'Sweet' Sixteen, Chapter 2: Taris' Warm Welcome

There was a hiss as the lightsabers clashed, a fusion of red and yellow. There were streaks of light as the sabers whirled around to meet each other again in a different position. The wielder of the red lightsaber's face was hooded, and unseen. The woman holding the yellow saber, a Jedi, seemed to be only in her mid- twenties. But it would be a mistake to underestimate her, for her skill was nearly unmatchable, except for those of the highest ranks in the Order. Seth watched the battle from a third person viewpoint, as he found when he attempted to join the fight.

So he watched as sparks flew into the air, as the combatants attacked and counter-attacked, until something caught his attention: a boy, no older than three, huddled in a corner behind the Dark Jedi at the head of the bridge, with a look of terror on his face. his light brown hair was short and spiky, and it made him look so innocent and helpless, that Seth tried to hurl himself onto the bridge and save the child before he got hurt. However, he had no success, and the child still looked terrified, casting fearful glances at everyone in the room. Seth looked at the scene angrily, seeing the four Jedi on the bridge do nothing about the child. The young Jedi cast down her opponent, and took a step forward. Then blackness faded in as Seth fell into unconsciousness.

Carth looked up when he saw movement from the bed. The boy thrashed about, then fell still. Carth shrugged and looked back down at his datapad with information on Taris. A corrupt planet with a sharp division between the rich and poor, Taris was ranked pretty low compared to the other planets he'd seen. Carth sighed as he thought of the poor, living in dark, dank places beneath the surface of the planet, the rich occasionally coming down to mock them. The swoop gang wars only added to their suffering and the streets weren't safe, as they were the scenes of many murders. The veteran shook his head. The galaxy was a mess, and it would be nearly impossible to fix.

The teen stirred, and Carth looked up. His eyes opened and he blinked several times, getting accustomed to the light. He sat up abruptly and looked around in bewilderment. "What?" he said. "Where am I?"

Carth chuckled. The boy had extreme bed head, and it looked as if he had an afro. His head tilted slightly to one side as he inspected the Captain. He suddenly gasped with realization. "You're Captain Onasi!!"

Carth nodded with a smile. "Good, that will spare me the long introduction. Who are you?"

"My name's Seth," the boy stuck out a hand. "Seth Avery."

Carth shook it with a grin. "Seth. I like the name."

Seth grinned. "So, where am I? Last thing I remember I was on the Endar Spire."

"The Endar Spire was destroyed by the Sith," Carth said. "We barely escaped the explosion, and we crash landed here on Taris. You banged up your head pretty bad, but as luck would have it I wasn't hurt too badly. I dragged you away from the crash site and found this abandoned apartment. By the time the Sith came along, we were nowhere to be found."

"Thanks, Captain. I owe you my life." Carth was surprised by the way he said the words. Teenagers would usually just shuffle their feet and stare at the floor while saying the words in a quiet voice, or would say it brashly and avoid eye contact. But this Teen was different. He said it strongly and looked Carth straight in the eye. And Carth knew he meant it.

"It was nothing. I haven't abandoned a fellow soldier before, and I'm not gonna abandon one now. Anyways, I need your help."

"Anything you need, Sir," Seth saluted.

"Okay, first, I think that 'Sir' may get a little tiring after a while. We're gonna be together for a long time, so let's skip the formalities."

Seth nodded.

"Anyways, Bastila's on-planet too. We need to find her before the Sith do."

"Um, who's Bastila?"

"You don't know?" Carth's eyes widened.

"Oh, I know, I was just asking for the fun of it." Seth said, sarcasm evident in his voice.

"Bastila's a Jedi, and is the key to the Republic war effort. Without her, the Sith would've won a long time ago. She killed Revan, Malak's master, and has the talent of Battle Meditation, a rare power among Jedi that can turn the tide of a battle to the Republic's favor."

'Sounds pretty important."

"Exactly my point. Not to mention that she's the only way off Taris. So l- we need to find her."

"Only way off Taris?"

"Yes. The Sith have claimed rule of Taris, and have blockaded the planet. No one can get in-"

"-or out," Seth finished.

"Exactly. But Jedi have their ways, and I'm sure Bastila can help us."

"So, if we find Bastila, we get off this rock?"

Carth nodded.

"Okay, I'll help you."

Carth smiled. "Good, I get the feeling we'll need all the help we can get."

"One thing though," Seth said. "I saw from orbit that the planet's pretty big. How're we gonna find her?"

"I have to admit it won't be easy, but I'm sure that most escape pods landed in the same general section of the planet."

"Alright, then we should start soon." Seth picked up his blaster from a nightstand and holstered it. He sheathed his sword (which he affectionately called Striker) and headed for the door.

"Hey, Seth," Carth said. "Yeah?"

"Where are your parents?"

"I dunno. I know my Mom's dead, but I'm not sure about my dad."

"How do you know she's dead?"

"I don't really know, I was really little, but I feel an emptiness inside me. It's weird. Anyways, The Jedi found me and gave me to a guy named Jaq. He raised me (though I don't think he liked me at first) on Nar Shaddaa. He taught me the basic street smarts, you know, slicing into a computer, handling a blaster, getting past a door's security system, stuff like that. He was really cool, and I think he really started to like me, until he left to fight in the Mandalorian Wars. I never saw him again. He left me 2000 credits to get myself a transport to Coruscant, said it was safer there, so I was out of there on the first flight.

"I wanted to be like him, and enrolled in the Republic Academy on Coruscant. I went through the basic and advanced training, and in my junior year, I was assigned to the Endar Spire. You know the rest."

Carth nodded, taking in his words.

"Your turn," Seth said.

"Oh, I don't think so."

"I just told my whole life story in a nutshell! You could at least tell me something."

"I don't know if there's much to say. I... I hope you don't expect me to elaborate."

"Did I elaborate? No. I don't expect you to go to the max."

"I've been a pilot for the Republic since before the Mandalorian Wars. I probably enrolled in the fleet around the time you were born. That was back when Revan and Malak were still Jedi."

"Jedi?"

"Yeah, those monsters were Jedi before the Wars. Anyway during the War, my homeworld..." Carth's voice trailed off.

"What about it?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"But-"

"Maybe Later, ok?" Carth's tone surprised him. He usually wasn't that harsh.

Seth took a step back. "Ok, maybe later then. Come on."

The boy opened the door and strode out, leaving Carth alone with his thoughts.

Seth's hand immediately flew to Striker's hilt. Standing with his back to him was a patrol clearly commissioned by the Sith. Two Duros cowered by the wall as the leader glared at them. "There was a patrol here yesterday!" one Duro said. "Why can't you leave us in peace?"The leader signaled to his droid backup. It shot the Duro, who fell to the ground. He then started to advance toward the other Duro before Seth lunged at the Sith, bringing Striker's strong blade through his chest. He quickly pulled it out and cleaved through the droids.

He wiped a droplet of sweat from his forehead and kneeled by the injured Duro. "You need a medpac, wait here."

Seth turned to get Carth, and found him leaning against the door frame to their apartment.

"You couldn't have helped?" Seth nodded toward the smoking droids.

Carth smiled. "I came out when I heard the commotion. They were dead when I came. Besides, it looked like you could handle yourself."Seth smiled.

"Thanks. Anyway, this Duro needs help. Do you have a medpac?"

"Yeah," Carth dug in his pocket and pulled a healing pack out. He kneeled by the injured alien and injected the medpac. "That should stabilize your condition, but you should still see Zelka."

Both Duros nodded. "[Thank you]" they said in their native tongue.

"[No problem, you should go]" Seth replied in a crude form of their language.

"You know Duro," Carth said, "impressive."

Seth grinned. "I know more than that!" Seth proceeded to name the languages he could speak as they walked, finishing once at the door of the cantina.

"That's a pretty extensive list of languages. Maybe you can be of some use to me. I was worried I'd be babysitting this whole time."

"Hey! I don't need no babysitter! I’m sixteen and I can take care of myself!"

"Whoa, don't get mad! I was just making a joke. I'm glad to have you along!"

Seth beamed. "Thanks. I've never really felt... wanted."

He followed Carth into the cantina. While it seemed Carth felt uncomfortable in the establishment, Seth couldn't feel any more at home. He saw a few people playing pazaak at tables, some crowding around screens set up in different places in the room, showing Holonet updates for the sector.

"Meet you later!" Seth said, and he sped off through the cantina before Carth could reply. The older man jogged after the boy, rolling his eyes when he saw him ogling at the Twi'lek dancers in the music room. He left Seth there to find information, exploring the rest of the cantina.

Seth tapped his foot to the beat of the music and was soon break dancing causing a crowd to join and cheer him on. One of the dancers pulled him onto the stage and he spun and swayed like a pro. This was where he liked to be, the center of attention. He noticed Carth run into the room and smack his head with the palm of his hand. Seth didn't care. He was having fun.

Carth left the room to find some more information (he hadn't gotten far before he heard the commotion in the music lounge), wondering if he really would have to baby-sit.

The song ended, and Seth hopped off the stage."... and he looks like one of them Core Worlders. He has Lower City style, but man, has he got moves!"

"Yeah, I wonder if he's a survivor of one of those Republic escape pods."

"Nah, he'd be stuck in the undercity. That's where all of 'em landed."

Undercity? Seth's senses sharpened. He strained to hear the conversation.

"Didn't you see that one slam into the street two days ago? It's still there. He could've been in that one."

"The Sith were on that pod faster than hungry cannoks. He'd be dead if he was."

'So the Sith want me dead?'  Seth thought. 'What else is new?'

"You're right. Probably came for supplies or the like, then got stuck here because of the quarantine."

Seth found Carth in the tap room, trying to get information from a spoiled noble youth, but failing miserably. "Having fun?" he asked.

Carth turned and gave Seth a look that said What do you think?

"Nice clothes," the noble scoffed. "What flea market did you buy them in?"

Seth looked unfazed. He shrugged. "The one down the street of course."

The noble laughed, still determined to give Seth a bad time. "Mmm... and you wouldn't have seen the larger, more fashionable store next to it?"

"Nope. Guess you didn't either."

The noble's face darkened. "Better not talk to me like that. I could tell Daddy."

"Daddy? Hm... I didn't know I was talking to the Daddy's little girl."

Fury started to become visible on her face. "At least my Daddy isn't a poor man concerned with those stupid Republic escape pods." She gestured towards Carth.

"Carth ain't my father. I don't got one!"

"Oh, that's why you wear what you wear. Don't have a father to support you."

Seth clenched his fists. "I'm no kid. I can take care of myself, you stuck up schutta." He said it quietly, but in a determined tone.

"How dare you speak to me like that? This won't be the last you see of me!"

She ran out furiously, and Seth still had his hands balled up into fists.

"Smooth," Carth said.

"Any information?"

"Nothing. You?"

Seth nodded. "Most of the escape pods, except for ours, landed in the Undercity."

"The Undercity?" Carth stroked his chin. "Interesting. Well, that gets us closer, but not much. It's a big planet."

"Well, they all probably landed in the same general vicinity. We're not gonna find one on the other side of Taris."

"True. But there are Sith guards everywhere, how are we gonna get down there, even into the Lower City?"

"They don't do any security checks unless they aren't wearing their uniforms. If we get the uniforms..."

"We get to Lower City," Carth finished.

Seth nodded. "You got it, sweetcake."

"Sweetcake?"

Seth grinned mischievously and nodded. "Yeah. Let's go... sweetcake."

Carth led the way into one of the apartment complexes of Taris. Right away he could tell there was trouble. A Sith stood guard next to a door from which came a scream of terror that could only come from an Aqualish. Seth's eyes widened and he glanced at Carth.

"Stay here," Carth said, and he started to move forward.

"Why? I want to help too!" Seth asked.

"It's too dangerous!"

"It's just as dangerous for you as it is for me!"

"No, it's not. I'm an experienced soldier and I've seen ten times as much combat as you."

Seth drew Striker. "That doesn't mean anything! I survived the Spire, didn't I?"

Carth sighed. "Fine. But don't get in the way, and retreat if it gets too rough."

Seth nodded. "Got it."