Niki (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
niki_chidon) wrote2008-08-25 03:04 am
niki_chidon) wrote2008-08-25 03:04 am
Fic: Nights of the Old Republic 14/? (FemRevan/Carth)
Really didn't mean to take this long. I suck.
Title: Nights of the Old Republic (14/?): Tatooine, First Day
Author: Niki
Fandom: SW:KotOR
Disclaimer: Still not mine.
Notes: I'm moving further away from the actual game dialogue but I still use it as the base.
Previous parts: Prologue, Chapter 1, Interlude, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11 and Chapter 12
Chapter 13: Tatooine, First Day
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
"Gizka?" Shin could only stare at the delivery alien incredulously. "You put gizka in my ship?"
She turned and ran back to Ebon Hawk past the dock worker she had just been chatting with, up the ramp, through the open hatch only to watch helplessly as a few of the little brown creatures happily jumping all over the ship. And knowing the speed they reproduced...
Canderous was staring at the creatures with a flabbergasted look, then shrugged, and took a swig out of the can he was holding just as Shin opened her mouth and said, enunciating very clearly: "Mucho-chacka-fucking-packa" causing the Mandalorian to spray the liquid all over the floor and Bastila who had appeared, wondering what the commotion was all about.
Shin hid her face in her hands.
"Gizka! Isn't this just a perfect beginning. Come on guys," she said to Carth and Mission. "Let's try this leaving thing again. The rest of you you... have fun with the zoo. No killing them, Canderous."
o o o
Next stop, Czerka offices, to enquire after Griff.
Shin wasn't overly surprised when it turned out Mission's brother had managed to get himself in trouble in here as well. Still...
"Yes, of course we're going to find him, Mission."
She made a deal with Czerka to look into their Sand People problem in exchange for a hunting licence without which they couldn't leave the walled city.
Outside the office they met a Durosian who spoke for the Sand People, explaining their culture, and claiming there was a better way to deal with them than killing them. Apparently, there was this droid for sale in Anchorhead that could communicate with them...
"Let me guess," Carth said after the alien had left. "You'll want to go droid shopping."
She turned to look at him. "Well, if I have a choice not to butcher sentient beings..."
"So we go droid shopping."
"Yeah, well, let's visit the Hunting Lodge first. Someone might be able to give us some leads about the Star Map."
"Nice to hear you still remember our original mission in between all these side quests," Carth said dryly.
But his eyes were laughing so she only hit him lightly in the arm.
"I'd say that's our 'original Mission'," she countered, pointing at the young Twi'lek who was talking to some Jawas a little further away.
o o o
They spent a while in the Lodge, Shin talking to all the hunters there to get some pointers. Their attitudes ranged from outright hostile to courteous but bored. One man was flirty to the point of frisky, and Carth's immediate reaction to come to Shin's defence was gratifying but she had to tease him about it.
Her smiling 'My hero!' left Mission giggling and Carth flustered.
o o o
When they reached the droid shop it was obviously love at first sight, Carth noted. HK-47 wanted someone to get him out of Yuka Laka's shop, and people with big guns were his type. And Shin just adored his irreverent attitude. He possessed a strong personality for a droid.
“Statement: I am sure you will be happy with your purchase although you could have had to give less credits to the cowardly merchant.”
“I don't go around threatening people,” Shin told the droid, obviously amused.
“Statement: Now you have me to do it for you, master!”
Carth was a little worried about the bloodthirsty nature of the self-proclaimed assassin droid but as long as it... he kept following Shin's directions he was sure they'd be fine. Shin wasn't bloodthirsty. As good as she was in a fight she was always reluctant to resort to it. As evidenced by the purchase of the droid in the first place, to be able to talk with the Sand People.
o o o
At the gate that lead out into the desert they met a Jawa who asked Shin, whom he addressed as a leader, to rescue some of his people trapped by the Sand People. Bastila and Carth got into a debate over the trustworthiness of the small alien but Shin merely smiled an promised to do her best.
Neither Carth nor Bastila were really surprised.
o o o
The first time Shin saw her new acquisition in action in a fight she was completely won over.
“My pet,” she said, beaming, “I'm going to steal you a nice big gun!”
Fighting the attacking Sand People in the desert brought other revelations as well. Shin felt even more at one with the Force than on Dantooine at any point of her training.
She could 'see' the world around her through the Force, could feel her companions, knew when they were injured and could manipulate the currents of the Force to heal their wounds... it all seemed to be connected to all the living things. She couldn't feel the desert but she could locate the beasts that inhabited it. She couldn't repair her droid companions but she could use the physical manifestations of her powers to hurt, to attack... She had mastered the trick she had used against Juhani in desperation, one she now mentally called 'Force push'. Very handy.
It was intoxicating, all that she could do, all that she knew she could learn to do. There seemed to be no limits to how powerful one could be with the Force by your side. It was weird, too. Most of it still felt like re-learning what she had always known, always done... and she seemed to be catching up with Bastila despite the difference in the time they had been used training.
It was scary, too. All that power, so fast... would it make her proud? Careless? She still used her lightsabres in a fight much more often than the Force, mostly because she felt more secure with the physical world.
She sent out a burst of healing energy towards Carth, almost without conscious thought. She was so used to tracking his condition on some level that it hardly registered any more. And his presence still felt different from her other companions.
He was a luminous being in the currents of the Force, brighter than anyone else she could sense. Bastila came second, through their bond or because of her Force abilities, Shin didn't know. Probably the first because Mission shone bright blue in her perception and she was not a Jedi.
The desert was a wrong place for these deep thoughts, Shin decided, when a band of Sand People warriors attacked out of nowhere, and she needed all her new-found skills to defend herself.
o o o
They disguised themselves in the robes they'd taken off the dead Sand People and got the the village where HK-47 made sure they were taken to meet the chieftain.
Shin had decided it was safer if only a few of them went in – Canderous, Juhani and Bastila waited outside, ready to come to their aid if something went wrong. She couldn't keep Mission out, though, not with a chance of finding Griff. And Carth... well, she just liked having him around, and if something did indeed go wrong, she would be glad to have his steadying presence next to her in a fight.
They struck a bargain with the Sand People. For some moisture collectors they'd lessen their attacks and let them have the prisoners – a Twi'lek and some Jawas.
It was obvious that the chieftain didn't expect them to honour their promise so his surprise when they returned with the items was obvious. But he lived up to his end of the bargain, and let them move freely about the camp.
The Jawas were grateful to be able to leave and join their own kind. And the Twi'lek...
“Griff!”
Mission's happiness soon turned to disappointment as it became obvious that her brother hadn't changed, and that Lena had actually been telling the truth. He had left Mission behind on Taris on purpose.
Shin almost wanted to leave him to rot in the camp. Almost.
The journey back was subdued. No more attacks by Sand People to divert them, Mission's sad face was breaking Shin's heart. Even Bastila refrained from commenting.
o o o
“Speaking of family matters,” Bastila said almost diffidently after they had reached the space port and seen Mission disappear into their ship.
“Earlier today, when you were in the shops... I met a woman who... Well, she told me my mother might be here.”
Shin raised her eyebrow in question but the younger Jedi's obvious discomfort gentled her tone when she asked: “Do you want me to come with you?”
Bastila shot her a grateful look, then turned away as if ashamed. Hadn't she convinced Shin that she was beyond petty feelings of resentment towards her mother? And that the Jedi had no need of personal relationships, families, or love.
Shin noticed that Carth looked undecided, and took a step closer.
“Please... look after Mission a bit.”
o o o
Carth stood looking after the two Jedi as they left the port in search of Bastila's mother, and wondered about the vulnerability the haughty Jedi had let show. Maybe she was learning to trust Shin, too, on a whole new level.
Then he turner around and followed Mission into the ship.
Bastila might have not appreciated him seeing her as emotional and vulnerable as she was but he wasn't sure he'd fare any better with Mission. He was afraid of putting his foot in his mouth again.
He was surprised to find Mission in the galley, in stead of hiding in his room. Unsurprisingly, though, she was fiddling with a pazaak deck.
“Wanna give me some pointers so that I can finally beat Shin?” he asked casually, sitting in front of her.
She looked up warily but seeing no pity on his face let a small smile play on her lips.
“Sure.”
She started dealing the cards, chattering on, and Carth was reminded of an old memory of Dustil teaching him to play his favourite game with the earnestness of a four-year-old. As he watched Mission relax more every minute he had to conclude he could, after all, still do something right.
o o o
It was Mission's bright voice that greeted the two Jedi when they returned from the cantina.
“You have to stop thinking like a soldier, Carth, and start thinking like a scoundrel.”
'Scoundrel?' Bastila mouthed to Shin who grinned and shrugged.
She was closer to liking Bastila than ever. Her almost-asking for help had touched her greatly. And they way she had let Shin help her during the meeting with her mother.
Carth looked up when they entered the room, and – taking in the scene – Shin shot him a grateful smile. Mission was fine again. More than fine, she was glowing when she turned to face Shin. She thought it was because she'd won so much off Carth but she wasn't giving the girl enough credit.
“He's actually showing some progress!” Mission declared proudly.
They finished the current hand and after she'd collected her cards Mission got up and hugged the surprised Carth from behind.
“Thanks. I know what you were doing, and you helped me a lot.”
The she danced away, heading towards the part of the ship with the workbench were Zaalbar was usually located.
Shin imitated her action, also bending to hug Carth, kissing his stubbly cheek.
o o o
“Thanks, dad,” Shin whispered in Carth's ear, as if understanding what experience he had been drawing on to help Mission.
Then she, too, exited the room and Carth turned to look at Bastila.
“You okay?” He kept his voice gentle but expected to be snubbed.
“Thank you, I... I feel better, having met her. My mother, I mean. Shin... really helped me. She is truly a good person,” she said, as if as an afterthought.
Carth marvelled at her tone, not quite able to determine who she tried to convince, and why she sounded so surprised.
,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,
Continued in Chapter 14
Title: Nights of the Old Republic (14/?): Tatooine, First Day
Author: Niki
Fandom: SW:KotOR
Disclaimer: Still not mine.
Notes: I'm moving further away from the actual game dialogue but I still use it as the base.
Previous parts: Prologue, Chapter 1, Interlude, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11 and Chapter 12
Chapter 13: Tatooine, First Day
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
"Gizka?" Shin could only stare at the delivery alien incredulously. "You put gizka in my ship?"
She turned and ran back to Ebon Hawk past the dock worker she had just been chatting with, up the ramp, through the open hatch only to watch helplessly as a few of the little brown creatures happily jumping all over the ship. And knowing the speed they reproduced...
Canderous was staring at the creatures with a flabbergasted look, then shrugged, and took a swig out of the can he was holding just as Shin opened her mouth and said, enunciating very clearly: "Mucho-chacka-fucking-packa" causing the Mandalorian to spray the liquid all over the floor and Bastila who had appeared, wondering what the commotion was all about.
Shin hid her face in her hands.
"Gizka! Isn't this just a perfect beginning. Come on guys," she said to Carth and Mission. "Let's try this leaving thing again. The rest of you you... have fun with the zoo. No killing them, Canderous."
o o o
Next stop, Czerka offices, to enquire after Griff.
Shin wasn't overly surprised when it turned out Mission's brother had managed to get himself in trouble in here as well. Still...
"Yes, of course we're going to find him, Mission."
She made a deal with Czerka to look into their Sand People problem in exchange for a hunting licence without which they couldn't leave the walled city.
Outside the office they met a Durosian who spoke for the Sand People, explaining their culture, and claiming there was a better way to deal with them than killing them. Apparently, there was this droid for sale in Anchorhead that could communicate with them...
"Let me guess," Carth said after the alien had left. "You'll want to go droid shopping."
She turned to look at him. "Well, if I have a choice not to butcher sentient beings..."
"So we go droid shopping."
"Yeah, well, let's visit the Hunting Lodge first. Someone might be able to give us some leads about the Star Map."
"Nice to hear you still remember our original mission in between all these side quests," Carth said dryly.
But his eyes were laughing so she only hit him lightly in the arm.
"I'd say that's our 'original Mission'," she countered, pointing at the young Twi'lek who was talking to some Jawas a little further away.
o o o
They spent a while in the Lodge, Shin talking to all the hunters there to get some pointers. Their attitudes ranged from outright hostile to courteous but bored. One man was flirty to the point of frisky, and Carth's immediate reaction to come to Shin's defence was gratifying but she had to tease him about it.
Her smiling 'My hero!' left Mission giggling and Carth flustered.
o o o
When they reached the droid shop it was obviously love at first sight, Carth noted. HK-47 wanted someone to get him out of Yuka Laka's shop, and people with big guns were his type. And Shin just adored his irreverent attitude. He possessed a strong personality for a droid.
“Statement: I am sure you will be happy with your purchase although you could have had to give less credits to the cowardly merchant.”
“I don't go around threatening people,” Shin told the droid, obviously amused.
“Statement: Now you have me to do it for you, master!”
Carth was a little worried about the bloodthirsty nature of the self-proclaimed assassin droid but as long as it... he kept following Shin's directions he was sure they'd be fine. Shin wasn't bloodthirsty. As good as she was in a fight she was always reluctant to resort to it. As evidenced by the purchase of the droid in the first place, to be able to talk with the Sand People.
o o o
At the gate that lead out into the desert they met a Jawa who asked Shin, whom he addressed as a leader, to rescue some of his people trapped by the Sand People. Bastila and Carth got into a debate over the trustworthiness of the small alien but Shin merely smiled an promised to do her best.
Neither Carth nor Bastila were really surprised.
o o o
The first time Shin saw her new acquisition in action in a fight she was completely won over.
“My pet,” she said, beaming, “I'm going to steal you a nice big gun!”
Fighting the attacking Sand People in the desert brought other revelations as well. Shin felt even more at one with the Force than on Dantooine at any point of her training.
She could 'see' the world around her through the Force, could feel her companions, knew when they were injured and could manipulate the currents of the Force to heal their wounds... it all seemed to be connected to all the living things. She couldn't feel the desert but she could locate the beasts that inhabited it. She couldn't repair her droid companions but she could use the physical manifestations of her powers to hurt, to attack... She had mastered the trick she had used against Juhani in desperation, one she now mentally called 'Force push'. Very handy.
It was intoxicating, all that she could do, all that she knew she could learn to do. There seemed to be no limits to how powerful one could be with the Force by your side. It was weird, too. Most of it still felt like re-learning what she had always known, always done... and she seemed to be catching up with Bastila despite the difference in the time they had been used training.
It was scary, too. All that power, so fast... would it make her proud? Careless? She still used her lightsabres in a fight much more often than the Force, mostly because she felt more secure with the physical world.
She sent out a burst of healing energy towards Carth, almost without conscious thought. She was so used to tracking his condition on some level that it hardly registered any more. And his presence still felt different from her other companions.
He was a luminous being in the currents of the Force, brighter than anyone else she could sense. Bastila came second, through their bond or because of her Force abilities, Shin didn't know. Probably the first because Mission shone bright blue in her perception and she was not a Jedi.
The desert was a wrong place for these deep thoughts, Shin decided, when a band of Sand People warriors attacked out of nowhere, and she needed all her new-found skills to defend herself.
o o o
They disguised themselves in the robes they'd taken off the dead Sand People and got the the village where HK-47 made sure they were taken to meet the chieftain.
Shin had decided it was safer if only a few of them went in – Canderous, Juhani and Bastila waited outside, ready to come to their aid if something went wrong. She couldn't keep Mission out, though, not with a chance of finding Griff. And Carth... well, she just liked having him around, and if something did indeed go wrong, she would be glad to have his steadying presence next to her in a fight.
They struck a bargain with the Sand People. For some moisture collectors they'd lessen their attacks and let them have the prisoners – a Twi'lek and some Jawas.
It was obvious that the chieftain didn't expect them to honour their promise so his surprise when they returned with the items was obvious. But he lived up to his end of the bargain, and let them move freely about the camp.
The Jawas were grateful to be able to leave and join their own kind. And the Twi'lek...
“Griff!”
Mission's happiness soon turned to disappointment as it became obvious that her brother hadn't changed, and that Lena had actually been telling the truth. He had left Mission behind on Taris on purpose.
Shin almost wanted to leave him to rot in the camp. Almost.
The journey back was subdued. No more attacks by Sand People to divert them, Mission's sad face was breaking Shin's heart. Even Bastila refrained from commenting.
o o o
“Speaking of family matters,” Bastila said almost diffidently after they had reached the space port and seen Mission disappear into their ship.
“Earlier today, when you were in the shops... I met a woman who... Well, she told me my mother might be here.”
Shin raised her eyebrow in question but the younger Jedi's obvious discomfort gentled her tone when she asked: “Do you want me to come with you?”
Bastila shot her a grateful look, then turned away as if ashamed. Hadn't she convinced Shin that she was beyond petty feelings of resentment towards her mother? And that the Jedi had no need of personal relationships, families, or love.
Shin noticed that Carth looked undecided, and took a step closer.
“Please... look after Mission a bit.”
o o o
Carth stood looking after the two Jedi as they left the port in search of Bastila's mother, and wondered about the vulnerability the haughty Jedi had let show. Maybe she was learning to trust Shin, too, on a whole new level.
Then he turner around and followed Mission into the ship.
Bastila might have not appreciated him seeing her as emotional and vulnerable as she was but he wasn't sure he'd fare any better with Mission. He was afraid of putting his foot in his mouth again.
He was surprised to find Mission in the galley, in stead of hiding in his room. Unsurprisingly, though, she was fiddling with a pazaak deck.
“Wanna give me some pointers so that I can finally beat Shin?” he asked casually, sitting in front of her.
She looked up warily but seeing no pity on his face let a small smile play on her lips.
“Sure.”
She started dealing the cards, chattering on, and Carth was reminded of an old memory of Dustil teaching him to play his favourite game with the earnestness of a four-year-old. As he watched Mission relax more every minute he had to conclude he could, after all, still do something right.
o o o
It was Mission's bright voice that greeted the two Jedi when they returned from the cantina.
“You have to stop thinking like a soldier, Carth, and start thinking like a scoundrel.”
'Scoundrel?' Bastila mouthed to Shin who grinned and shrugged.
She was closer to liking Bastila than ever. Her almost-asking for help had touched her greatly. And they way she had let Shin help her during the meeting with her mother.
Carth looked up when they entered the room, and – taking in the scene – Shin shot him a grateful smile. Mission was fine again. More than fine, she was glowing when she turned to face Shin. She thought it was because she'd won so much off Carth but she wasn't giving the girl enough credit.
“He's actually showing some progress!” Mission declared proudly.
They finished the current hand and after she'd collected her cards Mission got up and hugged the surprised Carth from behind.
“Thanks. I know what you were doing, and you helped me a lot.”
The she danced away, heading towards the part of the ship with the workbench were Zaalbar was usually located.
Shin imitated her action, also bending to hug Carth, kissing his stubbly cheek.
o o o
“Thanks, dad,” Shin whispered in Carth's ear, as if understanding what experience he had been drawing on to help Mission.
Then she, too, exited the room and Carth turned to look at Bastila.
“You okay?” He kept his voice gentle but expected to be snubbed.
“Thank you, I... I feel better, having met her. My mother, I mean. Shin... really helped me. She is truly a good person,” she said, as if as an afterthought.
Carth marvelled at her tone, not quite able to determine who she tried to convince, and why she sounded so surprised.
,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,
Continued in Chapter 14