Niki (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
niki_chidon) wrote2008-04-01 12:22 pm
niki_chidon) wrote2008-04-01 12:22 pm
Fic: Nights of the Old Republic (12/?): Leaving Dantooine (Carth/femRevan)
Title: Nights of the Old Republic (12/?): Leaving Dantooine
Author: Niki
Fandom: SW:KotOR
Disclaimer: Nope, not mine
Notes: I shuffle up quite a bit of the action in Dantooine. Still following the story of the game, and the bits of dialogue are there, I just change the order a bit.
Previous parts: Prologue, Chapter 1, Interlude, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9 and Chapter 10
Chapter 11: Leaving Dantooine
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Saving Juhani from the darkness gave Shin her place in the Order but she felt awkward, listening to the Council's ceremonious words. They'd meditate on her current position. Well, she'd never.
She wasn't going to sit around waiting for their decision, though. There was much to be done. The Mandalorian leader, the family dispute between the Sandals and the Matales threatening to turn into war (the Council seemed happy to ignore)... and she wanted to find the cave the Twi'lek had mentioned...
o o o
After they had located the leader of the Mandalorians, Shin directed Mission (with a new tricked up blaster rifle she had purchased that morning) and Carth behind cover to give them supporting fire, and took Zaalbar and Canderous with her to engage the enemy in melee combat.
She herself attacked the leader with her lightsaber, protected by a personal shield against the blaster fire of his men. She was more than grateful for the covering fire her allies provided – the man was a tougher opponent than Juhani. She found herself fighting with everything she had – desperate arcs with her sabre and everything she could make the Force do for her.
They won.
Shin was so exhausted it took half an hour for her to collect enough energy to heal herself, and those of her allies who had suffered injuries. She was getting better at the healing thing now that there was a real need for it.
But healing Canderous or even Mission lacked the connection she felt when healing Carth. She decided not to think about it at the moment but meditate on its meaning later.
After thinking that she couldn't help but marvel at how Jedi-like her thought processes had become. She wasn't sure she liked it.
o o o
Looting the corpses of their fallen enemy felt like nothing after Taris, but to her horror Shin discovered many lightsabers on the Mandalorian leader's body. So the Jedi had not ignored the threat – they had just not succeeded in stopping it.
She picked up one of the them and tested it for balance. Then she took her own lightsaber in her right hand and the other one on her left, and moved them around experimentally. They felt... good. She could work with them. It wasn't quite like using two blasters but some of that experience obviously helped because she did not feel as clumsy as she had when she first tried using her left hand for shooting.
The new sabre was green. It didn't feel any better than her own yellow. She was supposedly following the path of the Jedi consular, and should be proud to show it with her crystal colour but... it didn't feel right.
"Well, that was the raiders taken care of," she said, smiling to her friends. "Now to the cave. Any volunteers?"
o o o
It was surprisingly easy to locate the cave – it seemed to call for Shin, like a beacon in the Force, whispering to her in sounds not quite language.
The kinrath that lived there did not prove much of a challenge for Shin and her companions, but she was careful not to damage their eggs. She still did not like killing, and killing unborn beings – even knowing they would grow up to these beings that attacked anything in the vicinity – just did not feel right.
The cave was filled with crystalline structures that seemed to vibrate with the Force, and she knew they would do something when added to a lightsaber. She carefully extracted bits of every crystal. Her problem with the colour was also solved when she encountered a purple crystal. She'd fashion sable crystals out of that; she felt no other power in it – it would only affect the colour of the beam. Conceit? Maybe, but she didn't feel comfortable with her current colour.
She wasn't comfortable with everything the Jedi believed in, either, and sometimes worried that that was a sign of darkness in her. Maybe this small act of rebellion was the first step on a road to the dark side? Somehow, that didn't feel true either. But she counted on Vrook to tell her if it was so. The man was darkly pessimistic about her chances as it was.
o o o
"You did what?" Bastila wasn't screaming. She never screamed. And if she happened to raise her voice a little, well. That was only expected when this green padawan was offering her rare crystals for her sabre.
Shin was handing them out like candy. For her, for Juhani – and it was obvious her own sabre... sabres were already enhanced.
"I... thank you," she muttered, and selected two crystals to work into her double-blade.
"The Council has a task for you – for us," she then said, and gestured the older woman to follow her to the Council chambers.
o o o
Shin walked slowly towards the Council. She saw Master Zhar's eyes stop on her belt where she had clipped both the sabres in, and switched them both on, as if for his inspection.
"So very like you, padawan, to choose your own path," Master Vandar said, no censure in his voice for the colour she now carried.
"The place in the dream you shared with Bastila has been recognised as the ancient ruins not far from the Enclave. We had assumed they were not important but apparently Revan and Malak entered them at some point of their career and discovered... something. Something dark, judging from the mood of the vision."
"We believe that we can find a way to stop Malak only by following their footsteps," Vrook joined in on Vandar's explanation.
"You and Bastila must search the ruins. You can take anyone you wish with you."
o o o
So. Finally they would be visiting the place Shin had seen in a dream (vision?) all those months ago.
Only Carth had decided to join the two Jedi on their expedition. Shin realised he shared her sense of foreboding when he muttered "I have a bad feeling about this" as they got closer to the ruins. Bastila, however, pressed on, and they followed.
o o o
"It's... beautiful," Shin whispered, looking at the thing the ancient guard droid had called a Star Map.
"It's filled with dark power!" Bastila said, accusingly.
"It's still beautiful," Carth defended Shin, who seemed transfixed by the sight.
"It started here..." she whispered.
She understood what she had seen in the vision now; Revan and Malak had not fallen, not fully, until entering this room, seeing this sight, and... following it to wherever it pointed. She now believed it really had been a vision, somehow triggered by the strong impression the two had left on the planet – in the Force around the place.
She had heard about Revan and Malak – the heroes who became the enemy – until she'd felt sick. She really liked Carth's attitude the best: a blaster shot to the head in time would have solved the problem.
This place made the thing more real, somehow. Instead of storybook villains the two felt... closer, somehow. They had once been Jedi knights, standing in this place, awed by this sight, and been driven to the path of darkness...
The path that led them to a war against the Republic, taking many of their comrades with them, to the final act of betrayal that made the apprentice turn on his master, which allowed the Jedi to defeat Revan.
The path Master Vrook was afraid Shin would also follow.
Shin looked at Bastila, then let her eyes rest on Carth. No. Not as long as these two were by her side.
o o o
It did not really surprise Shin that the Council wanted to send their ragtag group to look for the remaining Star Maps on the other planets Revan and Malak visited, to try to locate the mysterious Star Forge in the hopes that that would help them defeat Malak and his seemingly endless fleet of Sith. It felt inevitable.
She had ambivalent feelings about Juhani's presence. The girl looked up to her to keep her in the path of light, and she wasn't sure she was up to that.
Bastila would be watching her. Canderous, unsurprisingly, joined in – he was just thrilled at having something worthwhile to do. 'Big Z' and Mission came as a package. But Carth...
Carth seemed subdued, and it didn't take much prodding to get the reason out of him.
"You're a neophyte padawan, saddled with finding the Star Maps... Don't they have to train you?"
"If you don't want me along..."
"I'm worried about you, dammit! You're good, I give you that... but... you've just started with this Jedi thing... I mean, I understand why they send Bastila, Canderous... and I've been a soldier as long as you've been alive!"
Shin bit her lip to not laugh. "You started early, then."
That made Carth finally let go of his righteous anger and chuckle, too. "So that was a slight exaggeration. But you get my point."
"Yes. And I appreciate having someone worry about me. But for some reason the council feels like I must do this. And I'm... I feel like I should do this. I'm glad if you decide to join us."
"Wouldn't miss it for the world," came the weary reply but he followed it with a small smile.
Shin smiled back. Now she was looking forward to this journey.
- - - - end of Part 1 - - - -
Continued in Chapter 12
Author: Niki
Fandom: SW:KotOR
Disclaimer: Nope, not mine
Notes: I shuffle up quite a bit of the action in Dantooine. Still following the story of the game, and the bits of dialogue are there, I just change the order a bit.
Previous parts: Prologue, Chapter 1, Interlude, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9 and Chapter 10
Chapter 11: Leaving Dantooine
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Saving Juhani from the darkness gave Shin her place in the Order but she felt awkward, listening to the Council's ceremonious words. They'd meditate on her current position. Well, she'd never.
She wasn't going to sit around waiting for their decision, though. There was much to be done. The Mandalorian leader, the family dispute between the Sandals and the Matales threatening to turn into war (the Council seemed happy to ignore)... and she wanted to find the cave the Twi'lek had mentioned...
o o o
After they had located the leader of the Mandalorians, Shin directed Mission (with a new tricked up blaster rifle she had purchased that morning) and Carth behind cover to give them supporting fire, and took Zaalbar and Canderous with her to engage the enemy in melee combat.
She herself attacked the leader with her lightsaber, protected by a personal shield against the blaster fire of his men. She was more than grateful for the covering fire her allies provided – the man was a tougher opponent than Juhani. She found herself fighting with everything she had – desperate arcs with her sabre and everything she could make the Force do for her.
They won.
Shin was so exhausted it took half an hour for her to collect enough energy to heal herself, and those of her allies who had suffered injuries. She was getting better at the healing thing now that there was a real need for it.
But healing Canderous or even Mission lacked the connection she felt when healing Carth. She decided not to think about it at the moment but meditate on its meaning later.
After thinking that she couldn't help but marvel at how Jedi-like her thought processes had become. She wasn't sure she liked it.
o o o
Looting the corpses of their fallen enemy felt like nothing after Taris, but to her horror Shin discovered many lightsabers on the Mandalorian leader's body. So the Jedi had not ignored the threat – they had just not succeeded in stopping it.
She picked up one of the them and tested it for balance. Then she took her own lightsaber in her right hand and the other one on her left, and moved them around experimentally. They felt... good. She could work with them. It wasn't quite like using two blasters but some of that experience obviously helped because she did not feel as clumsy as she had when she first tried using her left hand for shooting.
The new sabre was green. It didn't feel any better than her own yellow. She was supposedly following the path of the Jedi consular, and should be proud to show it with her crystal colour but... it didn't feel right.
"Well, that was the raiders taken care of," she said, smiling to her friends. "Now to the cave. Any volunteers?"
o o o
It was surprisingly easy to locate the cave – it seemed to call for Shin, like a beacon in the Force, whispering to her in sounds not quite language.
The kinrath that lived there did not prove much of a challenge for Shin and her companions, but she was careful not to damage their eggs. She still did not like killing, and killing unborn beings – even knowing they would grow up to these beings that attacked anything in the vicinity – just did not feel right.
The cave was filled with crystalline structures that seemed to vibrate with the Force, and she knew they would do something when added to a lightsaber. She carefully extracted bits of every crystal. Her problem with the colour was also solved when she encountered a purple crystal. She'd fashion sable crystals out of that; she felt no other power in it – it would only affect the colour of the beam. Conceit? Maybe, but she didn't feel comfortable with her current colour.
She wasn't comfortable with everything the Jedi believed in, either, and sometimes worried that that was a sign of darkness in her. Maybe this small act of rebellion was the first step on a road to the dark side? Somehow, that didn't feel true either. But she counted on Vrook to tell her if it was so. The man was darkly pessimistic about her chances as it was.
o o o
"You did what?" Bastila wasn't screaming. She never screamed. And if she happened to raise her voice a little, well. That was only expected when this green padawan was offering her rare crystals for her sabre.
Shin was handing them out like candy. For her, for Juhani – and it was obvious her own sabre... sabres were already enhanced.
"I... thank you," she muttered, and selected two crystals to work into her double-blade.
"The Council has a task for you – for us," she then said, and gestured the older woman to follow her to the Council chambers.
o o o
Shin walked slowly towards the Council. She saw Master Zhar's eyes stop on her belt where she had clipped both the sabres in, and switched them both on, as if for his inspection.
"So very like you, padawan, to choose your own path," Master Vandar said, no censure in his voice for the colour she now carried.
"The place in the dream you shared with Bastila has been recognised as the ancient ruins not far from the Enclave. We had assumed they were not important but apparently Revan and Malak entered them at some point of their career and discovered... something. Something dark, judging from the mood of the vision."
"We believe that we can find a way to stop Malak only by following their footsteps," Vrook joined in on Vandar's explanation.
"You and Bastila must search the ruins. You can take anyone you wish with you."
o o o
So. Finally they would be visiting the place Shin had seen in a dream (vision?) all those months ago.
Only Carth had decided to join the two Jedi on their expedition. Shin realised he shared her sense of foreboding when he muttered "I have a bad feeling about this" as they got closer to the ruins. Bastila, however, pressed on, and they followed.
o o o
"It's... beautiful," Shin whispered, looking at the thing the ancient guard droid had called a Star Map.
"It's filled with dark power!" Bastila said, accusingly.
"It's still beautiful," Carth defended Shin, who seemed transfixed by the sight.
"It started here..." she whispered.
She understood what she had seen in the vision now; Revan and Malak had not fallen, not fully, until entering this room, seeing this sight, and... following it to wherever it pointed. She now believed it really had been a vision, somehow triggered by the strong impression the two had left on the planet – in the Force around the place.
She had heard about Revan and Malak – the heroes who became the enemy – until she'd felt sick. She really liked Carth's attitude the best: a blaster shot to the head in time would have solved the problem.
This place made the thing more real, somehow. Instead of storybook villains the two felt... closer, somehow. They had once been Jedi knights, standing in this place, awed by this sight, and been driven to the path of darkness...
The path that led them to a war against the Republic, taking many of their comrades with them, to the final act of betrayal that made the apprentice turn on his master, which allowed the Jedi to defeat Revan.
The path Master Vrook was afraid Shin would also follow.
Shin looked at Bastila, then let her eyes rest on Carth. No. Not as long as these two were by her side.
o o o
It did not really surprise Shin that the Council wanted to send their ragtag group to look for the remaining Star Maps on the other planets Revan and Malak visited, to try to locate the mysterious Star Forge in the hopes that that would help them defeat Malak and his seemingly endless fleet of Sith. It felt inevitable.
She had ambivalent feelings about Juhani's presence. The girl looked up to her to keep her in the path of light, and she wasn't sure she was up to that.
Bastila would be watching her. Canderous, unsurprisingly, joined in – he was just thrilled at having something worthwhile to do. 'Big Z' and Mission came as a package. But Carth...
Carth seemed subdued, and it didn't take much prodding to get the reason out of him.
"You're a neophyte padawan, saddled with finding the Star Maps... Don't they have to train you?"
"If you don't want me along..."
"I'm worried about you, dammit! You're good, I give you that... but... you've just started with this Jedi thing... I mean, I understand why they send Bastila, Canderous... and I've been a soldier as long as you've been alive!"
Shin bit her lip to not laugh. "You started early, then."
That made Carth finally let go of his righteous anger and chuckle, too. "So that was a slight exaggeration. But you get my point."
"Yes. And I appreciate having someone worry about me. But for some reason the council feels like I must do this. And I'm... I feel like I should do this. I'm glad if you decide to join us."
"Wouldn't miss it for the world," came the weary reply but he followed it with a small smile.
Shin smiled back. Now she was looking forward to this journey.
- - - - end of Part 1 - - - -
Continued in Chapter 12