Niki (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
niki_chidon) wrote2008-12-27 03:21 am
niki_chidon) wrote2008-12-27 03:21 am
Fic: Nights of the Old Republic (16/?) (femRevan/Carth)
Yes, to make up for the silent, silent fall, as many chapters as I can possibly manage!
Title: Nights of the Old Republic (16/?): Korriban, the Academy
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. And angry teenagers are boring so I suppose I softened Dustil a lot. Consider this an AU in that respect;P
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, Chapter 13 and Chapter 14
Chapter 15: Korriban, the Academy
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
”We must not lose sight of our original mission!” Bastila argued.
Despite the seriousness of the situation Shin couldn't help but share a glance with their 'original Mission' before turning to the other Jedi.
”We'll have to go to Korriban sooner or later,” she reminded her. ”We'll just go sooner. The reasons don't really matter in the end.”
She didn't feel like staying and debating the issue with Bastila so she just left, and headed to the cockpit.
”How are you holding up?” she asked, resting a hand on Carth's shoulder.
”I'm... I'm good,” he said.
Not really believing him but not knowing what to say Shin just sat down on the co-pilot's chair and watched the space ahead.
ooooo
The trip to Korriban was uneventful. Carth was silent, Bastila forgot to sulk, and Shin went on as she used to. Training, talking, playing pazaak, and spending hour after hour with Carth in the cockpit, neither one saying a word.
They landed, and debated their next move.
”Bastila, seeing that your face is on all of those Sith Wanted posters, I don't think you can come along.”
”Fine. But I don't want you going there alone either. This is a place of the Dark side, if you don't have me supporting you...”
”I'm not going alone. But I don't think I want to take Juhani with me, either.”
”No, I don't think you should. She is strongly on the Light side now, but still...”
”Still. I don't think I can have a large entourage either, not if I'm going to pose as a hopeful trying to get into the Academy.”
In the end she took HK and Carth. One for her physical health and the other for mental. Bastila didn't complain.
oooooo
It was... rough, being on a Sith planet. The Sith hopefuls were usually pathetic, the accepted beyond contempt, and the fact that there were uninterested 'civilians' – including all the merchants – was just disturbing. How could they watch all this and not be affected?
Apparently Ebon Hawk was well known in the port, and learning about its history in smuggling was fascinating. About the only bright side of their stay, Shin thought.
Asking around they discovered that getting accepted into the Academy was not only the only way to find Dustil but to actually succeed in their primary mission of finding the Star Map as well, because only the members of the Academy were allowed to the archaeological sites on the surface of the planet.
”I suppose we go meet that Yuthura Ban and try to talk our way into the Academy first,” Shin said after they had collected enough info on how things worked around there.
oooooo
”Who are they?” the Twi'lek woman asked Shin after she had introduced herself.
”My assassin droid and a slave. Love slave,” she added, just to hear Carth's choked sounds.
She fought down the urge to see what shade his face was.
”Mmmm... Well, whatever you paid for him, I'm sure he's worth it.”
Shin turned her laughter into a cough before reminding the woman why she was there.
oooooo
”Well, it wouldn't be that easy,” Shin muttered after having been unsuccessful in trying to convince Yuthura Ban to let her into the Academy.
”Love slave,” Carth muttered in return when they walked out of the cantina.
Shin shot him a grin. ”Worth everything you paid for him!”
”Come on, that was a compliment,” she reminded him when he just made a face.
”Yeah I bet. But how are you going to get into the Academy, now?”
”Well, I don't really want to rough up anyone to be accepted in. I suppose I could steal someone's medallion... hey! Leave that woman alone!”
”Or what?” sneered the Sith, not pausing in his attack on the woman, and was answered by HK's blaster rifle, two purple lightsabres, and a double shot from two very modified blaster pistols.
”...like his, for example,” Shin went on as if they hadn't been interrupted, and went to rifle through the corpse's pockets.
ooooooo
”Well, we're in,” Carth said, once Master Uthar Wynn had walked away after his welcoming words.
”I could get used to you calling me 'master',” Shin said dreamily.
”Yeah, well, don't.”
She turned serious. ”Come on, let's go find your son.”
oooooooo
Going through the Academy was tough for the both humans. Torture, pain... and surprisingly normal, polite, smart people. Why were they a part of this?
They searched through every corridor, every room, and even managed to break into the Master's study when a corridor stayed conveniently empty. There they found something shocking. Namely, a datapad that mentioned Dustil.
“Great potential,” Carth whispered.
“And they killed a girl to prevent nothing getting in its way,” Shin read on.
ooooooo
They had known all could not be well for him to have joined the Sith but still the amount of rage and bitterness Dustil radiated came as a shock.
He wasn't what Shin had expected in any way. A handsome young man, true, but looking little like his father. He was darker than his father, in all the meanings of the word.
Shin rested her hand on Carth's back, hidden from Dustil's view, in a show of silent support. HK was standing guard as there were no doors and they needed no witnesses to the exchange.
Together Carth and Shin managed to make the young man listen, to be open enough to really listen to them – and then they had to break his heart by showing him the datapad, the proof that the Sith did not care about him as a person, only as a tool, and that they thought nothing of killing his friend – beloved? – to make sure he remained useful for them.
All fight went out of the young man and he sat down on the bed. After a second's hesitation Carth sat next to him, and, as if remembering an old habit, Dustil let his head rest against his father, whose mere appearance had made him spit fire and brimstone just minutes earlier. For the first time Shin realised how young he really was.
Carth ruffled his hair.
“I'm sorry, son.”
“No, I'm sorry... dad.”
Shin prepared to leave them for this very private scene but Carth chose that moment to raise his eyes to meet hers with a misty look of gratitude.
It was that moment, looking at Carth the Father, that Shin realised she loved him. That was why she shared his pain and joy so strongly. That was why her heart felt like bursting, looking at the family scene she was not really part of, but his gaze made her so.
After a moment, while Shin was still trying to get over her revelation, Dustil gathered his wits and sat up straighter. He did not completely break the contact with his father, though.
“What brings you here, anyway?”
“Uhh... you?” Carth said, smiling.
“Yeah, you maybe, but with a Jedi delegation?”
“All right, we're... umm...” he looked at Shin for guidance, obviously not sure how much to say.
“We're on a mission,” Shin started, sharing the 'no-pun-intended' -smile with Carth, “from the Jedi Council that might help end the war. We need to get to the ruins on the surface, and joining the Academy was the only way to manage that.”
“So... you're a student, I get that. But how did you get the others in?”
Shin laughed at Carth's pained look.
“What?”
“Well, I told them I'd take with me my assassination droid and...”
“...a love slave,” Carth finished, hiding his face in his hands, and slumping down on the bed so that he was lying on his back, feet still on the floor.
“What?” Dustil seemed to have a hard time deciding whether to be shocked or amused.
Shin wondered at the quick transformation from the bitter creature they'd first encountered. His face lit up when he smiled, and for the first time she saw the family resemblance. It wouldn't always be this easy, she knew. He and his father would still need to work through many issues, but for now they could laugh, and share this moment. Maybe it would be enough.
She grinned, and couldn't help adding, “I'll have you know that Yuthura thought he was worth every credit I'd paid for him.”
---------------
Continued in Chapter 16
Title: Nights of the Old Republic (16/?): Korriban, the Academy
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. And angry teenagers are boring so I suppose I softened Dustil a lot. Consider this an AU in that respect;P
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, Chapter 13 and Chapter 14
Chapter 15: Korriban, the Academy
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
”We must not lose sight of our original mission!” Bastila argued.
Despite the seriousness of the situation Shin couldn't help but share a glance with their 'original Mission' before turning to the other Jedi.
”We'll have to go to Korriban sooner or later,” she reminded her. ”We'll just go sooner. The reasons don't really matter in the end.”
She didn't feel like staying and debating the issue with Bastila so she just left, and headed to the cockpit.
”How are you holding up?” she asked, resting a hand on Carth's shoulder.
”I'm... I'm good,” he said.
Not really believing him but not knowing what to say Shin just sat down on the co-pilot's chair and watched the space ahead.
ooooo
The trip to Korriban was uneventful. Carth was silent, Bastila forgot to sulk, and Shin went on as she used to. Training, talking, playing pazaak, and spending hour after hour with Carth in the cockpit, neither one saying a word.
They landed, and debated their next move.
”Bastila, seeing that your face is on all of those Sith Wanted posters, I don't think you can come along.”
”Fine. But I don't want you going there alone either. This is a place of the Dark side, if you don't have me supporting you...”
”I'm not going alone. But I don't think I want to take Juhani with me, either.”
”No, I don't think you should. She is strongly on the Light side now, but still...”
”Still. I don't think I can have a large entourage either, not if I'm going to pose as a hopeful trying to get into the Academy.”
In the end she took HK and Carth. One for her physical health and the other for mental. Bastila didn't complain.
oooooo
It was... rough, being on a Sith planet. The Sith hopefuls were usually pathetic, the accepted beyond contempt, and the fact that there were uninterested 'civilians' – including all the merchants – was just disturbing. How could they watch all this and not be affected?
Apparently Ebon Hawk was well known in the port, and learning about its history in smuggling was fascinating. About the only bright side of their stay, Shin thought.
Asking around they discovered that getting accepted into the Academy was not only the only way to find Dustil but to actually succeed in their primary mission of finding the Star Map as well, because only the members of the Academy were allowed to the archaeological sites on the surface of the planet.
”I suppose we go meet that Yuthura Ban and try to talk our way into the Academy first,” Shin said after they had collected enough info on how things worked around there.
oooooo
”Who are they?” the Twi'lek woman asked Shin after she had introduced herself.
”My assassin droid and a slave. Love slave,” she added, just to hear Carth's choked sounds.
She fought down the urge to see what shade his face was.
”Mmmm... Well, whatever you paid for him, I'm sure he's worth it.”
Shin turned her laughter into a cough before reminding the woman why she was there.
oooooo
”Well, it wouldn't be that easy,” Shin muttered after having been unsuccessful in trying to convince Yuthura Ban to let her into the Academy.
”Love slave,” Carth muttered in return when they walked out of the cantina.
Shin shot him a grin. ”Worth everything you paid for him!”
”Come on, that was a compliment,” she reminded him when he just made a face.
”Yeah I bet. But how are you going to get into the Academy, now?”
”Well, I don't really want to rough up anyone to be accepted in. I suppose I could steal someone's medallion... hey! Leave that woman alone!”
”Or what?” sneered the Sith, not pausing in his attack on the woman, and was answered by HK's blaster rifle, two purple lightsabres, and a double shot from two very modified blaster pistols.
”...like his, for example,” Shin went on as if they hadn't been interrupted, and went to rifle through the corpse's pockets.
ooooooo
”Well, we're in,” Carth said, once Master Uthar Wynn had walked away after his welcoming words.
”I could get used to you calling me 'master',” Shin said dreamily.
”Yeah, well, don't.”
She turned serious. ”Come on, let's go find your son.”
oooooooo
Going through the Academy was tough for the both humans. Torture, pain... and surprisingly normal, polite, smart people. Why were they a part of this?
They searched through every corridor, every room, and even managed to break into the Master's study when a corridor stayed conveniently empty. There they found something shocking. Namely, a datapad that mentioned Dustil.
“Great potential,” Carth whispered.
“And they killed a girl to prevent nothing getting in its way,” Shin read on.
ooooooo
They had known all could not be well for him to have joined the Sith but still the amount of rage and bitterness Dustil radiated came as a shock.
He wasn't what Shin had expected in any way. A handsome young man, true, but looking little like his father. He was darker than his father, in all the meanings of the word.
Shin rested her hand on Carth's back, hidden from Dustil's view, in a show of silent support. HK was standing guard as there were no doors and they needed no witnesses to the exchange.
Together Carth and Shin managed to make the young man listen, to be open enough to really listen to them – and then they had to break his heart by showing him the datapad, the proof that the Sith did not care about him as a person, only as a tool, and that they thought nothing of killing his friend – beloved? – to make sure he remained useful for them.
All fight went out of the young man and he sat down on the bed. After a second's hesitation Carth sat next to him, and, as if remembering an old habit, Dustil let his head rest against his father, whose mere appearance had made him spit fire and brimstone just minutes earlier. For the first time Shin realised how young he really was.
Carth ruffled his hair.
“I'm sorry, son.”
“No, I'm sorry... dad.”
Shin prepared to leave them for this very private scene but Carth chose that moment to raise his eyes to meet hers with a misty look of gratitude.
It was that moment, looking at Carth the Father, that Shin realised she loved him. That was why she shared his pain and joy so strongly. That was why her heart felt like bursting, looking at the family scene she was not really part of, but his gaze made her so.
After a moment, while Shin was still trying to get over her revelation, Dustil gathered his wits and sat up straighter. He did not completely break the contact with his father, though.
“What brings you here, anyway?”
“Uhh... you?” Carth said, smiling.
“Yeah, you maybe, but with a Jedi delegation?”
“All right, we're... umm...” he looked at Shin for guidance, obviously not sure how much to say.
“We're on a mission,” Shin started, sharing the 'no-pun-intended' -smile with Carth, “from the Jedi Council that might help end the war. We need to get to the ruins on the surface, and joining the Academy was the only way to manage that.”
“So... you're a student, I get that. But how did you get the others in?”
Shin laughed at Carth's pained look.
“What?”
“Well, I told them I'd take with me my assassination droid and...”
“...a love slave,” Carth finished, hiding his face in his hands, and slumping down on the bed so that he was lying on his back, feet still on the floor.
“What?” Dustil seemed to have a hard time deciding whether to be shocked or amused.
Shin wondered at the quick transformation from the bitter creature they'd first encountered. His face lit up when he smiled, and for the first time she saw the family resemblance. It wouldn't always be this easy, she knew. He and his father would still need to work through many issues, but for now they could laugh, and share this moment. Maybe it would be enough.
She grinned, and couldn't help adding, “I'll have you know that Yuthura thought he was worth every credit I'd paid for him.”
---------------
Continued in Chapter 16