Niki (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
niki_chidon) wrote2007-11-24 09:43 pm
niki_chidon) wrote2007-11-24 09:43 pm
Fic: Nights of the Old Republic 7/?): Taris, Day 4 (Carth/femRevan)
Title: Nights of the Old Republic (7/?): Taris, Day 4
Author: Niki
Fandom: SW:KotOR
Disclaimer: Full disclaimer in the prologue.
Previous parts: Prologue, Chapter 1, Interlude, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4 and Chapter 5
---------------------------------
Chapter 6: Taris, Day 4
---------------------------------
Shin spent the night at the Bek base but asked the others to return to the hideout, as they would not be allowed to attend the race anyway. Carth had agreed reluctantly, and even Mission had seemed miffed. But Shin had wanted no distractions.
She spent the evening talking to Zaerdra, Gadon Thek's bodyguard. The Twi'lek woman filled her in on the situation between the swoop gangs, telling her that the Vulkar Brejik who held Bastila was once a Hidden Bek, and a protégé of Gadon Thek. When Gadon had been blinded he had expected to lead the gang, and, when refused, had left the gang to join their enemies.
"And yet the old fool refuses to give up hope. But I know that had Brejik been allowed to lead the Beks he would have turned out to be just the same here," Zaerdra finished.
Shin thought of the Vulkars she'd fought out in the corridors of the Lower City, and their willingness to attack civilians and gang members alike. And Brejik encouraged them? She silently agreed with Zaerdra.
"I tell you, if you ever run into him, give him one from me."
- - -
She should have known that rescuing Bastila would not be as simple as just winning the race. That bit had been surprisingly easy, too.
Swoop racing had been exhilarating, the speed demanded total concentration and made Shin forget everything else. It was funny, from this she did not get a feeling she'd done it before but her reflexes were enough to make her, indeed, 'ace it' as Carth had predicted.
She had won with a new track record, but Brejik and the Black Vulkars had refused to hand Bastila over as a prize, quoting the prototype accelerator as a reason.
Bastila had chosen that moment to release herself, and a fight ensued. Shin had had time to note that the Jedi did not seem disoriented despite her trance or what ever it had been, and did handle herself very well against the Vulkars.
Shin hadn't wanted to kill Brejik because she had grown to respect Gadon Thek and knew he wouldn't have wished it, but the dark man left her with little choice. At least Zaerdra would be happy.
Bastila was not what she'd expected, either. She seemed... volatile for a Jedi. A beautiful brunette, taller and younger than Shin, carrying herself with grace even in the weird corset-thing the Vulkars had dressed her in... and she resented the claim that she had needed rescuing.
It's not like Shin expected to be treated like a hero, or even necessarily to get a thank you, but some acknowledgement of the work she and Carth had put on saving her ass would have been appreciated from the arrogant young woman. While debating with her whether she had been rescued or not just for the hell of it, Shin tried to recover from the shock of recognising the woman from her dreams. She couldn't recall seeing her on board Endar Spire, so how could she have dreamt of her?
Not that she was about to share that little problem with the Jedi any time soon.
Oh, *now* she was listening, at the mention of Carth's name. What was up with that? 'Of course it's all right if *Carth* thinks I'm good,' she fumed. Because *Carth* is so fantastic and... 'Carth is one of the Republic's best soldiers.' Fawning Jedi-brat. Why did the girl annoy her so? Did she feel threatened by her? Mission and Zaalbar hadn't really threatened the status quo but this young human who knew Carth before her might...
'Please, take me to Carth right away,' she repeated in her head mockingly while leading the Jedi to their HQ. 'Carth wouldn't have sent you here if he wasn't confident in your... abilities.' You bet, sister, he likes my 'abilities' all right.
Wait. Was she... *jealous*? Did she fear the other woman would offer *competition*?
Nah. She just rubbed her the wrong way, that's all. It's not like she had exclusive rights on the pilot or something.
- - -
Bastila's tone changed about Carth, too, as soon as they reached the apartment. No more 'He's proved himself a hero a dozen times over' but 'you forget who's in charge'.
Carth stayed surprisingly calm when informing the Jedi what he thought of her leadership abilities. And, to Shin's amazement, the woman actually apologised (albeit grudgingly) and asked for his advice.
Maybe they could work with her, after all. She even found it possible to discuss her dreams with her. In any case, she did have the Jedi training, she should understand dreams and visions.
The discussion was... different from what she would have expected. Now Bastila was actually willing to acknowledge her part in *locating* her (still not a word of 'rescue' though) and evading capture. And she seemed to think more about the dreams than she let on.
Shin had learned not to fret about these things. She took that, and Bastila's vague hints at her Force abilities and put them on queue to wait for their escape from Taris, when something could possibly be done about them, or at least she'd have time to think about them.
They still had more pressing things to worry about.
Like putting Bastila to her place. Despite her suddenly found manners, the girl Jedi could obviously not act like a leader. Carth was over a decade older and way more experienced in the field. Still, Bastila was the head of the mission on paper. And technically, both were Shin's superiors. Still... Shin had felt in charge before Bastila came along, and she was damned if she wouldn't go on about things just the way she damn well pleased.
Maybe it was her smuggling days, she mused, but she did not react well to someone trying to establish authority over her. She did things her way, and as that seemed to work, she saw no reason to change it.
- - -
Funny. They ended up doing things her way. Somehow it seemed to be up to her to decide who was to do what next. She wanted to start working on that 'escaping Taris' bit now that Bastila was safe. So they'd need to go out to gather information.
She didn't question her decision to have Carth along – she liked his company, unwavering morality, and shooting skills. And if she had found herself to go out of her way to help people even more than usually, just to see the appreciation in his eyes, then... well, just one more subject to add on the queue for later.
Bastila she had to take or she would no doubt whine. But it would attract too much attention to travel all together, so she send Mission and Zaalbar to check on the Beks and stock on Zelka's 'reasonably priced' products.
They had walked for a couple of blocks when Carth shot her a conspiratory glance before innocently inquiring from Bastila how she had been captured. The sight of the flustered young Jedi who had to admit she had temporarily misplaced her lightsaber had Shin biting her lip not to laugh.
Had it been Mission, she would have told Carth to behave. But with the Jedi princess... she joined in.
"Maybe losing lightsabers is a side-effect of her Battle Meditation," she suggested.
The boyish grin Carth shot her behind Bastila's back took years off his face and made him so handsome Shin felt... tingly. Just like...
They did not talk about it. But it had happened. And she was happy about it. She couldn't remember any other men, so in a way it was her first time. And she was fiercely happy that it was with the man she had learned to appreciate on so many levels. A man who had learned to trust *her* - if only in some things.
She knew he still had his issues about trusting anyone, and didn't delude herself about the level of his trust but they could work on that.
She was startled out of her reverie by a Twi'lek who informed her that Canderous Ordo wanted to meet her.
"Isn't that the Mandalorian working for Davik Kang we've heard so much about?" she asked Carth, who simply nodded before voicing the question also in Shin's head.
"Why would the pet merc of a local Exchange boss want to meet with you?"
"Only one way to find out. Besides, we need to visit Javyar's cantina anyway. I have a bounty to collect."
"A *bounty*!?" Bastila was obviously shocked.
"That's how justice works here," Carth explained, "the government offers bounties on the criminals they can't apprehend. And we need the credits."
"I see."
- - -
Shin could only come up with one word when looking at the Mandalorian. Power. He was taller and more muscular than Carth, his grey hair and scarred face made it difficult to determine his age but she figured he was older as well.
His posture spoke of strength and experience. A true warrior. And he went straight to the point. He wanted to get off Taris. And he needed Shin's help to achieve that.
The plan was simple. Steal the Sith launch codes from the base, and steal a ship from Davik Kang. One thing bothered Shin: "What do you need me for?"
"I'm too well known as Davik's man to get away with breaking into the Sith base," the Mandalorian explained.
"I see. And how are *we* supposed to achieve that?"
"Davik ordered an astrodroid that will be capable of getting through the door. After that, it's up to you."
"And after we have the codes?"
"Then I'll tell you the rest of the plan," Canderous grinned, and Shin couldn't help but answer with a smile of her own.
"Naturally," she conceded.
- - -
"I sense no deception from him, which is surprising. This might be what we were looking for," Bastila said.
Shin fought down the urge to say 'no shit' like a kid, and ignored the Jedi completely, instead she turned her worrying eyes on Carth. He had fought in the Mandalorian Wars, after all.
"I hope you won't find it uncomfortable working with a Mandalorian."
He looked surprised at her concern.
"I... no. I can work with him. Just don't ask me to trust him," he smiled, only a little, but Shin felt happy that he could joke about his trust issues.
"So. Let's go steal a droid and break into a Sith base!"
She could have sworn she heard Bastila mutter 'oh joy' behind her.
- - -
"Why can't I come along?" Mission was not really whiny, just wistful.
Carth opened his mouth but Shin silenced him with a frown. If he said something sweet, caring, and so very patronising, Mission would be in a huff for hours.
"Because we can't all go," she explained. "I'll need the T3 unit. Bastila's not coming," she said, knowing that would make the Twi'lek happier.
Funny enough, the Jedi rubbed her the wrong way, too. Bastila tried so hard to be older than her age – even though she still had the impulse to act like a teenager which Mission seemed to bring out.
"What?" this was news to the Jedi.
"Look, I'm breaking into a Sith Base. I need someone on my side I know I can count on. No offence, but I have fought with Carth. I know what he's capable of. I know we work well together. You, I haven't seen in action. And I can't risk this missi... sorry, Mission, this job to be an adjustment exercise."
- - -
The T3 unit proved to be quite handy in battle as well. It saved their asses a couple of times. The whole thing was pretty straight forward, really. Go in, and shoot everyone that tried to stop them.
She had considered sneaking in (again) but the thrill of the battle took over, and she found she was throwing herself into the fight whole-heartedly. This shouldn't be her – she was a smuggler not a soldier! But it was becoming quite obvious she'd had some extensive fight training in the past, and she was drawing on those skills unconsciously.
Shin thought it weird that this time meeting a dark Jedi didn't bother her – she knew she – they – could take him. And they did.
But not without much pain. The Sith governor was attacking them with the Force as well as his lightsaber, and it was impossible to keep her distance. Carth was using his two blasters with deadly accuracy from the doorway, as was the little droid, and Shin knew it fell on her to keep their target moving and prevent him from getting to melee range.
She abandoned her blasters, and released the Echani brand from the holster on her back, and tried to summon the skills she knew she possessed somewhere in her muscle memory.
She was working on pure instinct, seemingly blocking blows without being aware they were coming, and using her body to distract the man from his own manoeuvres – while trying to avoid getting hit by her own team mates.
Then she saw an opening, took it... and her weapon was lodged inside the Sith's chest, stuck, but he was still alive, still attacking... he couldn't move his saber arm properly, the strike had damaged his upper body too badly. His other had was holding Shin as a shield so that the others had to stop firing. With desperate strength Shin grabbed his arm with both hands and forced the deadly beam of his lightsaber towards his own body... burying it in his chest. The superior look the man had worn turned to incredulous as his grip on Shin loosened and he started falling to the floor.
Shin had killed many people in this new life of hers but had never had to see it so close. Meeting the eyes of the dying man, watching them as the light faded... she felt a sense of connection, a familiarity that frightened her. Surely, *surely* she had never *enjoyed* killing?
She kicked the body away and staggered backwards until she met a wall, then simply slid down to sit on the floor, and wrapped her arms around her knees, hugging them close.
"Shin? Shin! You all right?"
Carth was there, crouching next to her, touching her cold hand... She couldn't stop shivering, so he sat down and held her close.
"It's all right, everything's going to be all right," he kept whispering until she calmed down.
"I felt... good, watching him die," she finally whispered, "like I'd done that a lot. Like I'd... I'd... been good at it. Like I'd... liked doing it. What kind of monster am I? I've been wanting to know who I was but now... now I'm not so sure..."
Carth forced her to look into his eyes before talking with a quiet but forceful tone: "Whoever – whatever – you were, you are not that person *now*. You would not be affected by this if you were a monster."
- - -
Only after she had stopped shivering did Carth let go and went to find the launch codes in the Sith governor's pocket. Shin was glad she didn't need to touch his corpse.
She wasn't sure how to feel about the weapon Carth had pulled out of the dead man, and cleaned on his robes. Part of her wanted to leave it behind, to never touch it again. Another part knew that, being a second-hand weapon, this was not likely to be its first kill.
And she was so good at using it. The skill might save her – or her friends – one day. She couldn't really afford to be squeamish.
She accepted the offered weapon without a word. She holstered her blasters, and exited the room, holding the brand.
She was a soldier now. Time to accept the blood that came with the job.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Continued in Chapter 7
Author: Niki
Fandom: SW:KotOR
Disclaimer: Full disclaimer in the prologue.
Previous parts: Prologue, Chapter 1, Interlude, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4 and Chapter 5
---------------------------------
Chapter 6: Taris, Day 4
---------------------------------
Shin spent the night at the Bek base but asked the others to return to the hideout, as they would not be allowed to attend the race anyway. Carth had agreed reluctantly, and even Mission had seemed miffed. But Shin had wanted no distractions.
She spent the evening talking to Zaerdra, Gadon Thek's bodyguard. The Twi'lek woman filled her in on the situation between the swoop gangs, telling her that the Vulkar Brejik who held Bastila was once a Hidden Bek, and a protégé of Gadon Thek. When Gadon had been blinded he had expected to lead the gang, and, when refused, had left the gang to join their enemies.
"And yet the old fool refuses to give up hope. But I know that had Brejik been allowed to lead the Beks he would have turned out to be just the same here," Zaerdra finished.
Shin thought of the Vulkars she'd fought out in the corridors of the Lower City, and their willingness to attack civilians and gang members alike. And Brejik encouraged them? She silently agreed with Zaerdra.
"I tell you, if you ever run into him, give him one from me."
- - -
She should have known that rescuing Bastila would not be as simple as just winning the race. That bit had been surprisingly easy, too.
Swoop racing had been exhilarating, the speed demanded total concentration and made Shin forget everything else. It was funny, from this she did not get a feeling she'd done it before but her reflexes were enough to make her, indeed, 'ace it' as Carth had predicted.
She had won with a new track record, but Brejik and the Black Vulkars had refused to hand Bastila over as a prize, quoting the prototype accelerator as a reason.
Bastila had chosen that moment to release herself, and a fight ensued. Shin had had time to note that the Jedi did not seem disoriented despite her trance or what ever it had been, and did handle herself very well against the Vulkars.
Shin hadn't wanted to kill Brejik because she had grown to respect Gadon Thek and knew he wouldn't have wished it, but the dark man left her with little choice. At least Zaerdra would be happy.
Bastila was not what she'd expected, either. She seemed... volatile for a Jedi. A beautiful brunette, taller and younger than Shin, carrying herself with grace even in the weird corset-thing the Vulkars had dressed her in... and she resented the claim that she had needed rescuing.
It's not like Shin expected to be treated like a hero, or even necessarily to get a thank you, but some acknowledgement of the work she and Carth had put on saving her ass would have been appreciated from the arrogant young woman. While debating with her whether she had been rescued or not just for the hell of it, Shin tried to recover from the shock of recognising the woman from her dreams. She couldn't recall seeing her on board Endar Spire, so how could she have dreamt of her?
Not that she was about to share that little problem with the Jedi any time soon.
Oh, *now* she was listening, at the mention of Carth's name. What was up with that? 'Of course it's all right if *Carth* thinks I'm good,' she fumed. Because *Carth* is so fantastic and... 'Carth is one of the Republic's best soldiers.' Fawning Jedi-brat. Why did the girl annoy her so? Did she feel threatened by her? Mission and Zaalbar hadn't really threatened the status quo but this young human who knew Carth before her might...
'Please, take me to Carth right away,' she repeated in her head mockingly while leading the Jedi to their HQ. 'Carth wouldn't have sent you here if he wasn't confident in your... abilities.' You bet, sister, he likes my 'abilities' all right.
Wait. Was she... *jealous*? Did she fear the other woman would offer *competition*?
Nah. She just rubbed her the wrong way, that's all. It's not like she had exclusive rights on the pilot or something.
- - -
Bastila's tone changed about Carth, too, as soon as they reached the apartment. No more 'He's proved himself a hero a dozen times over' but 'you forget who's in charge'.
Carth stayed surprisingly calm when informing the Jedi what he thought of her leadership abilities. And, to Shin's amazement, the woman actually apologised (albeit grudgingly) and asked for his advice.
Maybe they could work with her, after all. She even found it possible to discuss her dreams with her. In any case, she did have the Jedi training, she should understand dreams and visions.
The discussion was... different from what she would have expected. Now Bastila was actually willing to acknowledge her part in *locating* her (still not a word of 'rescue' though) and evading capture. And she seemed to think more about the dreams than she let on.
Shin had learned not to fret about these things. She took that, and Bastila's vague hints at her Force abilities and put them on queue to wait for their escape from Taris, when something could possibly be done about them, or at least she'd have time to think about them.
They still had more pressing things to worry about.
Like putting Bastila to her place. Despite her suddenly found manners, the girl Jedi could obviously not act like a leader. Carth was over a decade older and way more experienced in the field. Still, Bastila was the head of the mission on paper. And technically, both were Shin's superiors. Still... Shin had felt in charge before Bastila came along, and she was damned if she wouldn't go on about things just the way she damn well pleased.
Maybe it was her smuggling days, she mused, but she did not react well to someone trying to establish authority over her. She did things her way, and as that seemed to work, she saw no reason to change it.
- - -
Funny. They ended up doing things her way. Somehow it seemed to be up to her to decide who was to do what next. She wanted to start working on that 'escaping Taris' bit now that Bastila was safe. So they'd need to go out to gather information.
She didn't question her decision to have Carth along – she liked his company, unwavering morality, and shooting skills. And if she had found herself to go out of her way to help people even more than usually, just to see the appreciation in his eyes, then... well, just one more subject to add on the queue for later.
Bastila she had to take or she would no doubt whine. But it would attract too much attention to travel all together, so she send Mission and Zaalbar to check on the Beks and stock on Zelka's 'reasonably priced' products.
They had walked for a couple of blocks when Carth shot her a conspiratory glance before innocently inquiring from Bastila how she had been captured. The sight of the flustered young Jedi who had to admit she had temporarily misplaced her lightsaber had Shin biting her lip not to laugh.
Had it been Mission, she would have told Carth to behave. But with the Jedi princess... she joined in.
"Maybe losing lightsabers is a side-effect of her Battle Meditation," she suggested.
The boyish grin Carth shot her behind Bastila's back took years off his face and made him so handsome Shin felt... tingly. Just like...
They did not talk about it. But it had happened. And she was happy about it. She couldn't remember any other men, so in a way it was her first time. And she was fiercely happy that it was with the man she had learned to appreciate on so many levels. A man who had learned to trust *her* - if only in some things.
She knew he still had his issues about trusting anyone, and didn't delude herself about the level of his trust but they could work on that.
She was startled out of her reverie by a Twi'lek who informed her that Canderous Ordo wanted to meet her.
"Isn't that the Mandalorian working for Davik Kang we've heard so much about?" she asked Carth, who simply nodded before voicing the question also in Shin's head.
"Why would the pet merc of a local Exchange boss want to meet with you?"
"Only one way to find out. Besides, we need to visit Javyar's cantina anyway. I have a bounty to collect."
"A *bounty*!?" Bastila was obviously shocked.
"That's how justice works here," Carth explained, "the government offers bounties on the criminals they can't apprehend. And we need the credits."
"I see."
- - -
Shin could only come up with one word when looking at the Mandalorian. Power. He was taller and more muscular than Carth, his grey hair and scarred face made it difficult to determine his age but she figured he was older as well.
His posture spoke of strength and experience. A true warrior. And he went straight to the point. He wanted to get off Taris. And he needed Shin's help to achieve that.
The plan was simple. Steal the Sith launch codes from the base, and steal a ship from Davik Kang. One thing bothered Shin: "What do you need me for?"
"I'm too well known as Davik's man to get away with breaking into the Sith base," the Mandalorian explained.
"I see. And how are *we* supposed to achieve that?"
"Davik ordered an astrodroid that will be capable of getting through the door. After that, it's up to you."
"And after we have the codes?"
"Then I'll tell you the rest of the plan," Canderous grinned, and Shin couldn't help but answer with a smile of her own.
"Naturally," she conceded.
- - -
"I sense no deception from him, which is surprising. This might be what we were looking for," Bastila said.
Shin fought down the urge to say 'no shit' like a kid, and ignored the Jedi completely, instead she turned her worrying eyes on Carth. He had fought in the Mandalorian Wars, after all.
"I hope you won't find it uncomfortable working with a Mandalorian."
He looked surprised at her concern.
"I... no. I can work with him. Just don't ask me to trust him," he smiled, only a little, but Shin felt happy that he could joke about his trust issues.
"So. Let's go steal a droid and break into a Sith base!"
She could have sworn she heard Bastila mutter 'oh joy' behind her.
- - -
"Why can't I come along?" Mission was not really whiny, just wistful.
Carth opened his mouth but Shin silenced him with a frown. If he said something sweet, caring, and so very patronising, Mission would be in a huff for hours.
"Because we can't all go," she explained. "I'll need the T3 unit. Bastila's not coming," she said, knowing that would make the Twi'lek happier.
Funny enough, the Jedi rubbed her the wrong way, too. Bastila tried so hard to be older than her age – even though she still had the impulse to act like a teenager which Mission seemed to bring out.
"What?" this was news to the Jedi.
"Look, I'm breaking into a Sith Base. I need someone on my side I know I can count on. No offence, but I have fought with Carth. I know what he's capable of. I know we work well together. You, I haven't seen in action. And I can't risk this missi... sorry, Mission, this job to be an adjustment exercise."
- - -
The T3 unit proved to be quite handy in battle as well. It saved their asses a couple of times. The whole thing was pretty straight forward, really. Go in, and shoot everyone that tried to stop them.
She had considered sneaking in (again) but the thrill of the battle took over, and she found she was throwing herself into the fight whole-heartedly. This shouldn't be her – she was a smuggler not a soldier! But it was becoming quite obvious she'd had some extensive fight training in the past, and she was drawing on those skills unconsciously.
Shin thought it weird that this time meeting a dark Jedi didn't bother her – she knew she – they – could take him. And they did.
But not without much pain. The Sith governor was attacking them with the Force as well as his lightsaber, and it was impossible to keep her distance. Carth was using his two blasters with deadly accuracy from the doorway, as was the little droid, and Shin knew it fell on her to keep their target moving and prevent him from getting to melee range.
She abandoned her blasters, and released the Echani brand from the holster on her back, and tried to summon the skills she knew she possessed somewhere in her muscle memory.
She was working on pure instinct, seemingly blocking blows without being aware they were coming, and using her body to distract the man from his own manoeuvres – while trying to avoid getting hit by her own team mates.
Then she saw an opening, took it... and her weapon was lodged inside the Sith's chest, stuck, but he was still alive, still attacking... he couldn't move his saber arm properly, the strike had damaged his upper body too badly. His other had was holding Shin as a shield so that the others had to stop firing. With desperate strength Shin grabbed his arm with both hands and forced the deadly beam of his lightsaber towards his own body... burying it in his chest. The superior look the man had worn turned to incredulous as his grip on Shin loosened and he started falling to the floor.
Shin had killed many people in this new life of hers but had never had to see it so close. Meeting the eyes of the dying man, watching them as the light faded... she felt a sense of connection, a familiarity that frightened her. Surely, *surely* she had never *enjoyed* killing?
She kicked the body away and staggered backwards until she met a wall, then simply slid down to sit on the floor, and wrapped her arms around her knees, hugging them close.
"Shin? Shin! You all right?"
Carth was there, crouching next to her, touching her cold hand... She couldn't stop shivering, so he sat down and held her close.
"It's all right, everything's going to be all right," he kept whispering until she calmed down.
"I felt... good, watching him die," she finally whispered, "like I'd done that a lot. Like I'd... I'd... been good at it. Like I'd... liked doing it. What kind of monster am I? I've been wanting to know who I was but now... now I'm not so sure..."
Carth forced her to look into his eyes before talking with a quiet but forceful tone: "Whoever – whatever – you were, you are not that person *now*. You would not be affected by this if you were a monster."
- - -
Only after she had stopped shivering did Carth let go and went to find the launch codes in the Sith governor's pocket. Shin was glad she didn't need to touch his corpse.
She wasn't sure how to feel about the weapon Carth had pulled out of the dead man, and cleaned on his robes. Part of her wanted to leave it behind, to never touch it again. Another part knew that, being a second-hand weapon, this was not likely to be its first kill.
And she was so good at using it. The skill might save her – or her friends – one day. She couldn't really afford to be squeamish.
She accepted the offered weapon without a word. She holstered her blasters, and exited the room, holding the brand.
She was a soldier now. Time to accept the blood that came with the job.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Continued in Chapter 7