FicWad

Chapter 1
Taris: Upper-City

How either of them survived their crash landing, Carth wasn't really sure. However, he was more than happy to be alive. The escape pod was little more than a smoking scrapheap as he climbed out, gently pulling out its other passenger. He had learned during their rather rough descent to the planet that her name was Kiranna Sunrider. Sometime during the crash, her restraints had broken and she hit her head, knocking her out..

Gently, he laid her on the permacrete platform. She had sustained a rather large, ugly bruise that was bleeding a bit when she hit her head. That wasn't what he was worried about. Gently, his fingers probed her slender throat for a pulse. When he found one, he let out a sigh of relief. It was fairly strong, which was another good thing. He decided to do a more thorough examination once they had gotten away from the escape pod. He was no doctor, but he had a lot of training in first aid. Besides, he was certain that there would be a medical facility nearby should she require more than his mediocre skills could offer.

He slowly, carefully picked her up and carried her away from the wreckage of the escape pod. He was sure the Sith would be all over it soon, and he wanted to be long gone by then. It didn't take him long to find a suitable hiding place. Stuck among the posh-looking towers of the Upper-City, he found a conveniently placed run-down apartment building. He could tell that it would be a good place to lay low, so he carried Kiranna inside and found an abandoned room. He only put her down long enough to slice the door.

There was one full-sized bed in the middle of the room, which Carth laid Kiranna on. She moaned, her head falling to the side. He hoped he hadn't hurt her. Gently, he ran two fingers over her arms, legs, and ribs, hoping that nothing was broken. It was a good thing for her sake, that he was a gentleman. He knew of some soldiers that might have taken advantage of a situation such as this to cop a feel. Especially considering her rather generous bosom, which Carth hadn't been looking at. He coughed, feeling embarrassed that he had allowed himself a moment of weakness. It wasn't his fault that this woman had an incredible body.

When he had been checking for broken appendages, he had felt how muscular and well-toned her arms and legs were. "I'm just a man," he muttered to himself, moving to the bathroom. He washed his hands, and finding no towels to dry them with (naturally), he cursed.

He went back into the main room, eyeing Kiranna. She was completely vulnerable. He didn't want to leave her when she couldn't defend herself, but he reminded himself that this apartment was supposed to be abandoned, and no one was looking for them-yet. He sighed in resignation. He would need some towels, washcloths, and some new clothes for the both of them. Kiranna's clothes were caked with blood from her head injury and her encounters with Sith soldiers on the Endar Spire, not to mention dirt and soot from the explosions.

Finally, he decided to duck out for a while. She seemed stable. It wouldn't kill her if he left for a few minutes. He hoped not, anyway. Besides, while he was out running errands, he might be able to get an idea of where any other Republic pods had crashed, and that might give him a clue as to Bastila's whereabouts. Finding her would be his first priority once Kiranna was awake and able to help him. And he knew he would need her help.

The battle between the Jedi and the Dark Jedi was intense and obviously very high-stakes. The Jedi woman, clothed in orange robes had brown hair and brown eyes. She looked familiar somehow, but Kiranna couldn't place where she might have seen the young Jedi before.

The Dark Jedi took a swing at her, and she easily countered and they engaged in a deadly dance of counters and parries until the Dark Jedi finally fell to her superior combat skills. His lightsaber deactivated as his lifeless body fell to the deck and the Jedi woman assumed a defensive stance before the dream melted away.

Kiranna moaned softly as her eyes opened to completely unfamiliar surroundings. The bed beneath her was soft and comfortable, more comfortable than her bunk on the Endar Spire had been, anyway. Her hand rose to hold her head, and she winced as pain stabbed through it. She had managed to touch the bruise on her forehead. Slowly, she sat up, and was relieved when she wasn't overcome by vertigo. That was a good sign.

She hadn't noticed Carth standing up and approaching the bed. He wore a small, reassuring smile. Now that Kiranna wasn't running for her life (she hoped not anyway), she had time to examine the Republic soldier more closely. Carth was a man of medium size and build. In fact, he didn't stand much taller than her. He wore a brown jacket and black pants that weren't exactly tight, but still showed the contours of his well-toned legs. He had brown hair that was mostly combed back, except for two strands of hair that fell into his face. His brown eyes were soft and gentle as he looked at her.

"Glad to see you're up instead of thrashing around in your sleep," Carth commented. "You must have been having one hell of a nightmare."

Kiranna thought. The dream was still in her mind, but it was less vivid than when she had actually dreamed it. She had a feeling it would fade soon. "I had a dream . . . or a vision or something," she said, not expecting Carth to take much stock in what she said. She wasn't disappointed.

"You took a pretty nasty blow to the head. I'm sure you were having all kinds of strange dreams," he told her. She could tell he was trying to sound reassuring. "You've been slipping in and out of consciousness for two days," he informed her, as though he could guess what her next question would be. Kiranna nodded and swung her legs over the side of the bed, figuring that she had been sitting long enough that now she would be able to stand.

"I imagine you'd like to get cleaned up and have something to eat before I start briefing you on the situation," the commander said. Kiranna nodded. "Alright. The bathroom is through that door behind you. I'll make something for you to eat." Noting her relieved expression, he laughed, knowing she had been thinking that she would have to dine on rations. "Once you've showered and eaten, I'll fill you in on the situation. He nodded to a footlocker against the wall next to a workbench where a mostly disassembled blaster pistol lay. "There's some clean clothes in that footlocker. I took the liberty of making some improvements to your vibroblade."

"You must have been bored," Kiranna observed with a half-smile. Carth laughed nervously, but nodded. Kiranna went over to the footlocker. She wasn't exactly sure if she could completely trust Carth, but she figured he had to be the reason she was here, so she figured she could trust him enough to turn her back to him for a few moments. If he wanted to kill her, he could have done it while she was unconscious, and it was apparent by the basin on the bedside table filled with water with a somewhat bloody rag hanging from the side, that he had been tending to her these past two days.

Kiranna opened the footlocker, seeing a beige coloured shirt, black pants with a yellow stripe running down the legs, shin-high leather boots, and a black leather combat vest with several pockets within. They were all masculine cut, but the outfit wasn't too different from what she had been wearing on the Spire. She could tell that the clothes were new because she knew for a fact that she had torn a hole in the elbow of her right sleeve, and received a rip in the leg, and these clothes didn't look mended. She was also wearing her old clothes, she realized. Carth hadn't changed her. She was sure he had done that because he didn't want her thinking he had taken advantage of her while she was unconscious. Her opinion of the Republic pilot gained a few points.

She took the clothes out of the footlocker, seeing that there was a brown leather belt beneath them that had a holster for her blaster and a sheath for her vibroblade. "It was very thoughtful of you to get new clothes for me," she remarked as she scooped up the belt.

"I didn't think you'd want to stay in those," he said, gesturing at the clothes she was currently wearing.

"You were right," Kiranna replied. "I feel disgusting." With that, she went to the bathroom, not waiting for a reply from Carth.

She undressed quickly, her clothes sticking to her skin, drenched in sweat from her two days' uneasy sleep as they were. She wanted to burn them, but she would settle for just throwing them out. She reached behind her head and deftly took her braid down, her hair falling and surrounding her face. It looked frizzy. Kiranna was disgusted by her appearance, but she would be clean soon enough.

She turned on the water as hot as it would go, and climbed into the shower. The pressure wasn't very good, but the water was nearly scalding, so Kiranna decided to make due with what she could get. She cleaned herself thoroughly, feeling as though she would never be completely clean again because of how slimy and gritty she felt. She washed her hair, surprised at the floral scent of the shampoo. She wondered if Carth had used it and nearly laughed at the thought.

When she was clean, she climbed out of the shower, feeling much better. She dried herself off with the clean towels and quickly dressed. She merely combed her hair. She had no blow dryer on hand, so she would have to let it air dry, and she didn't want to braid her hair when it was wet. It would be something of a treat for Carth to see her with her hair down. Not very many people got that opportunity.

She went out into the main room, seeing that Carth had made her something to eat. She sat down across from him at the table.

"I imagine you're pretty confused about things," Carth said. Kiranna nodded as she began to eat, resisting the temptation to eat the food quickly. Her stomach was completely empty, since she hadn't eaten anything in two days. "This is Taris. Our escape pod crashed here. You remember escaping from the Endar Spire?"

"Yeah," Kiranna replied between bites and once she had finished chewing. She personally thought talking with your mouth full to be barbaric. She had been thoroughly disgusted by some of the Republic soldiers on the Spire when eating with them in the mess hall.

"Good." He explained to her that Taris was a city-planet, much like Coruscant, but due to new trade routes, Taris was decaying and becoming obsolete. He also explained with some degree of anger in his voice that the nobles lived in the tallest towers while the poor were forced into the Lower-City. "There are three levels here on Taris. The Upper-City, where the rich live, the Lower-City, where you'll find the poor and the aliens, and the Undercity. I hear the Undercity isn't a pretty place, but I did some scouting around while you were out and discovered that our escape pod was the only one to crash into the Upper-City. I've heard rumours of about a dozen Republic escape pods crashing in the Undercity."

"I see. So are we going to look for survivors then?" Kiranna asked. She had finished eating while Carth had been explaining Taris.

"To some degree. I know this is going to sound harsh, but the only survivor that makes any difference to us is Bastila," Carth told her.

Bastila. Kiranna had heard that name before, but she didn't know who this Bastila was. "Who is Bastila?" she asked.

Carth gaped at her. "That smack to your head must have done more damage than I thought. Bastila is a Jedi. She was the commander of the mission aboard the Endar Spire, and the key to the Republic's war effort."

Kiranna found it hard to believe that one person, even a Jedi could be so important, and she told Carth so.

"Well, Bastila isn't any ordinary Jedi. She's mastered a technique the Jedi call Battle Meditation. From what I understand, she can use it to bolster the courage of her allies and crush the morale of her enemies. Often, that's all that's needed to turn the tide of battle," he explained. "We have to find her before the Sith do. I've heard some pretty grim stories about Sith torture techniques. They say the Force can do terrible things to a mind. They can erase your memories and completely destroy your identity."

Kiranna shuddered at the thought, but pressed Carth for more information, and once she felt like she was up to speed, she said, "The sooner we start looking for Bastila, the sooner we find her."

Carth nodded in agreement. "I've read in your service record that you understand a remarkable number of alien languages. That's pretty rare in a raw recruit, but that should definitely serve us well here." Kiranna nodded.

"Just one more question, Carth," Kiranna said almost as an afterthought.

"Yes?"

"If this Battle Meditation is so powerful, why did we lose this battle with the Sith?" she asked.

"That's a valid question," Carth replied, thoughtfully rubbing the stubble on his chin. "From what I understand, it takes a great amount of concentration to maintain Battle Meditation. This battle started so quickly, that I doubt Bastila had time to use it."

"Fair enough," Kiranna said, rising. She took her dishes to the sink in the small kitchenette.

"The Sith have imposed a quarantine on the planet. No one lands or takes off. I have a feeling they're looking for Bastila too, so we've got to hurry. We should avoid detection as much as possible. We have an advantage in that no one is looking for us. Bastila won't have that luxury."

"So you're saying we should take advantage of the fact that we're unknown soldiers," Kiranna surmised. Carth nodded. "Will do, Sir. However, we should ask around to see if anyone's heard about the crashed escape pods in the Undercity, and try to see if they know anything about survivors."

Carth nodded again. "We'll just have to be careful of who we ask, and where."

"Yeah. I think our best bet would be the local cantina."

"I suppose that would be the best place to start. Shall we head up and move out?" he asked. Kiranna nodded. "Good. Let's get going. Like you said, the sooner we start looking for Bastila, the sooner we find her."

Kiranna left the apartment ahead of Carth, and her heart dropped at what she saw almost right outside her room. A Sith officer flanked by two assault droids. Their mission might be over before it even began! However, the Sith was standing with his back to them. Kiranna thought about making a break for it while he was distracted, but she thought it would be best not to try and arouse his suspicion.

"Alright you alien scum! Everyone up against the wall! This is a raid!" the Sith shouted in a booming voice. Assembled before him and his droids were a group of aliens consisting of two Duros, an Ithorian, and two Twi'leks.

One of the Duros protested in his own language. "[You did a raid just yesterday, and you didn't find anything!]"

The Sith levelled his blaster rifle at the alien and shot him three times, dropping him to the floor. "That's what happens to smart-mouthed aliens! Now the rest of you, get up against the wall before I lose my temper again!" He chose that time to turn around, and seeing Carth and Kiranna standing outside their apartment, he said, "What's this? Humans hiding out with aliens? They're Republic fugitives! Arrest them!"

Before she had even thought of it, her blaster cleared its holster. She and Carth shot down the two advancing droids. Carth took one in the chest, and Kiranna shot one of their heads off completely. The remaining Duros was attacking the Sith commander from behind. He turned around to deal with the alien, but Kiranna and Carth both shot him in the back.

"[Thank you for aiding us, kind human,]" the Duros said in his own tongue. "[Poor Ixgil should have held his temper."]

"I'm only glad we could help," Kiranna told him in Basic. She knew that most aliens at least understood Galactic Basic. It was the Republic's trade language, and you didn't get far on a Republic world without at least knowing it. "What about the bodies? Won't the Sith get suspicious if their patrol doesn't come back?" she asked.

The Duros gestured to the Ithorian and one Twi'lek standing behind him. Seemed that the other Twi'lek had run away in the confusion. "[My friends and I will hide the bodies and make it look like the work of one of the Swoop gangs,]" he replied.

Kiranna nodded. "Alright then. We should be going."

The Duros nodded, blinking his glowing red eyes. "[As should we. We have much to do. Thank you again for your assistance, human.]"

Kiranna turned back to Carth as the aliens hauled the bodies and scrap of the droids away. He didn't ask her what she said to the aliens, so she figured he had gotten the gist of it from her side of the conversation. "That could have ended badly," she commented.

"Yeah. Good thing you're so fast with that blaster," Carth replied with a chuckle. "I almost didn't see it before it was in your hand."

Kiranna laughed. "Fast reflexes, I guess," she said.

Carth shook his head. The two of them headed toward the exit. "Can I ask you something?" he asked.

"Sure," Kiranna replied as they exited the apartment building into the cool Taris dusk. The setting sun was glinting off of the silvery tops of the buildings. A few low-hanging clouds were tinged with pink, and the sky was pink, fading into purple, fading into the deep blue of twilight. It really was a beautiful sight, unlike anything Kiranna had ever seen before.

"How did you get assigned to the Spire?"

Kiranna thought for a moment. Honestly, she wasn't sure. She knew that someone of her high level of skill and ability was hard to find. She had travelled the galaxy in her younger years. Many of the languages she knew, she had learned from the native speakers on their home planets. As far as she remembered anyway. "I guess I was recruited for my skills," she said. "I'm not really sure, to tell you the truth." She stopped, looking back at Carth. "Why?"

"It just seems a little odd. I've been going over the battle on the Endar Spire over and over in my head, and some things just don't add up." He shook his head. "Forget it. Never mind. I'm just being overly suspicious."

"About what?" Kiranna asked.

Carth sighed. It was apparent that Kiranna wasn't going to let the subject drop so easily. "It just seems . . . strange that a last-minute addition to the crew was one of the survivors," he said.

"You'd rather I wasn't?" Kiranna questioned. There wasn't any hint of anger in her voice, nor was she really offended. She just wanted to understand Carth's way of thinking about this. Of course, he just had to get defensive.

"No! It's not that it's just-convenient is all. And no, I don't think you had anything to do with the crash. Look. Let's just drop it, okay? Let's just focus on the task at hand."

Kiranna wanted to press the matter, but decided against it. It was becoming apparent that Carth wasn't going to trust her right off. She supposed she could understand. She wasn't entirely sure if she trusted him, after all, she just wasn't so suspicious. Besides, it wasn't like it didn't make sense that he was one of the survivors. He was second-in-command of the Spire, and she knew he was a decorated war hero, but that was about all she knew about him. She resolved to ask him to tell her a little about himself at the earliest opportunity.

As the pair proceeded down the street, she saw the remains of the escape pod. She didn't remember much of anything about what happened on the Spire. She supposed that smack to her head had been pretty bad. "How did we make it to the apartment?" she asked Carth, who was walking a step or two behind her.

"You were unconscious and pretty badly hurt, but I wasn't so seriously injured. I was able to drag you from the escape pod, and I stumbled into that abandoned apartment," he replied. If he was still irritated with her, he didn't let it show in his voice. She admired that. It seemed that he was really doing his best to work with her.

The pair crossed into a different section of the Upper-City, seeing flashing lights and neon signs that indicated the Cantina. Carth and Kiranna went inside. The main foyer was light enough. There was a long table at which several groups of Pazaak players were sitting. Kiranna wasn't too fond of Pazaak. She didn't seem to have the luck for it. She watched the men exchanging bets and shook her head, proceeding into the main bar. It was pretty crowded. Of course, most people would be off from work, and they'd want to come here to relax. Kiranna knew if she was going to ask around about Republic escape pods, she would have to be careful about whom she asked.

Scattered among the Tarisian nobles and off-duty Sith soldiers, Kiranna saw a few Twi'leks. She was surprised at the lack of other aliens until she remembered what Carth said about most aliens living in the Lower-City. She suspected that bigotry was the name of the game on Taris, and that the snotty humans probably were prejudiced against aliens. That would seem to fit the attitude that Carth seemed to illustrate.

She moved to the bar and ordered a drink for herself and Carth. Her drink was a strange glowing blue beverage that she liked. She handed Carth a mug of Tarisian ale. "We should split up and see what we can learn from the locals," she suggested.

"Good idea," Carth agreed. "Just be careful of who you ask."

Kiranna nodded. "Don't worry. I plan on hitting up some of the Twi'leks here for information. You know the Sith don't employ many aliens." Carth nodded and the two of them split up.

Kiranna moved to one of the Twi'leks in the room, speaking to him in Huttese. He seemed to respond well to her, seeing as she knew his language. She flirted with him a bit before asking him if he might be able to answer a few questions for her.

"[I don't know much, what with this quarantine, but for a beautiful female like yourself, I will try to answer any question you have,"] he replied, arranging his lekku more attractively around his neck.

"[I was wondering if you've heard anything about Republic escape pods crashing into the Undercity,]" she told him. The Twi'lek seemed to consider whether to answer her or not, but seemed to remember his promise to attempt to answer any question she may have. He leaned closer to her.

"[I know a few things. I've heard that the Black Vulkars moved in with scavenging parties almost as soon as word was out about the Republic escape pods. They've stripped them clean of nearly everything of value.]"

Kiranna frowned. "[Have you heard anything about survivors?]"

The Twi'lek shook his head, his lekku moving across his shoulders as he did. "[There were a few Republic officers that were found. Some of them were taken to Zelka Forn at the medical facility here in the Upper-City. If the Vulkars found any survivors, I'm almost certain they would want to trade them on the slave market.]" He leaned in even closer if that was even possible, his lips nearly brushing her ear. She was hoping he was trying to make themselves look less conspicuous by making it look like he had scored with her.

"[If you want more information about the crashed escape pods, you'll probably want to head to the Lower-City and talk to Gadon Thek. He's the leader of a Swoop gang called the Hidden Beks. He's currently engaged in a rather bloody gang war with the Vulkars, so I'm certain he would be willing to help you out if he can. I'm sure he'll know more about the escape pods and any survivors that may have been found. He's got spies within the Vulkars' ranks.]" He paused and placed a hand on her shoulder.


"[Getting into the Lower-City may be easier said than done. The Sith are trying to prevent people from moving around too much, so they've got checkpoints on the elevators to the Lower and Undercity."] With that said, he released his shoulder and leaned back from her. Throwing his voice a bit, he said, "[Meet me at my apartment in a few hours."]

Kiranna put on her most charming smile and said, "[I will,]" giving him a wink. As soon as he moved off, Kiranna waving at him, Carth was at her side.

"Just what the hell do you think you're doing?" he hissed.

"Not what you think I was doing," she replied calmly with a small smirk gracing her lips. "I managed to get some good information, but we shouldn't discuss it here. What about you?"

Carth gave her his own smirk. "I managed to get us invited to a party being thrown by the Sith in the North Luxury Apartments."

Kiranna nodded appreciatively. "Good. I think we might find more than just useful information there," she said. Things seemed to be just falling into place. She knew that finding information and actually searching for and locating Bastila would not be so easy. This was a start, however, and she was content with it.

Kiranna and Carth moved throughout the cantina, mostly just checking it out. They came upon a large room with several people wearing combat suits standing around, as well as a clump of Tarisian nobles standing around a viewing screen. Kiranna looked back at Carth, who was looking around, and went to check out what they were watching on an unoccupied screen.

It was some kind of duel. She listened as the announcer introduced the two fighters for the evening, Gerlon Twofingers, who seemed to be the crowd favourite, and Deadeye Duncan, for whom the crowd booed vehemently. As soon as the match started, Gerlon drew his blaster with practised speed. Duncan managed to drop his blaster as he drew it. Twofingers didn't wait for Duncan to pick up his blaster, shooting him neatly in the chest. Duncan fell to the ground.

It's over! The fight is over! Gerlon Twofingers has beaten Deadeye Duncan again. Don't worry folks, he's just unconscious, as usual. The announcer shouted to the overwhelming roars of the crowd. Gerlon raised his hands in a victory pose to the adulations of his fans.
As Kiranna stepped away from the screen, an idea was formulating in her brain.

She and Carth didn't have many credits between them, as Kiranna noted when she bought their drinks. Duelling could mean some quick credits. She observed Gerlon Twofingers coming into the room, waving to the other duellists, who nodded to him in greeting. Kiranna sidled up to him.

"I saw your fight just now," she remarked.

Gerlon turned to look at her, giving her an appreciative once-over. She wasn't sure she liked the way he was looking at her, but she would stow her pride long enough to find out how to join the game.

"That wasn't much," he said. "Duncan always loses. You, however, look like you might be a challenge." Kiranna's smile became more pleasant as she figured out that Gerlon had been sizing her up as an opponent. "I can see from the looks of you that you might be interested in joining in on the game. How about it?"

"I'd like that," Kiranna replied.

"Go over there and talk to Ajuur the Hutt. He's the one that arranges these fights. You'll probably have to fight Duncan first, but he's a pansy. He won't be a problem for you." He grinned. "Maybe you and I will face off in the ring sometime."

Kiranna smiled. "I look forward to it."

After she finished talking to Gerlon, Carth approached her. "I'd love to know what's going on in your devious little mind," he told her. She laughed. He already knew her pretty well.

"We need credits."

"I know, but you're not thinking of fighting yourself, are you? I mean, you were pretty banged up in the crash."

Kiranna smirked. "I feel fit as a bantha, Carth. Besides, I can handle myself in combat."

"So I've seen, but I don't want you risking yourself unnecessarily." He sighed. "At least let me do the fighting."

Kiranna shook her head. "And miss out on all the fun? Not a chance. Sorry, Carth. I can handle these guys. Besides, you're the commanding officer here."

Carth looked at her skeptically. "Oh really? Just who has been taking charge since we left the apartment?" he asked. Kiranna was thrown off-guard. He was right. She had pretty much taken the lead, and Carth had mostly just been going along for the ride.

"That doesn't change the fact that you're the ranking officer," she protested.

"You're more useful than me," Carth countered.

"Says who?" she asked.

"Me. I can't speak Huttese or understand Duros or Ithorian. Your command of the local languages makes you far more useful to the mission than me." He shook his head. "You seem balanced in your combat, able to handle a vibroblade and a blaster. Me . . . I'm useless without my babies," he said, patting the holsters strapped to his thighs.

"Look, Carth. It seems like they don't do death matches here. If I lose, I'll just be unconscious. You don't have to worry about me being killed."

"Fine, fine. If you aren't the most damned stubborn woman I've ever met! You go on and set up a fight." Kiranna grinned. Men should know better than to argue with stubborn women. They never won. Carth glowered at her, arms folded over his broad chest as she went to speak to Ajuur the Hutt.

"[Sorry, human. The betting window is closed. No more fights tonight.]" the Hutt growled in Huttese.

"I'm not here to bet."

The Hutt seemed to perk up at this. "[Oh? Then I might have a proposition that can be very profitable for you, human.]"


"I'm listening." Ajuur told her about the duels, which she already knew about for the most part. He explained that as a duellist, she would win ten percent of the purse if she won, nothing if she lost. She thought ten percent was a little low, but didn't try to talk him up. She knew Hutts were resistant to many forms of persuasion, especially when credits were involved. Usually, she was a fast talker with a silver tongue, but even she wasn't sure she could talk the credits off a Hutt. She agreed to his offer.

"[Hm. We'll have to find a name for you. Something good like Deadeye, Ice, or Twitch,]" the Hutt said thoughtfully. "[I know. You come to this world with no history and no past. We'll call you the Mysterious Stranger. People will like it. It makes it sound as though you have some deep, dark secret.]"

Kiranna considered it for a moment. Personally, she liked Kiranna Sunrider, but she knew that she shouldn't use her real name. The Sith could have gotten a hold of the crew manifest from the Endar Spire, and she wasn't looking for everyone on Taris to know her name. "The Mysterious Stranger . . ." she said, as though still considering it. "I like it," she said at last. Well, it's better than some other names he could have given me, she thought.

"[Ho ho ho!,] the Hutt laughed. [Come back tomorrow night. You will be fighting against Deadeye Duncan. An easy fight. I'll use it to gage your skills so I can set you up with an opponent that may be a challenge for you.]"

Kiranna nodded. "Tomorrow night then," she agreed. She then joined Carth near the entrance to the room.

"Well, did you get a fight set up?" he asked.

"Yep. Tomorrow night. When does this party of yours start?" she asked.

Carth checked his chronometer. "Now, actually. We better get going." Kiranna nodded, and the two of them left the cantina, heading for the North Luxury Apartments on the North side of the Upper-City. When they arrived, the party was in full swing.

"Carth! I was afraid you weren't going to show!" a young woman with blonde hair that was neatly pulled into a ponytail at the back of her head said by way of greeting. Spotting Kiranna behind him, she frowned. "I see you brought a date."

"I'm not his date," Kiranna said instantly. "I'm just a friend of his." Carth gave her a side-glance. The look in his eyes seemed to say, 'what, you don't want to be my date?' She shook her head imperceptibly, as if to placate him.

"That's right, Sarna, Kiranna is just a friend of mine. We go way back. We're buddies. I can't even imagine being in a romantic relationship with her."

She joined the group of off-duty Sith soldiers in dancing. One of them, a male with short black hair approached her. "Hello, my name is Yun. I was glad to hear you weren't that hairless Wookie's girlfriend," he remarked. Kiranna laughed.

"Nice to meet you, Yun. My name is Kiranna." Yun kissed her hand politely. She agreed to dance with him a bit, but to be honest, he wasn't really her type. His build was a bit wiry, implying that he might be an officer rather than a soldier. She noticed that everyone was drinking Tarisian ale, excluding herself and Carth, who seemed to have declined Sarna's offer for a drink.


It wasn't long before everyone was on the floor, passed out. "Who spiked the punch?" she asked Carth, who shrugged with an easy smile. Kiranna spotted a footlocker, much like the one that had been in their apartment. Carth went over to it and picked the lock. They opened the lid to see four pristine sets of Sith armour inside.

"Sarna hinted that she and her comrades wouldn't have had enough time to lock up their uniforms at the base," Carth explained. "I heard one patrol talking about checkpoints, and figured that if we wanted to get by, we'd probably need uniforms or papers. Since the papers are harder to get, I thought this would be a prime chance to get uniforms."

"Good thinking, Sir," Kiranna said as she and Carth stuffed a uniform for each of them into their packs.

"So. Do you think you can tell me what you found out from that Twi'lek in the cantina?" Carth asked.

"Well, we might want to get out of here first. These Sithspawn might wake up soon," she advised. Carth nodded, so the two of them went back to their apartment.

Kiranna sat down on the bed, kicking off her boots and crossing her legs, making herself comfortable while Carth drew up a chair. "The Twi'lek knew more than I thought he would," Kiranna started. "He told me that by now, the escape pods have probably been stripped of anything valuable by the Black Vulkars. They're one of the Lower-City Swoop gangs from what I understand." Carth nodded. "He told me that some survivors had been found, probably by Republic sympathisers, and sent to Zelka Forn in the medical facility here in the Upper-City. However, any survivors found by the Vulkars will probably be sold as slaves."

Carth scratched the stubble on his chin. "Hmm. Sounds like we might want to talk to this Zelka Forn before we head to the Lower-City," he recommended.

"I thought the same. The Twi'lek also told me that a man by the name of Gadon Thek might know more about the escape pods. He's the leader of the Hidden Beks. From what I understand, the Beks and the Vulkars are engaged in a bloody gang war."

"Sounds like we really don't want to get involved," Carth protested.

"But if Zelka doesn't know anything about Bastila, Gadon might be our only hope," Kiranna countered. "If the Vulkars have her, he might be able to help us rescue her."

"Okay, I'll give you that much. We should get some sleep and head to the medical facility first thing in the morning." With that said, Carth took off his jacket and went over to the couch he must have been sleeping on while Kiranna was unconscious. She mentally thanked him for not getting them into an argument over who slept in the bed.

---

The early morning sun awoke Kiranna from her uneasy slumber. Ever since the escape from the Endar Spire, she couldn't seem to get a break from these strange dreams, most of them only vaguely remembered when she awoke. She sat up, seeing Carth already up and preparing their breakfast.

"Good morning, beautiful," he greeted her. He was wearing a white, short-sleeved undershirt and his normal black pants, free of his knee-high boots. Instead, on his feet were a pair of white socks.

"'Morning," she mumbled, not sure if she wanted him calling her that. "I have a name you know," she said groggily.

"Sorry, it's just a habit," Carth said, chastised. Kiranna waved her hand in front of her, telling him that she didn't consider it a big deal. Carth seemed to relax a bit, and even started whistling.

"We didn't really end our last conversation well," she said, the cobwebs in her sleep-addled brain beginning to dissipate. She would be the first one to say she wasn't a morning person. Not that she wasn't forced to arise early in the morning anyway because her shift clashed badly with her normal sleep cycle.

"Which one?" Carth laughed.

"Most of them, come to think of it," Kiranna replied, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "Why is it do you think that the two of us don't seem to get along?" she asked him.

Carth shrugged with a simple movement of his broad shoulders. "I dunno. We're both too stubborn for our own good, I guess," he replied casually. "We end up battling each other at every turn because you want to do things your way, and I want to do things mine." He grinned. "Although we don't seem to be doing too badly doing things your way for now."

Kiranna laughed. "Why do I get the impression that you're not entirely serious, Commander," she asked, emphasizing his rank. Not that it mattered. She wasn't trying to imply that she outranked him or anything. In fact, for the most part, she had been on the Spire as a civilian advisor. She had just about as much right to order him around as he did her. She wondered how exactly she had remembered why she was on the Spire today, when she hadn't the day before. She figured that now that she had healed up a bit, some of her memory was returning to her.

"Well, the way I see it, we can't get hung up on who's in charge. Besides, you don't wear a Republic uniform, so I figured you were a civilian, meaning I don't have the right to give you orders. I can try, but it's up to you to decide whether or not you want to follow them." He shrugged again. "And you actually seem to know what you're doing. You seem to have this charisma that gets people to tell you what you want to know." He put the contents of his pan on two plates and brought them to the table. "Breakfast is ready," he added.

Kiranna sat down across from him at the table again. "If you don't mind, Carth, I'd like to get to know you a little, since we're working together and all."

Carth seemed a little taken aback. "You want to know about me? Fair enough, I suppose." He thought for a moment, taking a bite of his food and chewing it thoughtfully. He washed it down with a gulp of blue milk. "I'm a career soldier. I've been with the Republic for sixteen years. I fought in the Mandelorian wars, but even their slaughter doesn't compare to what those Sith dogs do. I mean, not even the Mandelorians are so senseless!" He sighed. "I'm sorry."

Kiranna stared at him, chewing her own food. Once she swallowed, she observed, "It seems you've witnessed the cruelty of the Sith first-hand."

Carth hung his head. "I have. The Sith bombed my home world. Telos. And there wasn't a damn thing I could do to stop it!" Kiranna thought he might throw his fork at his plate with the way he had suddenly become so agitated, but he didn't.


"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry," she said.

"No. It's okay. It's just-I'm not used to talking about myself. At all, actually. I'm used to keeping my mind focussed on the business at hand, so let's just do that, alright?" Kiranna nodded. After that, she and Carth ate in silence. She figured she might be able to talk to him some more after he calmed down a bit.

After the two of them had finished eating and cleaning up, they left their apartment again. This time, no unpleasant surprises were waiting for them. The hallway in front of their apartment was almost completely clear, except for a Twi'lek female and an Ithorian walking by. Kiranna took the lead, heading out into the Upper-City with Carth close behind her.

As he had suggested, they went to the medical facility, asking the young man by the door where they could find Zelka Forn. He pointed them to the old man standing near the back of the room. He was an aging black man that was nearly bald and had a white, bristling mustache.

He looked up when they approached and smiled at them. "From your appearance, I can see you're off-worlders," he said to them. "But that doesn't mean I will refuse you treatment. Zelka Forn does not turn away patients. Now, is there something I can help you with? I can heal almost any injury or ailment right here at the medical centre, except for the Rakghoul disease, of course."

Kiranna was curious. "Rakghoul disease? What's that?" she asked.

Zelka looked sympathetic. "The Rakghoul disease is a terrible ailment. The Undercity breeds the disease, mutating any infected into terrible mutants that feed off the flesh of others."

Kiranna was aghast. "Is there no cure?" she asked.

Zelka sighed in resignation. "The Republic scientists in the military base were close to perfecting a cure, but then the Sith showed up and took over the laboratories within, taking the cure for themselves! I suppose the patrols they send into the Undercity might be equipped with the Rakghoul serum, if they haven't used it for an infection." He shook his head sadly. "If I could just get my hands on that serum! Then I might be able to synthesise enough to wipe the disease from the face of this planet!"

Kiranna considered his words. She knew that eventually, she and Carth would probably find themselves headed to the Undercity. "I'll see if I can get my hands on the cure for you," she told him.

"I don't see how you could. It would be suicide to break into the military base, and no one is stupid enough to attack their patrols!" He looked at her as if to ask her if she was stupid enough to attack the Sith, but said nothing. "Anyway, is there anything I can do for you? I have quite a lot of work to do."

Carth stepped forward. "We were wondering if you know anything about Republic escape pods that crashed into the Undercity," he said.

Zelka immediately backed away from them as though he was surrounded by enemies. "Wh-why would I know anything about that? I'm just a doctor!"

Kiranna took over here. "Please. We're with the Republic. We're looking for someone."

Zelka looked her over suspiciously. "How do I know that you are really with the Republic?" he asked. This told Kiranna that he must be concealing Republic soldiers somewhere in the medical facility.

"Please, Zelka. We're looking for information on the whereabouts of one of our soldiers. You can trust us," Kiranna pleaded. Carth backed off so as not to be so threatening to the old man.

Zelka relaxed a little, and said very softly, "For the past several days, people have been bringing Republic soldiers in here for me to treat. For the most part, their wounds are far too serious to heal completely. Tell me about this soldier you are looking for, and I might be able to help you."

Kiranna smiled and Zelka relaxed more. "We're looking for a Jedi woman," she started.

"She's a little shorter than my companion here," Carth said, gesturing to Kiranna. "Young. She has brown hair, brown eyes, and is Caucasian."

Zelka rubbed his mustache thoughtfully. "I'm sorry. I haven't seen anyone matching that description. Most of the Republic soldiers that are brought in here are male."

Kiranna nodded. "I see. Thank you for your help, Zelka."

The old man nodded. "If you need anything else, do not hesitate to ask. I always do my best to help the Republic."

"Thank you," Carth said. He and Kiranna turned to leave, but were stopped by the young man they had spoken to earlier.

"Hey, I've got a proposition to you that can be quite . . . lucrative," he said, voice low enough that only Kiranna and Carth could hear him.

Kiranna eyed him suspiciously. "What kind of proposition?" she asked.

"Davik Kang wants the Rakghoul serum. He'll pay quite handsomely for it. More than Zelka could ever afford," he replied.

"I don't think I'm interested," Kiranna said. She had heard that name scattered about in conversation, and from what she could tell, Davik was bad news, and definitely someone she didn't want to get involved with.

"Don't be an idiot! Listen. If you find the cure, take it to Zax in the bounty office. Davik will pay you what the cure is really worth!"

"I think I'd rather give it to Zelka," Kiranna told him. "He would use it to help people."

The young man laughed. "Helping people is all well and good, but you've got to help yourself first, right?" Kiranna was growing tired of the little Hutt slug.

"Right. If we gave the cure to Davik, then only the rich could afford it. Just let the poor suffer, is that it?" Carth demanded, sounding angered himself.

"Just remember my offer. Sell the cure to Davik, and you won't be sorry!"

Kiranna and Carth left. Kiranna didn't even give the offer a second thought. The poor were already forced into the Lower-City. They were the ones starving and dying as the rich spoiled themselves in the Upper-City.

"Well, we have the rest of the day ahead of us before your fight tonight. What do you say we go check out the Lower-City," Carth suggested. Kiranna nodded. They went back to their apartment and donned their Sith armour and headed toward the Northern section of the Upper-City, where lift to the Lower-City was located. They heard an old man on a corner, preaching about something or other, but they couldn't be bothered to stop and listen to him. Besides, from the snippets Kiranna caught of his speech, he didn't have much worth listening to.

They approached the elevator, seeing the Sith guard standing there, holding his blaster rifle. Kiranna had sheathed her vibroblade to her Sith utility belt, and Carth was carrying a blaster rifle. She wasn't entirely sure where he had found it, until she remembered the blaster rifle the Sith officer in their apartment building had been holding.

"Ah another patrol headed down to the Lower-City. Can't say I envy you. There's vicious gang war going on down there. Those Swoop gangs will take a shot at anyone, even our patrols." With that, he opened the lift door and allowed them to pass.

The lights above them flickered to life as the lift began its slow descent into the Lower-City.