Many fanficy goodness!
So my Atton piece won a Valentine's Day contest over at Kotorfanmedia livejournal's site. Which is pretty sweet, since I didn't write it specifically for that purpose.
I hadn't been inspired all that much lately, but finally my brain got a kick start and I started writing the third chapter for Purpose Beyond Revenge. It needs some major proofing and brownie points for those who can name and identify the movie reference in this one.
Ugh...did anyone get that swoop racer's ID number?
Carth's head was trying to spin itself off his shoulders and he felt the familiar sensation of warmth and the copper taste of blood in his mouth. He was hanging upside down and there was blood trickling down into his eyes. That cold thing was still in his stomach, letting him know he hadn't been out for long. It still sang of battle and Sith blood that had been spilled. He dangled from his escape pod seat, trying desperately to blink the blood out of his eyes. I couldn't have been out for long. My ears are still ringing from impact. I got to get out of here though, before the Sith arrive
A moan came from the other side of the escape pod and Carth realized that what he thought was an empty chair was actually the seat that had formerly been beside him. It had snapped from the wall at some point in their re-entry and now there was someone trapped beneath it.
"Schutta."
His mind was still foggy from the impact, and the cold thing in his gut wrapped around his core and took over. Carth watched as if from outside himself as his body unbuckled itself and fell as lightly as it could either side of the broken seat. He had done this several times during the Mandalorian Wars, and countless times on Telos, his body took over as his heart and mind went somewhere else. Not wanting to deal with the pain of dealing with the injured right away, he'll deal with it later. Like he always did. His mind barely registered that the body he was rescuing was a woman and it appeared as though she was bleeding badly from a gash in her side. It looked as though she had a cut on her head to match his somewhere beneath her ebony hair. He recognized her from the Endar Spire but he mind was too far in it's own world to put everything together right away.
He remembered her climbing into the escape pod before him. He remembered the explosion that rocked the Endar Spire as they jettisoned into space. He supposed that had something to do with the chair being knocked loose. It was also the likely culprit of his gashed head, and his inability to remember anything before the landing.
He gathered the survival packs that were stowed away in the compartments. Carth was beginning to hear airships and sirens. The Sith would be here soon; they had to get out of here and fast. He spared a quick moment to pray that the woman had no spinal injuries before gathering her up into his arms. She was lighter than she should've been and she began moaning in pain the moment he picked her up.
The bit of Carth that was still feeling hoped for her sake he found shelter. And soon.
********************************
The main corridor of the apartment complex was dark, dingy, and dirty. And not necessarily in that order. The smell of tabaac smoke and the stench of desperate living wrinkled Carth's nose and drove the last remaining hold his cold anger had on him. He could hear skittering along the walls that he hoped didn't indicate vermin, but the smell made him think that it might be a hope made in vain. Carth passed countless doors, each one cracked open a tiny bit and what little light was in the hall revealed glittering, alien features. Features that quickly disappeared in a rush as each door slid shut as he past.
Carth was beginning to lose hope he would find shelter, he clutched the unknown woman in his arms. He had to tend to her wounds soon, or she would lose too much blood to be saved. He already had the deaths of countless soldiers and civilians from the Endar Spire weighing down on him, he didn't need the death of the only one to make it to him and the escape pods weighing on him as well.
I should've ordered them all to the escape pods right away. What was I thinking of ordering them to the Bridge? No one made it in time to help. I probably got countless people killed trying to follow my orders when they should've just run to the nearest escape pod bay.
"You a Republic, soldier?" A voice, dry as rice paper, crackled out from the darkness. It grated against Carth's skin and he felt that cold part of him grip his chest. He was so lost in his thoughts and self-recrimination that he didn't sense the owner of the voice approaching.
"Just a man looking for shelter. Who's asking?" Carth squinted at the dark corner the voice came from.
A light flickered on in a hidden alcove Carth didn't notice before, when his eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness, he recognized it as a janitor's station. An old man wearing a janitor's uniform shambled out from the corner and leered at him.
"No need to lie, boyo. You stink of battle and blood," the man pointed a wrinkled finger at him, "You're one of those Republic soldiers that escaped from the space battle above, aren't you? A Sith sure as hell wouldn't have come in here all tippy-toe like you did."
Carth bristled; he didn't like the vibes he was getting from the old man. His guns were unreachable, unless he wanted to drop the woman in his arms. With her head injury, that struck him as a Very Bad Idea. Just like how letting Bastila leave without him had been a Bad Idea and just how him taking this assignment had been a Terribly Bad Idea.
"Look, all we need is a place to stay. We were just civilians on that Republic ship. There's no need to call the Sith."
"Call the Sith?" the old man laughed, "Why would I go and do a thing like that? And don't lie to me again, sonny. She might have been a civilian, but YOU scream soldier from head to toe, don't need no uniform to tell."
Carth sighed as the tension rushed out of his body all at once and he grinned wearily at the old man, "I get that all the time. Too much time at the academy I guess. So, do you have a place we can stay? I need to treat her wounds quickly if I am going to be of any help to her."
"I sure do, boyo. Follow me," the old man shuffled past Carth and led him down the hall, "Name's Kadir, by the by, used to serve in the Republic myself before my leg went all bum on me. Now I'm just in charge of keeping this here building clean and in working order."
Carth smartly kept his mouth shut and tried to shift his burden into a more comfortable position.
"You couldn't have picked a better place to hide out though. Nobody but illegal aliens living here. Sith raids quite frequently but the never bother with this apartment." Kadir stopped in front of an apartment. Carth could see nothing that set it apart from all the others.
"What makes it so special? Last thing we need is a Sith searching our hideout."
A wide grin broke out across Kadir's face, gracing Carth with an intimating view of some brown teeth, "The Sith think the door is broken."
Kadir demonstrated by pressing the door pad, it gave a sickly sounding chirrup but didn't open. Then he reached up and touched a nondescript panel several feet above the door pad and the door slid open.
"I can jam the lock for you so not even that panel will work. Once the Sith finish searching the apartments I'll come back and unlock the doors for you. This is where a lot of the tenants hide their contraband. Healing supplies are behind a panel in the refresher room. Food and booze in a panel in the floor of the kitchen. Weapons are in there too, but I kindly ask you leave those alone. The Sith like to make life hell for the other tenants. They lock up people for any excuse they can think of. So they keep most of their questionable stuff in here. Make use of whatever healing devices you need, just try and keep it light. We can't always make it to Zelka's and he takes a big risk every time he helps an alien."
Carth stepped into the apartment; it was much cleaner than the hallway. The smell was even gone, he supposed it was kept that way to keep the Sith from bothering the tenants here too much. Carth strode over to one of the beds and laid the woman down as gently as he could. Kadir puttered behind him and disappeared into what Carth assumed was the refresher. He turned a few minutes later with some medical supplies in hand.
Carth glanced over his shoulder at the old man, "So what's wrong with being an alien here?"
Kadir snorted, "Most Tarisians like to think they're high and mighty. Makes them feel better about Taris not being the intergalactic trading hub anymore. You've got Upper City Taris, that's where we are now, aliens aren't allowed to hold housing here and any businesses are 'gently' persuaded to take up residence in Lower City Taris. Lower City is just a bunch of swoop gangs and lowlifes. And whatever your business here is, avoid Under City at all costs. There is a disease running rampant through all the outcasts down there. So you're best bet it to wait up here for the Sith blockade to leave."
"Sith blockade?!" Carth dropped the med pack he was unwrapping. Finding Bastila will do no good if we can't leave... Get it together, Onasi. One thing at a time. Get the girl healed up, find Bastila, and then worry about a way off this rock.
"Yeah, nasty little buggers have been bleeding us out for a couple of months now with that damned blockade. Word came down on the holo-vids that now they're not letting anyone off world anymore. So, you take your time resting up. It looks like you'll be here for a while. I'm going to go now and lock you all up. I'll come back and release the lock once the Sith finish searching for Republic survivors. They should be here any minute knocking things over, so keep her quiet and you should be fine."
The old man turned to go and Carth reached out for him, "Hey, Kadir...thanks. I'll find someway to repay you. I promise."
"Don't worry about, soldier to soldier. They always help each other out."
The apartment door slid shut and Carth shifted his attention to his charge. He lifted up her jacket to survey the damage.
"Yeeeesh."
I hadn't been inspired all that much lately, but finally my brain got a kick start and I started writing the third chapter for Purpose Beyond Revenge. It needs some major proofing and brownie points for those who can name and identify the movie reference in this one.
Ugh...did anyone get that swoop racer's ID number?
Carth's head was trying to spin itself off his shoulders and he felt the familiar sensation of warmth and the copper taste of blood in his mouth. He was hanging upside down and there was blood trickling down into his eyes. That cold thing was still in his stomach, letting him know he hadn't been out for long. It still sang of battle and Sith blood that had been spilled. He dangled from his escape pod seat, trying desperately to blink the blood out of his eyes. I couldn't have been out for long. My ears are still ringing from impact. I got to get out of here though, before the Sith arrive
A moan came from the other side of the escape pod and Carth realized that what he thought was an empty chair was actually the seat that had formerly been beside him. It had snapped from the wall at some point in their re-entry and now there was someone trapped beneath it.
"Schutta."
His mind was still foggy from the impact, and the cold thing in his gut wrapped around his core and took over. Carth watched as if from outside himself as his body unbuckled itself and fell as lightly as it could either side of the broken seat. He had done this several times during the Mandalorian Wars, and countless times on Telos, his body took over as his heart and mind went somewhere else. Not wanting to deal with the pain of dealing with the injured right away, he'll deal with it later. Like he always did. His mind barely registered that the body he was rescuing was a woman and it appeared as though she was bleeding badly from a gash in her side. It looked as though she had a cut on her head to match his somewhere beneath her ebony hair. He recognized her from the Endar Spire but he mind was too far in it's own world to put everything together right away.
He remembered her climbing into the escape pod before him. He remembered the explosion that rocked the Endar Spire as they jettisoned into space. He supposed that had something to do with the chair being knocked loose. It was also the likely culprit of his gashed head, and his inability to remember anything before the landing.
He gathered the survival packs that were stowed away in the compartments. Carth was beginning to hear airships and sirens. The Sith would be here soon; they had to get out of here and fast. He spared a quick moment to pray that the woman had no spinal injuries before gathering her up into his arms. She was lighter than she should've been and she began moaning in pain the moment he picked her up.
The bit of Carth that was still feeling hoped for her sake he found shelter. And soon.
********************************
The main corridor of the apartment complex was dark, dingy, and dirty. And not necessarily in that order. The smell of tabaac smoke and the stench of desperate living wrinkled Carth's nose and drove the last remaining hold his cold anger had on him. He could hear skittering along the walls that he hoped didn't indicate vermin, but the smell made him think that it might be a hope made in vain. Carth passed countless doors, each one cracked open a tiny bit and what little light was in the hall revealed glittering, alien features. Features that quickly disappeared in a rush as each door slid shut as he past.
Carth was beginning to lose hope he would find shelter, he clutched the unknown woman in his arms. He had to tend to her wounds soon, or she would lose too much blood to be saved. He already had the deaths of countless soldiers and civilians from the Endar Spire weighing down on him, he didn't need the death of the only one to make it to him and the escape pods weighing on him as well.
I should've ordered them all to the escape pods right away. What was I thinking of ordering them to the Bridge? No one made it in time to help. I probably got countless people killed trying to follow my orders when they should've just run to the nearest escape pod bay.
"You a Republic, soldier?" A voice, dry as rice paper, crackled out from the darkness. It grated against Carth's skin and he felt that cold part of him grip his chest. He was so lost in his thoughts and self-recrimination that he didn't sense the owner of the voice approaching.
"Just a man looking for shelter. Who's asking?" Carth squinted at the dark corner the voice came from.
A light flickered on in a hidden alcove Carth didn't notice before, when his eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness, he recognized it as a janitor's station. An old man wearing a janitor's uniform shambled out from the corner and leered at him.
"No need to lie, boyo. You stink of battle and blood," the man pointed a wrinkled finger at him, "You're one of those Republic soldiers that escaped from the space battle above, aren't you? A Sith sure as hell wouldn't have come in here all tippy-toe like you did."
Carth bristled; he didn't like the vibes he was getting from the old man. His guns were unreachable, unless he wanted to drop the woman in his arms. With her head injury, that struck him as a Very Bad Idea. Just like how letting Bastila leave without him had been a Bad Idea and just how him taking this assignment had been a Terribly Bad Idea.
"Look, all we need is a place to stay. We were just civilians on that Republic ship. There's no need to call the Sith."
"Call the Sith?" the old man laughed, "Why would I go and do a thing like that? And don't lie to me again, sonny. She might have been a civilian, but YOU scream soldier from head to toe, don't need no uniform to tell."
Carth sighed as the tension rushed out of his body all at once and he grinned wearily at the old man, "I get that all the time. Too much time at the academy I guess. So, do you have a place we can stay? I need to treat her wounds quickly if I am going to be of any help to her."
"I sure do, boyo. Follow me," the old man shuffled past Carth and led him down the hall, "Name's Kadir, by the by, used to serve in the Republic myself before my leg went all bum on me. Now I'm just in charge of keeping this here building clean and in working order."
Carth smartly kept his mouth shut and tried to shift his burden into a more comfortable position.
"You couldn't have picked a better place to hide out though. Nobody but illegal aliens living here. Sith raids quite frequently but the never bother with this apartment." Kadir stopped in front of an apartment. Carth could see nothing that set it apart from all the others.
"What makes it so special? Last thing we need is a Sith searching our hideout."
A wide grin broke out across Kadir's face, gracing Carth with an intimating view of some brown teeth, "The Sith think the door is broken."
Kadir demonstrated by pressing the door pad, it gave a sickly sounding chirrup but didn't open. Then he reached up and touched a nondescript panel several feet above the door pad and the door slid open.
"I can jam the lock for you so not even that panel will work. Once the Sith finish searching the apartments I'll come back and unlock the doors for you. This is where a lot of the tenants hide their contraband. Healing supplies are behind a panel in the refresher room. Food and booze in a panel in the floor of the kitchen. Weapons are in there too, but I kindly ask you leave those alone. The Sith like to make life hell for the other tenants. They lock up people for any excuse they can think of. So they keep most of their questionable stuff in here. Make use of whatever healing devices you need, just try and keep it light. We can't always make it to Zelka's and he takes a big risk every time he helps an alien."
Carth stepped into the apartment; it was much cleaner than the hallway. The smell was even gone, he supposed it was kept that way to keep the Sith from bothering the tenants here too much. Carth strode over to one of the beds and laid the woman down as gently as he could. Kadir puttered behind him and disappeared into what Carth assumed was the refresher. He turned a few minutes later with some medical supplies in hand.
Carth glanced over his shoulder at the old man, "So what's wrong with being an alien here?"
Kadir snorted, "Most Tarisians like to think they're high and mighty. Makes them feel better about Taris not being the intergalactic trading hub anymore. You've got Upper City Taris, that's where we are now, aliens aren't allowed to hold housing here and any businesses are 'gently' persuaded to take up residence in Lower City Taris. Lower City is just a bunch of swoop gangs and lowlifes. And whatever your business here is, avoid Under City at all costs. There is a disease running rampant through all the outcasts down there. So you're best bet it to wait up here for the Sith blockade to leave."
"Sith blockade?!" Carth dropped the med pack he was unwrapping. Finding Bastila will do no good if we can't leave... Get it together, Onasi. One thing at a time. Get the girl healed up, find Bastila, and then worry about a way off this rock.
"Yeah, nasty little buggers have been bleeding us out for a couple of months now with that damned blockade. Word came down on the holo-vids that now they're not letting anyone off world anymore. So, you take your time resting up. It looks like you'll be here for a while. I'm going to go now and lock you all up. I'll come back and release the lock once the Sith finish searching for Republic survivors. They should be here any minute knocking things over, so keep her quiet and you should be fine."
The old man turned to go and Carth reached out for him, "Hey, Kadir...thanks. I'll find someway to repay you. I promise."
"Don't worry about, soldier to soldier. They always help each other out."
The apartment door slid shut and Carth shifted his attention to his charge. He lifted up her jacket to survey the damage.
"Yeeeesh."