Knights of the Old Republic: Adventures of Jorann Varck

Knights of the Old Republic: Chapter 1: The Endar Spire

Admiral Karath strode down the walkway. All around him were workers, gunners, and navigators. He was no Jedi, yet he could feel the fear and tense atmosphere all around him. An imposing figure stood at the front of the bridge, looking out over the blue lines extending through hyperspace. As the figure turned around, the lights on his mechanical jaw flashed and lit up.
“What is it, admiral?” the Sith Lord asked gruffly, with the grating mechanical undertone.
“We are approaching Taris, milord. The Endar Spire will be in range soon” the admiral replied. He felt uneasy about facing Carth, his old student, in battle, though he couldn’t let the Sith know about that.
“Hmm…I see…you are dismissed, admiral”, Malak said.
Suddenly the lines compressed into pinpricks, and a single ship appeared.
“Open fire. Launch fighters. Attack!” commanded Karath

* * *

I swore violently. A sudden rumble had thrown me off the top bunk in my quarters. I ended up in my laundry, which saved me a good deal of pain, at least. I scrambled up as the door opened. A man with a shock of white hair, though only in his 20’s at best, entered the room.
“Who are you?” I asked.
“I’m Trask Ulgo, your bunkmate. I’m a soldier in the Republic Fleet”, Trask said
“Ow…right, I’m Jorann Varck, a scout that was added last minute by…uh…” I started
“The Jedi, I know”, he said.
“Right, hold on a sec.” I reached over and punched in the passcode for my footlocker. It opened and I pulled out my clothes, which I quickly threw on, my stun dagger, and my Mandalorian blaster which I had stolen off of a drunken bounty hunter. I saw he had drawn his vibroblade and was ready to go.
“Alright, let’s go”, he said.
I saw the carnage as I stepped outside. Fried power conduits, broken utility droids, and malfunctioning turbolifts were among them. We hurried through another door, and saw two sith troopers attacking a republic one. Before either of us could make a move, the sith shot him.
“Ahh! It’s the advance boarding party!” Trask exclaimed.
“For the Republic!” I yelled
Trask sprinted ahead and got locked in a fight with one. I fired off two shots, both of which connected with the silver armor of the sith trooper. He went down. I heard Trask scream a war cry and he slashed in a broad arc. The other sith trooper fell beneath the blade.
“Heh. Let’s go.” Trask said
We continued on, seeing no more battles until now.
I ran forward and reprogrammed the computer so the door would open. Immediately we saw two blades of pure energy: Lightsabers. They were whirling about in a mesmerizing dance of battle. The Jedi spun around and stabbed at her enemy. The Dark Jedi was slain by the blow. However, a conduit exploded, and she fell as well.
“Blast! That Jedi could have helped us out, too”, Trask said
“I know. But the bridge is right through here. Let’s grab Bastila and Carth and get out of here”, I said. Carth was the soldier in charge of the mission. He was a war hero and a sharpshooter beyond recognition. Bastila was the Jedi representative on the ship. We opened the door just to see five sith soldiers. A sudden explosion near the front of the bridge killed three. I shot one and Trask hurled his vibroblade at another, taking him down. No one else was there.
“Hmm…they must already be at the escape pods…quick! Let’s go, before the Sith blow the ship into space dust!” He said. But I felt an ominous presence approaching, yet I couldn’t quite place it. We hurried to the exit. Outside of the bridge, there were two doors.
“There’s something behind here…” Trask said
“Trask, wait!” I yelled. But too late. He opened the door. A man with an extremely pale complexion and pure golden eyes with an evil aura about him activated a lightsaber. Two red beams shot out of opposite ends of the saber.
“What the- It’s a Dark Jedi! You go, I’ll hold him off!” Trask said. The doors closed. I sighed. Trask, you idiot, I thought. But I pressed on towards the escape pods.
I passed through the other door, and saw three sith grenadiers on the other side.
“Well, boys, it seems we’ve caught someone in our little trap. Goodbye, fool!”
They each threw a grenade. I saw them arc through the air. As they reached the apex of the arc, they all drew together. I quickly shot the middle one, which in turn destroyed the other two. I then shot the two soldiers on the side, but saw the middle one had leveled a blaster rifle at me.
“Heh heh. Die, foo-AUUGGH!” He screamed, as a red blaster bolt streaked into him from the side. I saw a figure run over.
“Thanks! Jorann Varck, scout”, I said to him
“Carth Onasi, don’t mention it. Quick, the escape pods are over here!” He said
We both jumped in. I closed the hatch as he started the engines. A sudden blast threw me forward, and I smashed into the wall. I slid into blackness.

Hope u like it...Its based on the game Knights of the Old Republic

kewl

KOTRAJV, like COAJ??

Naw I just made the guy up...I'm still writing the stories, but it follows the events of the video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

no i mean, could we do something like COAJ, a multi author story, for this thing as the background for it

Ummmmm...sure.

But you have to play the game first.

Next one...

* * *

Knights of the old Republic
Chapter 2: Taris

Through a hazy fog, I saw a female Jedi, her long brown hair tied in a braid, wielding a bright yellow lightsaber, and she cut down a Dark Jedi, ending her slash with a graceful flourish. I saw no more.

* * *

“Uuunghh…” I groaned. I looked over and saw Carth standing at a workbench. He finished what he was doing and turned around.
“Hey. You’re up”, he said nonchalantly, following with “It’s good to see you up instead of thrashing around in your sleep. It must have been one hell of a nightmare.”
“It was…a…vision, at least I think so. I saw a woman on a…a…starship bridge? Yeah, a starship bridge. She was a Jedi fighting a Dark Jedi” I explained.
“That was probably Bastila”, he said.
“Bastila? Who’s that?” I asked.
“Wow, that hit to your head did more than I thought. Bastila’s a Jedi. Her Battle Meditation is the only reason the Republic has survived so long in the war”, Carth said.
“Um, where are we?” I asked him.
“Well, you were unconscious when we crashed, so I dragged you to this abandoned apartment. By the time the Sith got there, we were gone”, he told me.
“Thanks. What were you working on?” I asked.
“My blaster. I snagged some spare parts off of those grenadiers’ bodies”, he replied.
“Oh. Are there any more parts?”
“Yes. But I already upgraded yours”, Carth said.
“Cool. Let’s go find Bastila and a way off this planet”, I said
“That’s our best bet. Her escape pod crashed into the Undercity. The locals told me that we’re the only lucky ones that crashed in the Upper City”, he told me.
We both grabbed our blasters, and headed out into the city.

* * *

“Sir, Bastila has escaped the Endar Spire”, Admiral Saul Karath informed the Sith Lord.
The medical droid next to him turned away. Malak turned to face the Admiral. Saul resisted the urge to recoil. Where a regular man’s jaw would be, there was nothing. Just charred flesh, a bloody gash, and a memory of a hideous wound inflicted in a lightsaber duel. The droid quickly replaced the mask.
“I am aware, Admiral”, the cyborg said. “Initiate a planet-wide quarantine. No one comes or goes without the blockade codes”, Darth Malak commanded.
“For how long?” the Admiral inquired.
“Until Bastila is found. You are dismissed, Admiral”, the Sith commanded.
“Yes, Lord”

* * *

Carth and I hit a snag outside the elevator leading down to the city. We saw two Duros being harassed by a Sith patrol. One said something in the Duros language. “A patrol was just by yesterday, and they found nothing! Why do you bother us so much?” I mentally translated. I was proficient in many alien languages. Suddenly the officer shot the alien. I recoiled, and he turned around.
“Who are-wait. You’re…Attack! They’re Republic fugitives!” He shouted to the droids flanking him. They both raised their rifles.
“Where we that obvious?” Carth asked humorously.
“I guess”, I replied, as I gunned down one droid. Carth shot the other right between the eyes. The other Duros tackled the officer from behind, and smacked the officer’s own blaster into his head with a mighty crack! The Duros stood as the officer suddenly lay still.
“Thank you for your help. Poor Ixgil. He never should have talked back to that Sith patrol. I will take care of the bodies”, the living Duros said.
“Thank you. We’re just glad we could help”, I said. We then ran to the elevator and went down.
When we reached the city, we hurried forward and down a long, lit path.
“Well, we should probably find a way to the Undercity”, Carth said.
“Yeah…But first,” we stopped “I’d like to know more about you, Carth”
“Me? Well…I’m a soldier in the fleet. I fought in the Mandalorian Wars”, he began.
“More personal things, Carth”, I persuaded.
“Alright. My mentor-Saul Karath, the Sith Admiral-came to me one day and asked if I wanted to be on the winning side of the war. I said I was with the Republic to the end. He kept prying, but at what, I had no idea. Finally he got angry and stormed off. I went to bed bewildered. That night I woke to the sound of Sith bombers hitting our shipyards, and then I knew that Saul had joined the Sith and taken the shipyard passcodes with him. The shipyard was in ruins. The survivors just barely escaped”, he said. “Because of Saul, my family was ravaged. My wife…she…and my son…there wasn’t even a body”, he struggled to say. He composed himself. “But let’s focus on the mission, shall we?” he said.
“Yes”, was all I could say. I was horrified that any human being could have done such an act-and in such cold blood. But I forced myself to focus.
We reached the end of the street. To our right was an old sign. It read:

Zelka Forn’s Medical Office and Supply Center

“We should stock up on medpacks, health supplies, bacta canisters, and kolto”, Carth said.
“I was thinking the same thing. Let’s go”, I said. We hurried inside. An assistant was working on paperwork to the side. There were eight empty bacta tanks, five across the wide room, and three beside us. Sitting at a desk working on a journal entry in a datapad was Zelka Forn, we presumed.
“Ah. Hello, gentlemen. How may I help you?” he inquired.
Carth took it from there. “We’d like…”
I walked over to the side of the room. There was a locked door. I quickly grabbed a lockpick out of my back pocket. I set to work, and quickly it opened. Inside were two men, floating in bacta tanks.
“Hey-What are you doing!? That’s authorized personnel only!” He shouted.
“And why are you housing Republic soldiers?” I asked.
“Well, I…” he stuttered.
“Don’t worry, we’re from the Republic too” I reassured.
“Oh, way to keep a low profile!” Carth said sarcastically
“If the Sith found out, they’d kill me instantly!” Zelka said
“Your secret’s safe with us”, I replied
“It’s good to see someone on this planet has a good heart”, Carth said.
Has he been here before? I thought
“Thank you for the supplies. Goodbye”, I said.
“Have you been here before?” I asked.
“Yeah”, he responded. “Taris is full of stuck-up nobles and arrogant bigots. It’s a backwater planet, if you ask me.
“So…what did you buy?” I inquired.
“I got twenty medpacks, two mini canisters of bacta, antidotes to common poisons, five containers of kolto, and food”, he responded.
“Get any water?” I asked him.
“Yes. I also bought some water purifiers. Be careful; too many drops and it’ll knock you out like a poisoned Hutt”, Carth said. “As for food, I got a month’s supply of Sith trooper rations. They taste like…well, nothing really. But it has a five-star health rating”
“Great”, I said. Across from us was a cantina, and to the right was a droid emporium. Suddenly a thought occurred to me.
“How did you pay for everything?” I asked suspiciously.
“One of the assassin droids on the Endar Spire. Apparently its internal systems were worth a fortune”, he replied.
“Define fortune¬”, I said.
“15,000 credits”, he replied
I whistled. That was a lot of money.
“Okay, let’s go to the cantina. Maybe there’ll be some info there”, I said.
We walked in. We headed past the pazaak table and walked to the left. There we saw an enormous Hutt.
“What do you want?” It said in Huttese.
“Do you know how to get to the Undercity?” I asked.
“Well, first you need to take the elevator to the Lower City. However, only Sith can go down there”, the Hutt said.
“Ah…thanks”, I said, an idea dawning in my head.
We hurried back into the central area.
“Wait here”, I told Carth. I hurried across the room. I was heading towards a woman that looked like a Sith. I, for once, was having a good feeling about something.
“Hey there”, she said
“What’s up?” I said conversationally.
“Taking a break from the living hell the Sith have made my life. I’m throwing a party for my fellow officers and me tonight. Oh, I’m Sulra, by the way”, replied Sulra
“Oh…may my friend,” I gestured at Carth, “and I come?”
“Of course! The more the merrier, eh? Oh, what’s your name?” Sulra asked
“Halles Baet”, I said, quickly coming up with a name. The Sith couldn’t know my real identity, or I’d be dead before I could swear. “I’ll come to help set, alright? Okay”, I said, and ran back towards Carth.
“What happened?” He asked.
“I have a plan”, I said.

* * *

I was setting up for the party and initiating phase 1 of my plan. I was just getting out the Tarisian Ale.
“Oh, sorry, I need to use the refresher. All that water is catching up to me”, Sulra said.
“Its fine”, I replied. She left the apartment. Carth commed me.
“She’s in the refresher. That plumbing block of mine should hold her up for at least five minutes”, Carth said.
“Alright. Varck out”, I said. I quickly yanked out the water purifying droplets, pouring double the recommended amount into the ale.
“Phase 1 complete”, I commed Carth.
“She’s coming back. Initiate phase 2”, Carth said
“Right. Party time!” I said.

* * *

Carth and I were in a corner, keeping our distance from the ale, which was all drunk by 11:00.
“Right, they should start losing consciousness…now”, I said
And they did. Everyone tipped over frontward, backwards, and to the side.
“And…Initiate phase 3”, Carth said.
I ran over to the packs and pulled out two shining uniforms.
“Phase 3 complete. Let’s get out of here”, I said.
We ran back to our base apartment.

* * *

The next morning, we donned our Sith uniforms and hurried down the other street from the apartments. The elevator was on our right. We hurried past the guards and descended to the Lower City

When we reached the Lower City, I immediately knew something was wrong. Suddenly I heard something. It sounded like the Nikto language. We ran forward to see a swoop gang confrontation. Suddenly the center fighter of one of the gangs stabbed the other. Another leapt up and struck a mighty blow to his opponent. The other man was taken down by the dagger of the center one.
“More strangers!” The middle one said. I quickly shot him in between the eyes. Carth shot down the other two.
“Come on, let’s go”, he said
We hurried down a street to our left. We passed a cantina, and found a swoop gang base.
“This is as good a place as any. Let’s go”, Carth said.
We hurried inside. Heading past the Twi’leks, Rodians, and humans, we saw a blind man with a purple Twi’lek bodyguard.
“Who are you and what do you want with Gadon?” She asked aggressively.
“Calm down, Zaerdra. Let them speak their piece” The blind man-Gadon-replied.
“I’m Jorann, and this is Carth. We need information on those escape pods in the Undercity. A woman by the name of Bastila. Do you know what has become of her?” I inquired.
“In fact, I have. The Vulkars captured her. We’re at war with them. The majority of them are Nikto”, Gadon said.
“We’ve encountered them”, I replied.
“And we beat them”, Carth added
“Ah, I see. Well, this friend of yours was captured by the Vulkars. They’re offering her as their prize in the swoop race”, Gadon said.
“Oh…and how does one enter the swoop race?” I asked.
“Well…we could enter you as one of our riders. We have a prototype engine for the swoop”, he said
“Gadon! If we’re to win that race we need our best rider on it”, Zaerdra said, outraged.
“Silence!” he said angrily. He muttered something to her, and she suddenly smiled.
“Now. The Vulkars stole the engine, so you need to steal it back. Find Mission Vao. She can get you in the back door. Her Wookie friend Zaalbar and her look for thrills in the Undercity”, Gadon was about to say more, but Zaerdra cut him off.
“Mission?! She’s just a kid, Gadon!”
“She’s smarter and cleverer than anyone in the Lower City! And if you give me your Sith uniforms, I’ll give you authorization papers for each elevator. I suggest you begin immediately. The swoop race is in just a few days”, Gadon said.
“Right. Thanks!” I said.