Kat's Kotor retell Part two; aka another fine mess you've gotten us into

Inside the bridge, the two Sith guards busied themselves dividing the spoils they had found by looting the corpses that littered the floor. They were going through their haul as they waited for their superiors and the dark jedi that accompanied them to finish searching for prisoners and mopping up the rest.

"Know what I heard, Mince?" the taller of the two asked his partner out of the blue as he counted a stack of credits.

The shorter man, known as Mince because of what he liked to do to live prisoners, snorted as he examined a very expensive looking chronometer he found on one soldier. He was trying to figure out how to bust it open to take out the jewel stones without damaging them. He had found it on one of the male officers, apparently named Jance according to the inscription from his wife on the band celebrating a wedding anniversary just last year.

"No, but I bet your gonna tell me anyway," he mumbled in annoyed reply.

"I heard from one of the recon guys that the officer in charge of this bucket was none other then that Onasi guy," the taller man replied, proving his partner right." The one from the Mandalorian Wars."

"You mean the one whose been taking out half the upper rank?" his partner looked over now, attention off the chronometer. "The one everyone says is after Karath's head?"

"Yeah, the very guy," his taller friend nodded. "I heard he's some kind of special forces hitman, gone crazy or something."

His partner turned away, snorting behind his helmet. "Ah hell, you listen to too many stories, Dek," he sneered. "That guy's just some bastard whose luck hasn't run out yet. He'll get his."

"Maybe, but he's a lucky bastard whose head is worth about a million credits," Dek added meaningfully. "Posted by the Admiral himself. I bet he'd be awful appreciative towards the guys who'd done the job for him."

Mince stopped what he was doing, considering. "Hmmm...maybe," he replied. Then he shrugged. "Naw, even if we found the dirtbag and took him out, ole Bandon would just step in and take all the credit for it."

"You scared?" Dek sneered. "Scared to take him on? "

"No I ain't scared of no Republic..."

He was cut off as the door to the bridge opened. Both men turned to see the slender form of a half dressed woman, her pant leg shredded on one side, heavily bandaged and stained with blood, stumble into the bridge. She could barely walk, and she teetered on her legs unsteadily as if she were going to pass out from blood loss. She turned big, pleading eyes in their direction, reaching out to them.

"H-help ....me....please..." her frail voice begged.

And promptly collapsed in an unconscious heap on the deckplates.

The two soldiers stood and stared at her for a moment, too surprised to do anything else. Their heads turned to look at each other, then they both rushed to her side, pushing and shoving the other one to be the first one to get there.

"I saw her first!" they both yelled.

"You know, I read about something like this happening to some guy in this magazine once," Dek confided, forgetting all about his stack of credits.

"You read too much!" his shorter partner snorted. "Pansy."

"I bought it for the pictures," Dek muttered defensively. "I only read it cause I was bored."

"Sure. Whatever you say, pansy."

"Hey, how come she ain't wearing a Republic uniform?" Dek observed, falling to his knees at the unconscious woman's side. "You don't think she's one of those Jedi do you?"

"C'mon you moron! She aint wearing much of anything!" Mince replied, pulling off his helmet to get a better view. He pushed some of her long, tousled hair out of the way so he could see her better. "She aint dressed like no jedi, and she's a real looker! Must be a joygirl or some low rank broad who signed on. Looks to me like she was in too much of a hurry to escape to get dressed. Must've been doin one of the officers or somethin when we hit em, trying for a quick gain in rank."

"Her leg looks like it got caught in a grenade blast," Dek observed, examining her injuries. "Think we should report this?"

"Oh no, not yet. We aint sharing this prize with nobody," Mince sneered, his eyes hungrily roaming over her body. "Not till we've had our fun. Then we'll fix her back up nice and pretty before we call it in. Might get some extra pay for a live prisoner. I hear ole Bandon likes to make em scream before he kills em."

"He'll make us scream if he catches us," Dek replied, scowling as he pulled off his helmet. "We're supposed to be on guard duty. You sure this is a good idea?"

"What are you, goin fey on me?" Mince snapped. "Naw, nobody will be back for awhile. Enough time for both of us to have a go. Ill drag her back into this corner here, and when I'm done Ill stand watch for you."

He grabbed the woman's arms and pulled her inert form off across the deck. "C'mon baby. We're gonna have us a little fun."

"All right all right," Dek replied, shaking his head. "But keep it down this time, will you?"

"Heh, she's unconscious you moron," Mince replied with a sneer, working to take his abdomen armor off. "Too bad, she looks like a real screamer. Maybe I can wake her up."

"She'll probably sleep through the whole thing," Dek muttered in annoyance, but Mince didn't hear him, too focused on the task at hand.

"Oh man," Mince chuckled." Look at the rack on this dame! I can't believe our...."

His voice cut off in a sudden gurgling noise followed by a thud.

"Mince?"

No reply. Grumbling, Dek walked over to check on his partner.

His partner's body lay across the now very much awake woman, a knife hilt sticking out of his throat. She glared up at him, her eyes glittering with malice. All traces of the weak and helpless woman were gone and her hand was pulling his partner's blaster from his belt.

"Frak!" Dek screamed, swinging his gun up to bear on the woman.

A sudden hot pain, and he looked down to see the hole that was burned through his chest. His gun fell from limp fingers as he collapsed to the deck, dead.

Trask ran up behind him, a smoking blaster in his hand. "Are you all right?' he asked frantically.

"Yeah, yeah...I'm fine," the woman replied, pushing in disgust at the body on top of her. "Get this meatbag off me, will you?"

Trask grabbed the Sith's body by the collar of his armor, and heaved him off of her. Then he reached down to help her to her feet, a smile playing on his face. "Hey, that worked out pretty good. Just like you said."

"Like I said, kid," she replied with a grin. "Men are men, and you're all so predictable."

"Hey!" he protested in jest.

"Anything useful on the bodies?" she asked.

He bent down to loot them both, showing her the haul he found. " A few credits, another grenade, sonic by the looks of it, and a medpac!" he held it up triumphantly. Then his smile faded as he stared at the half full syringe. "Well...half a medpac anyway."

"Beggars can't be choosers." she took the syringe from him and injected it into her leg. The pain eased up a bit, and she found she was able to bear weight a bit more steadily on her leg. "Ahhh... that feels good."

"C'mon," Trask motioned towards the door on the opposite side." The escape pods are this way!"

They went through that door, which led into a corridor identical to the one they had just come up. More corpses littered the hallway, these ones showing long burn wounds instead of blaster shots. "The jedi must have come this way." Trask observed.

"That means we either have more enemies ahead, or some friends." Sarrin replied, looking down at a mix of both Sith and Republic bodies. 'Probably both."

"We're almost to the lifepods." Trask explained, sounding hopeful. " I want you to take my comm. Try and contact someone. Ill take point and do most of the fighting, since you're still injured."

"Okay," she took the proffered unit, strapping it on her wrist. She had to adjust it as it was a bit too big. "But be careful, kid. Don't let your excitement make you cocky. We're almost home, so lets not blow it now."

"I know I know," he replied, looking askance. 'We got this far right? It's gonna be fine, you'll see. Let's go!"

She followed him down the hallway, still limping but almost able to keep up. A couple times he had to stop to wait for her, as her attention was fixed on the comm unit. But so far all she had found on the other end was dead air. Trask didn't seem disappointed by it though, in fact his excitement was growing the closer they got to the escape pods. He spotted the end of the corridor up ahead and motioned for her to follow. "C'mon! We're close now!"

She hurried up to him where he stood, looking uncertainly between twin doors. One to each side of the end of the hallway.

'What's wrong? " she asked. A sudden feeling of uneasiness overtook her, and she glanced around nervously. "Which way?"

He motioned to the right door, but grabbed her hand when she went towards it. "Hold on."

"What?' she asked. That uneasiness grew inside her.

"I heard something over here." he nodded towards the other door. "Someone else might still be alive. We have to check it out!"

"I don't think ..." she started to say, but he reached the door before she could finish and hit the switch.

The door slid open to reveal a scene from hell.

Inside stood a tall, powerful figure of a man in long flowing black robes. He held a man, an officer by his uniform, in one hand suspended in the air by the throat. His other hand held a lightsaber, its red glowing blade shoved through the man's chest, transfixing him. Several of his victims limbs had been severed off, burned pieces of his and other bodies littering the floor.

The apparition's bald head turned towards them as the door opened, eerie light blue eyes that shined with a strange yellow light turned upon them. They widened slightly as they fell on Sarrin, and she felt a rush of powerful energy from this being. Cold, dark energy, and mired in cruelty. Her limbs froze solid, trapped like a animal in a corner by that eerie, malevolent gaze. As if some dark tendrils of energy rose up and wrapped her in chains, unable to speak or move. Her mouth opened wordlessly, a scream of fear dying in her throat before she could voice it.

"You." the man's hoarse voice called, reverberating within her frozen soul like the call of death's angel. Terror raced down her spine.

"Sarrin! Get to the lifepods!" Trask shouted, and she was dimly aware of him shoving her towards the other door with a strength that surprised her. She tumbled to the deck, backing away from the monster within the room in horror." I'll try to hold him off! Go!"

He pulled his sword and stepped into the room, coming between her and the monster that threatened her. She snapped out of her fear, realizing what he intended to do.

"Trask!" she screamed, struggling to regain her feet. "No! Don't do this!"

He turned to look at her one last time, a look of regret in his eyes as he gave her a brave smile. Then he hit the latch to the door, and she saw him pull his blaster and shoot the controls just as the door slid shut, sealing himself in the room with that thing.

"No...NO!" she threw herself at the door controls, sobbing and cursing. Why? Why did he do that? It was senseless. She should have stopped him, should have saved him.

He was just a kid..a kid who dreamed of being a hero.

She heard his dying screams coming from the behind the door, tearing at her heart. She had failed him. And now he was gone.

Pull it together, her mind shouted. Move! Don't let his sacrifice be in vain, you owe him better then this. Get your butt moving.

"You were a hero, Trask," she whispered, leaning her head against the door. "You were. And I'll always remember you"

She pushed herself off the door, stumbling back a step as cold anger raised itself within her heart.

"Both of you." she promised herself.

She turned and limped over to the other door, working to splice it open. Maybe it was her imagination, but she thought she could hear a hissing noise, as if something were trying to burn through the door behind her. Her anger was replaced by fear, as she realized that the monster, finished with Trask, was probably trying to get out to come after her.

She knew she was in no condition to fight, and something about that man had terrified her to the point of inaction. She knew she had no hope of beating him, and she wasn't too proud to run. She got the door to open and limped through it, stopping only to seal it behind her again. To buy herself some more time.

Time for what? her mind taunted as she stumbled off down the corridor. You haven't the slightest idea where to go. You're lost, lost and now you're alone .On a ship full of people that want to kill you. And you don't even know why.

No time to waste with that, she argued with herself. Just move, keep moving. It didn't matter. Anywhere away from the man with the lightsaber was better then standing in one spot, cowering like some idiot gizka waiting to die. At least make him work for it, make him find you. Just keep moving.

Why? Why did that man want to kill her? He had recognized her, she was sure of it. But how would she know such a monster, she was just some scout. And why couldn't she remember anything? It was maddening. Her breath started coming more rapidly as she fought to make sense of it all. What the hell was going on anyway?

If she was going to die here today, she at least wanted to know why.

She shook her head, trying to snap herself out of such useless thoughts. It didn't matter. Just keep moving. Try to remember the layout of the ship. Logic would dictate that it would be the same as the port side, only reversed. She tried to remember the flight from the dorms, but it had been so hectic. And the gruesome death of Trask was still too fresh in her mind. She bit back as sob as she imagined him, being slowly hacked to pieces by that monster. And she had just stood there, frozen in fear like a coward.

Now he was dead too, like all the others aboard this ship. That monster, it was only a matter of time before he caught up to her. And then he would do to her what he had done to all the others, like Trask. Gods...Trask.

Her pace quickened along with her heart beat, the adrenaline coursing through her body forcing her to try and run down the hall, dragging her injured leg along at more of a hop then anything. She couldn't give up, couldn't just sit around and wait. Trask had sacrificed himself to save her. She wouldn't just give up, and let him die for nothing.

She came to the end of the hallway, the door opening to a T in the intersection beyond. She stared blankly at it, mind racing. Both sides were identical, with no markings to indicate which way she should go. What was this? She couldn't remember encountering this pattern on the port side anywhere.

"What the hell, " she gasped, looking around in a near panic. "Who designed this damn ship anyway?"

She turned, forcing her head to clear long enough to splice the door controls and seal it behind her. To give her time to get her bearings, and maybe slow the monster she knew was pursuing her down just a little. Once that was done, she turned her attention back to the hallway, thinking frantically.

She had no idea which way to go, and her heart told her she didn't have time to explore them both. If the man that killed Trask wasn't coming for her, sooner or later the enemy would finish their search and simply blow the ship to hell. Then she would die in the explosion or the coldness of space. It had already taken her too much time to get this far. She had to pick one, and hope she was right. It was her only chance. Think, damnit! Think!

"Gods," she whispered in a pleading prayer. "Help me."

As if in response, the comm unit on her wrist crackled to life. No holo appeared this time, but a deep male voice came out of the speaker.

"Trask?" the voice whispered furitively. "Trask, do you read me?"

She looked down in surprise. It was the voice of the commander from earlier. A feeling of hope washed over her as her shaking fingers fumbled for the reply button.

"Hello? Commander?" she whispered back, trying to calm her quaking voice." Are you there? Where are you?"

There was a moment's hesitation. Then, "Who is this?" the voice replied."Where's Trask?"

"Trask is dead." she replied, biting back a sob. "T-this man...I think he was a dark jedi....he.."

"Damn, I told that kid not to come," the commander sighed in resignation, as if some weight fell on him. "Who is this, anyway? Are you all right?'

"My name is Sarrin, Sarrin Kasra, sir," she replied. "I was with Trask. We tried to get to the bridge, like you ordered. "

"I know, and I'm sorry." the commander replied, and she was surprised by the sincerity in his tone." I had to get Bastila to the escape pods, and we met heavy resistance. I just hacked into the life support systems to look for survivors, that's how I found you. I'm tracking you through Trask's comm unit."

"Where are you?' she looked around nervously. "Are there any others?"

"You and I are the only ones left alive on the ship," came the solemn reply. " Bastia is away, but damn few others made it to the escape pods. That's where I am now. I've got the door sealed and spliced the system to rechannel the pods to manual override so the Sith can't disable them from the bridge and cut off our escape. Do you think you can make it here?"

"The only ones? Gods, so many...dead," she responded, leaning back against the wall tiredly." Yes, yes sir. I can make it, I just don't know the way"

"You're very close to where I am, just a little ways to go. I can guide you." he replied, but his voice sounded concerned, as if in sudden doubt. "Kasra...you're Bastila's scout recruit, aren't you? Are you sure you can make it? I could try to come get you."

"But if you do that then the Sith could get to the lifepods," she more stated then asked ."Right?"

"Yes." he sighed in resignation. "That's possible. But if you need help.."

"With all due respect commander," she cut him off, her tone sharpening with her rising sense of panic. "If that happens, we're both screwed, okay? And I don't know about you, but dying out here in space isn't high on my list of things to do today!"

"Mine either, lady." he replied. She thought she heard a chuckle on the other end. "All right, then. You're at a crossing now. Follow it to the left and keep going. We'll get you here."

"Okay." she closed her eyes and breathed a prayer of thanks before starting off limping down the hallway, feeling a renewed sense of hope .Although, she did feel a bit embarrassed by her outburst so she added " Sorry about snapping off at you like that, sir."

"Not a problem. I've had worse, believe me." he responded. "Oh, and soldier?"

"Yes sir?"

"Breathe, okay?' the voice warmed in tone, soothing and confident. " I'm not leaving this ship without you."

She bit back a sob of relief, drawing strength from the confidence in that voice. She could see why Trask was so enamored of the man. Maybe there were real heroes out there, after all.

"Thank you, " she breathed in response. Then as an afterthought. "Commander?"

"Yes ma'am?"

"Stay on the comm with me, " she asked, a bit embarrassed by how weak that request must make her sound." till the end....please?"

"I'm not going anywhere, miss." he responded reassuringly. "I'm just checking the scans on the road ahead so we can get you here safe and sound. I'll be here with you all the way. I promise."

"Good, that's good news." she replied, closing her eyes against tears that threatened to fall. She couldn't let them, not yet. She had to keep her guard up, stay sharp until this was over. Still, it was comforting. She had been trying to be the strong one, the one in charge, ever since she woke up in the middle of this hell . She was tired, hurting and frightened, and it just felt good to let someone else be in charge for a bit.

"Hold up a second," the man's voice came back over the comm." We got something. Looks like a lone guard just up around the bend. Are you armed?"

"Yes, sir." she replied, looking down at her injured leg and deciding whether or not she should attempt to use her sword, or try her luck with the blaster again.

"After a fashion," she added, mostly to herself.

"Good" he sounded like he was in thought and missed the last part ."I don't suppose by any chance you might happen to have a stealth field generator on you, would you?"

"Wait...yes. Yes I do!" she responded, digging through her pockets. She pulled out the little box Trask had handed to her back on the bridge ."We found it on one of the guards."

"Good girl." he sounded impressed." Put that on and activate it. You're best bet is to try and sneak past this guy. Let's try to get you out of here with as little combat as possible, agreed?'

"Whatever you say, boss." she replied, attempting levity to ease her tension. 'You get me off this ship alive, and I'll buy you the best damn dinner in town. With drinks."

"Oh, you're on. Hope they pay you scouts well because I'm so sick of rations I could eat a bantha." he responded lightly. She found herself smiling, he was likable this one. Not stuffy or full of himself like she imagined he would be. "Now remember, don't try and attack him unless he notices you. Just sneak by as quiet as possible. No heroics."

"Sounds good to me, boss."

"And keep your comm open.' he added. "That way if you get into trouble I'll know it, and I can come help you."

"Gotcha, here goes nothing," she replied, taking a deep breath.

---

She flipped on the stealth unit, feeling a slight tingle all over her as the field surrounded her. She could only see a slight shimmer if she raised her hand up to the light, otherwise the effect was invisible to the wearer. It must only work one way, she thought. It seemed to bend the light just enough to make the wearer invisible to the eyes of others.

Enough playing around, her mind scolded. You can figure the gadget out later. Go.

She started off again, hugging the wall and laboring to keep her bootsteps silent and her breathing steady and soft. She spotted the guard as she came around the corner, several meters ahead of her. He seemed to be standing his post, his feet shifting every so often in signs of obvious boredom. Corpses littered the hallway, a battle had obviously been fought here. But he seemed to be paying it no mind.

It was a little eerie, from her point of view. It felt as if she were walking right towards him in plain sight. She felt a moment of panic as she wondered what would happen if the stealth field failed, but pushed the thought away. Don't borrow trouble, she instructed herself. She concentrated instead on keeping her breathing soft and steady as she drew even with where the guard stood, watching him for any sign that he might become aware of her presence.

Her foot bumped into something, and she froze like a statue. Not five feet away from the soldier. Almost of their own free will, her eyes traveled down to see what her foot had struck.

It was the body of another Republic soldier, a woman. Her body was covered in long, blackened burn marks. As if she had been slowly tortured to death with a lightsaber. She lay on the floor face up, her body at an odd angle that would only be possible if the spine were snapped in two. Sarrin felt bile rise up in her throat as her eyes traveled up the broken and mutilated body in horror.

Then they reached the dead woman's face, and she had to slap both hands over her mouth to keep from screaming in terror at the sight. Where the woman's eyes had been were now only two blackened and burned sockets. Her jaw had been cut off, and the burned stub of what had been a tongue was clearly visible. Her legs almost buckled under her, her heart pounding in her chest so loudly she was sure the guard standing just a few feet away must be able to hear it. Look away, her mind told her. Keep it together, and look away.

Her eyes moved back to the guard, praying he hadn't heard anything. But her fears were unfounded. He was too busy occupying himself by reaching under the plating of his armor to scratch at his backside, with a sort of satisfied grunting as if there were nothing unusual about standing so close to such horrific death.

She backed up to the wall, sickened by the whole scene. Keeping one hand against the wall to guide her, she backed around the far hallway until the guard was out of sight. She came to a door at the end of the hall, and opened it to reveal a room empty except for a couple of storage crates, a broken down robot and a computer terminal.

"Okay, I'm clear," she whispered into the comm." I'm in a room at the end of the hall."

"You did good." the commander's voice came back over the speaker. She was surprised at how glad she felt to hear it again. But then, maybe it was just the shock and fear she was feeling from this whole ordeal. What harm was there in grabbing on to whatever lifeline you find? "What happened back there anyway? Your heart rate spiked like crazy."

"Just a...a dead body I saw. A woman." she replied, feeling embarrassed when she realized he had monitored her reactions with the life support system." I must seem like a real coward, don't I?"

"No. Not at all, miss," he answered, his voice rich with understanding." Seeing death is never easy, even after you've seen lots of it. And Sith aren't known for being gentle with their prisoners. I'm sorry you had to see that."

Something in what he said caught her attention, and suddenly she realized what a risk he was taking by not just boarding a life pod and getting out of here. He was a Republic officer, and apparently a well known enemy of the Sith. What would the Sith do to this man if they caught him?

"Why are you still here commander?' she asked thoughtfully. "You could've just left with Bastila. Why?'

There was a moment's pause. "It's my job to see to the safety of my crew, miss."

She thought about reminding him that most of his fellow officers in the fleet didn't take their jobs that seriously. She remembered Trask's face when he talked about wanting to be a hero like this man, maybe the kid had something there after all. She was almost ashamed at her earlier cynicism, her scoffing thoughts about this man. He certainly was brave. And he had a really nice voice.

"You don't have to call me miss, you know." she responded, a smile stealing over her features as she decided to play with Mr. Hero a bit. "I have a name, commander."

"So do I." he retorted, that warmth stealing back into his voice ."And it's not commander or 'boss'."

"So what should I call you then?' she asked, enjoying this little banter as she went about searching the crates to see what supplies she could find. She particularly liked his little emphasis on 'boss'. Useful information, that.

"Call me Carth." he answered. "Pleased to meet you, Sarrin."

"Pleasure's all mine," she responded with a sly grin. " boss."

"Hey now. That's not fair," he chuckled. "We'll settle this planetside. You ready for a bit of action?"

Her eyebrows shot up at his choice of words, her grin widening " Well, that depends," she purred in response. " What did you have in mind? "

"You're one room away from the lifepod bay now." he responded, his tone becoming more businesslike again. She could swear he sounded a bit flustered for a moment. "But that room between us has a whole mess of Sith soldiers standing guard. We need to find some way to thin their numbers, then we can hit them from both sides. "

"What do you suggest?" she looked through the items she found in the crates. Just some spare parts and a few computer spikes. The pain medicine was starting to wear off, and she was really hoping for another med pac.

"If memory serves me right, there's a terminal in that room."

"Yes, there is." she looked around ."There's also an assault droid but it looks like its broken down."

"Oh yes. Good old C5. He's seen better days." Carth replied. "You could try and repair him, but there's an easier way. You know anything about splicing a computer?"

"A bit," she replied coyly. "I think I could muddle through."

"You are full of surprises, lady." he sounded impressed." I see why they recruited you. There's a power conduit in the next room. Think you can hack the computer to overload it? It might take out a few of them. "

"I can manage that," she responded." But as soon as it blows, it's gonna have their attention. So we'll need to be ready to party."

"Believe me, I'm ready," he replied. She heard the sound of metal clicking, like clips being loaded into a blaster. "Just be careful, okay?"

"I was born careful, boss." she answered, limping over to the computer console and splicing away. It took several seconds but re-routing the power was a fairly simple hack "Okay. This baby's about ready to blow."

"Gotcha."

"Oh and boss?" she added.

"Yeah?" he whispered back.

"Just so you know, I'm a lousy shot with a blaster." she smiled ruefully. "You might want to duck if I end up aiming your way."

She heard his chuckle. "Glad you warned me, sweetheart."

"No problem. I'd hate to shoot my rescuer," she replied. "Ready? I'm setting off the explosion in three."

"See you on the other side." came his response.

She counted to three and set off the explosion. The computer console showed sparks fly out, electrifying three of the troops that stood nearby. Then the door slid open and all hell broke loose.

She leapt through the door, blaster out and firing as rapidly as possible at the remaining three troops who stood within. She nailed one of them in the arm and chest, and he fell down. Then a stray shot hit her blaster and sent it flying from her hand. Frak, this really wasn't her day.

She rolled to the side to avoid their fire, hearing the sound of the door on the other side sliding open as she came to her knees, pulling out her vibrosword and hitting the switch to activate it. She struggled to get her legs under her, to get to her feet before she ended up shot full of holes. But her injured leg wasn't cooperating, and pain lanced through her side as she tried to put weight on it. She dropped back to her knees, cursing under her breath.

And saw several more Sith troops racing towards the room they were in from the hallway she had come down. Reinforcements.

A shot rang out as a beam from a wide bore rifle whipped past her head to take one of the remaining Sith troopers still in the room with her right through the head. The force of the beam ripped the man off his feet, throwing his now dead body back and to the deck.

She looked back to see the man from the comm standing just behind her, a wide bore assault rifle in his arms. He ducked a shot from the one remaining Sith in the room casually, jacking back the slide to load another explosive round into the gun's firing chamber.

"Get down!" he ordered. So she hit the deck, arms going over her head instinctively.

The rifle sung again, this blast taking the Sith who had just shot at them through the chest, knocking him back into a console. She heard him reload the rifle again, taking out the lead soldier that reached the doorway first from the reinforcements. The man fell back headless, his body crumpling in the doorway and getting in the way of the troops trying to swarm around him.

She saw the commander toss the now empty rifle to one side, pulling twin blasters from the gunbelts worn low around his hips as he stepped out into the room in front of her. She watched him level those blasters, sheer economy of movement as he took out Sith after Sith, as if those guns were a living part of him. Shots were going off all around them, which he seemed to duck with an almost eerie precognition. One or two hit the edges of his jacket, but she could swear he didn't even flinch from it. She watched him in awe, too stunned to do anything else.

It was over in seconds.

The last two Sith fell, and he reholstered his blasters with practiced ease. He turned back towards her, giving her a welcoming smile as he reached down to take her arms and lift her easily to her feet.

"You didn't tell me you were injured." His voice was even richer and more soothing in person.

"I....I didn't think to mention it." she responded, a bit breathlessly. He was far more handsome then she remembered from the holo. Tall and strongly built, her head only reached the height of his broad shoulders. He had handsome, rugged features with a slightly scruffy bit of stubble on his jaw and chin. But it was his eyes that she couldn't stop staring at, the most enticing shade of hazel and deep as an ocean. She could see so much in his eyes, such strength of character, pride, nobility.....and a sense of soul deep pain.

"No. You knew if you told me, I'd leave the pods to come help you." he scolded, his eyes searching hers for something. For a moment, she thought he might have felt as breathless as she did. But it was probably just from the battle. Her imagination playing tricks on her. "That was very brave of you."

"It was nothing," she demurred, looking away shyly. He must think I'm some kind of loony, she thought, staring at him like that. He was still holding her arms, steadying her on her feet. It felt...nice.

Something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye, and she saw one of the Sith stagger up to his feet. He brought his rifle up and aimed at them.

"Look out!" she called in warning, going to push him out of harms way.

His arm circled her waist, lifting her off her feet and swinging her around behind him. She felt the heat from the rifle blast as it seared past her waist, her vest getting a hole singed through it. He pulled the vibrosword out of her hand and threw it, the blade burying itself in the chest of the Sith who fired on them with a thud. The soldier fell to the ground, the blade still humming as silence fell once again.

"I think I'm in love," Sarrin murmured to herself. Damn, he was good.

He turned back around to face her, looking as calm as if nothing had happened.

"Right. Sorry about your sword," he apologized. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah." she replied, trying to appear as calm as he looked. That calm was almost shattered as he reached down and swept her up into his arms to carry her to the lifepod.

Go ahead, her mind taunted. Tell him to put you down. You love this and you know it.

"You don't have to carry me, you know," she told him as she put her arms around his shoulders to hold on.

"You're injured." he answered with a shrug ."You could barely stand on that leg. You need a medic. "

He hit the button to open the pod and ducked inside to deposit her onto a seat. She was amazed at how cramped the inside of it was. Amazed, and uneasy. It looked way too small to drop out of orbit in.

This was definitely not her day.

"Strap in." he warned her, reaching up to flip several switches as the pod's engine roared to life.

She grabbed the straps and started trying to figure out which way they worked, barely getting them latched as he hit the eject button.

The pod shot out at breakneck speed, even as Carth was just strapping himself in with practiced ease. She was having to chant 'breathe breathe breathe' to herself to keep from hyperventilating as the force of the ejection had her plastered against the back of her seat.

She stared out the viewport at the giant planet below that was racing towards them at a frightening speed. She gulped, looking around at the instrumentation.

"Aren't we going a little too fast?" she asked, trying to hide the quaver in her voice.

"No, this is about normal." he shrugged. He looked so calm she wanted to kick him.

A blast sounded close by, and the escape pod lurched. Her head snapped forward and she gave a yelp. "What was that?!"

"Sith are firing on us." he responded without thinking. Then he looked up as his mind registered the panic in her voice. He gave her a reassuring smile ."Don't worry, we're moving too fast for them to line up a good shot. We'll be through the atmosphere before they can lock on."

She could tell he was lying by the way he was avoiding eye contact. "You're a lousy damn liar, boss." she accused.

Another blast rocked the pod again, proving her point. She glared at him.

He cursed under his breath in a language she didn't recognize, glaring up in the direction of the Sith vessel with a cold hatred in his normally warm eyes.

"Cant we do something?' she asked, looking around wildly.

She felt him take her hand in his, squeezing it reassuringly. She looked over to see him gazing at her with a reassuring smile, but there was a sadness in his eyes. "Don't be frightened. It's gonna be okay."

She gripped his hand tightly, forcing herself to take slow, deep breaths ."Promise?" she asked. "Cause if we die here, I'll never get around to buying you that dinner I promised you."

"I promise." he grinned ."You're not getting out of our deal that easily, lady."

The pod lurched suddenly, as if it hit resistance. She gave a whimper of fear, closing her eyes tightly.

"We just hit the atmosphere." his fingers stroked the back of her hand soothingly. " We'll be on the ground in just a minute, hang in there."

She nodded, but kept her eyes shut.

Another blast rocked the pod, followed by the sound of an explosion. She heard herself scream, heard Carth call out her name.

Then something hit the back of her head and everything went black.