dantooine was altogether too long, and generally awkward for everyone aboard. Mission was still out of spirits, excepting random bursts of enthusiasm that no one could predict. Carth refused to do anything but examine the ship’s controls, and no amount of coaxing from Aiden could get him to say anything about his outburst. He would only stare at the controls and mutter about how it wasn’t important, and that he needed to focus on what he was doing. Bastila was in a bad temper for reasons she refused to disclose, and Leiraya was still worked up over the prospect of having to fight. Canderous kept apart from everyone else, for the most part, content to take the time to give his weapons a good cleaning.

After 12 hours of this, Aiden had decided that T3-M4 was good company.

Fortunately, the trip came to an end before anyone imploded. Carth brought the ship in to the docks at the Jedi Enclave, and the entire crew disembarked as soon as they could. One could always hope that a bit of fresh air would improve the dispositions of most of them, but most everyone’s problems had roots that went deeper than staying on a ship for too long.

Bastila looked around, and sighed contentedly. “Dantooine. It feels like years since I’ve been here.”

Well, at least that made one person slightly happier, Aiden thought. Out loud, he said, “So what’s the plan from here?”

“Well, I need to go talk to the Jedi Council, to discuss… various things. In the meantime, I imagine the rest of you can explore the Enclave. If any of you are needed, I’ll send for you.” Without any further explanation, she turned and walked towards what Aiden presumed was the entryway to the Enclave proper.

“Well…” Aiden looked around at everyone, and shrugged. “I guess we’re on our own for the time being.”

 

I got to read two posts at once! Woohoo!

I love the banter among the crew! But I guess it was only a matter of time before someone slipped, the way they're going.

?Not all Jedi are into this whole fighting deal,? she shot back defensively. ?I?m a pacifist.?

Good for her!

?Revan and Malak destroyed my homeworld- my family- my LIFE!?

As if having his face clash with his jacket wasn't bad enough...

Yeah. The spoon was completely inspired by a cereal box toy.

Hey, it worked, so that's something to be proud of.

Well, can't wait to see what mischief they all get into next.