Zira Darkstar

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A/N: I would like to thank Spiriti, Quinn, LadyQ, and Vulpes for the reviews and feedback. ^-^ Makes me happy to know that the view counter isn't just climbing by people reading the first two paragraphs and then not liking it. I'm going to try to keep a fresh beat on the story. It should (if I do it right) provide a smoother transition throughout the events of KOTOR.

A/N2: Envy has recently begun work on her own AU version of KOTOR. It's awesome and if you like my story you might get a kick out of her's.

~Beta'd by Envy~
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Chapter 12

Zira was still being lead stupidly as Carth pulled her into a shop that suddenly assailed her senses. There were bright flashes of welding arcs, the grimy stink of burning oil, and loud clanging and battering noises emanating from further in.

The sudden change around her sharpened her senses. She looked around at a large shop. She found herself having just gone through one of the typically large doors that seemed common here in Upper Taris. The shop itself was cramped and dirty. There were boxes and crates that were overflowing with spare droid parts lining the walls. They had been precariously pushed into any open area in the room.

Zira could see three display cases that were full of half built protocol droids. Each of the droids looked to be from a different era of manufacture, and they were most likely some kind of collector’s pieces, judging by the prestige the cases seemed to imply. Zira tracked the rest of the room with her eyes. There were several benches and tables that had half repaired parts littering them. A sudden crash, sounding mostly of scattering metal parts, ripped her attention to the back of the shop and a counter. She could barely make out a canary yellow object bouncing around just beyond the counter.

“Uh, excuse me?” She called, wanting to make sure everything was alright.

There was a quick sound like something metal skidding across the floor, and a Twi’lek bolted straight up from behind the counter. That yellow thing I saw must have been one of her lekku… The woman’s eyes lit up with eager anticipation.

Zira watched the slender woman’s eyes lock on Carth; she suddenly wanted something very bad to happen to this Twi’lek.

Carth had already crossed the room while Zira had been taking it all in. At the moment he was beside the counter admiring a couple of utility droids that were sitting there.

One of them was a shiny, new silver and blue droid that seemed to be watching Carth intently. The other looked to be slightly older, as red rust lined several of the connecting areas between it’s normal gold plates.

As Zira started to cross the room the Twi’lek had already started her sales pitch to Carth. “A customer? Come in, come in. Janice Nall at your service. Welcome to my droid and droid supply shop. Always good to see a new face, customers are hard to come by. A lot of the Taris citizens won’t even come here; they refuse to shop at a store owned by a Twi’lek.”

Zira felt suddenly very akin to the people of Taris. “What do they have against Twi’leks?”

She glanced at Zira, but then turned her full attention back onto Carth. Even in her native language, Zira couldn’t help but notice the cooing sound of her voice. The way she was moving her head-tails seemed familiar to Zira.

“They don’t like aliens much here in Upper Taris. They tolerate us Twi’leks, but they’d rather see us as dancers in the cantina than be successful business owners.”

Carth had a stupid smile on his face as he leaned in and rested his elbows on the counter. “You’d think people would be a little more tolerant of others in this day and age.” He broke to give a long, deep sigh that made Zira want to throw up. “I guess stupidity and ignorance never go out of style.”

You got one thing right!

Janice reached out and traced her long, pale finger along the back of Carth’s hand. “You’ll see a few aliens around, but most of the non-humans stick to the Lower City. I’ve learned not to dwell on it, though. I try to stay focused on running my store. My selection is a bit limited right now, the Sith confiscated my assault droids. But I’ve got a utility droid you might find interesting.”

Carth’s voice was barely above a whisper, “Utility droids? What do they do?”

You know damn well what they do you moron!

Zira was seething. She turned and began to storm out of the room.

Janice didn’t seem to notice, or care. She never even skipped a beat in starting her next sales pitch, “What don’t they do? They’re great at making vehicle repairs, for starters. Pretty handy to have in a fight - small, but tough with a surprising amount of firepower. And there’s no better code breaker or security system slicer around… not that I’d ever condone you doing anything illegal, of course.” Her voice drawled on.

Zira finally managed to clear the doorway when she heard Carth say, “Let me see your droids.”

She kicked the guard railing beside the door and then sat heavily on it. Why is this bothering me so much!? It’s not like that was a real kiss. Besides… Carth has the sex drive of monk… She thought, recalling the events of seeing her naked. If he were really that easily swayed by a woman’s body, he’d be eating out of my hands right now.

Before she could console herself too much, She heard Carth coming towards her. She looked up and Janice was calling out, in a deep, loving voice, “You know a bargain when you see one. This little guys as reliable as used droids get. I did the reconditioning on him myself! Don’t worry… he’ll follow you everywhere!”

Carth walked out with a stupid grin on his face. Pig. Gamorean… Hutt!

“I bought us a droid. I think it’ll be helpful.”

“That thing is a piece of junk! Look at all the rust!”

“Well for fifty credits, I think it was a hell of a bargain.”

Zira threw her arms in the air out of frustration. She turned to walk away from him and heard him fall in step behind her. They didn’t make it far before a loud, grinding noise came from behind them.

They both turned, half drawing their blasters when their eyes fell upon the droid. It had started smoking going over the small incline leading out of Janice’s shop and then started to make a pathetic beeping and whirring sound.

Zira looked at Carth, “Oh yes, a great bargain. That droid will follow you anywhere unless it’s up hill.”

Carth cast her a glowering look. He started walking towards the droid when suddenly an energy surge burst the front panel open and the insides exploded, pitching the droid onto the ground, turning it into a smoldering lump of metal.

“Oh I get it! You bought one of those models that’s primary function is to prop open the door when it’s hot outside!” She couldn’t help but laugh as she was saying it.

“Son-of-a-bitch! This thing was supposed to be newly reconditioned!”

“Oh it’s been reconditioned, alright. Right now it’s condition is useless. Before that it was just mostly useless.”

Carth kicked the smoldering droid and started back towards the shop.

“Carth!” Her tone seemed to have the word “stop” inside it.

He slowly turned a contemptuous eye to her. “What?”

“Let me handle this. You got hustled by those big eyes of hers. I won’t be that stupid.”

“Oh, so you’re calling me stupid now!?”

“I’m calling you a sucker.”

“Oh, that’s so much better!”

“I know, isn’t it though?”

“I can handle this!”

“You shot me.”

He stopped, staring at her coldly. “Are we back to that again?”

“Perhaps. Look, I specialize in this kind of thing. Let me talk to her and I’ll get the credits back. Okay?”

Carth didn’t look any more convinced; he only offered a curt nod and began to heft the droid onto his shoulder. “Might as well pitch this thing over the edge.”

“Nah, just leave it there. I’m sure some of it’s parts are salvageable. She might want it back.”

Carth just shook his head and sat down on the rail.

That’s almost the exact same place I was seething a moment ago. Guess the Force works in mysterious ways. She mused as she went into the shop.

Janice was in the process of putting a modulator into one of the display droids when Zira re-entered the shop. “Hey!”

Janice looked over her shoulder, her long lekku draped over her shoulders. “Welcome back to my shop. Hey, where’s that little T3-H8 unit I sold you?”

Zira closed on the woman and swiftly planted both of her palms onto the case Janice had backed herself against. Zira’s arms flanked the woman, and Zira leaned in close, her voice harsh. “That thing was a piece of junk! You ripped me off!”

Janice’s eyes suddenly flashed of fear and she held up her greasy hands in a defensive pose. “Now just settle down. There’s no need to get upset. I run an honest business here.”

Zira curled her lip, sneering at the woman.

The alien woman seemed to pale a bit more, even Zira could see the difference. “I don’t have to give you a refund, but I don’t want to lose a customer. Here… have your fifty credits back.” She said quickly, pulling the credits out of her pocket. “No hard feelings, right?”

Zira snatched the credits and stepped back, counting them. “I think I should get a little something extra for all the trouble.” She stated in a dark, threatening tone.

Janice nodded quickly, “Well… I guess I did cause you some inconvenience. And I don’t want to get a reputation for poor customer service… business is tough enough as it is. Here’s seventy-five credits…. I think that’s more than fair.” She said as she produced another twenty-five credits from her pocket.

Zira counted them, not looking at her. The effect worked. Janice’s voice came back sheepishly, “Now, is there anything else I can do for you?”

Zira spun on her heel and, without looking back, stated very flatly, “I’ll be going now.” Her words had less warmth than the deep space ice crystals.

Janice tried to call after her, “Maybe I’ll see you around later. Don’t forget my store motto: if you need droid parts, Janice Nall is your gal!”

Zira exited the store with a smug look on her face. Carth was watching her, his face indicating that he’d calmed down a bit. “So? How’d it go?”

“I got your credits back.” She said, holding out the fifty credits to him. He doesn’t need to know about the other twenty-five.

They continued walking in silence after that. They both knew that if what Zelka had said was true, that they were going to have to get into the Lower levels of Taris. Zira continued to lead the way with Carth, probably still seething, behind her. A sign caught her attention, and she began to follow it’s direction. It was pointing out the direction to one of the turbo lifts that went to the Lower City.

Before she could get too far past the sign, however, she could hear a man talking loudly. “Listen to me, people! There is a terrible scourge sweeping our planet! Head my warning, before it is too late.”

Zira felt compelled to see what he was talking about. Might be an ally to help us get past the Sith!

As soon as she got close, she could see an older gentleman who looked to be of the higher noble class. He called to them hopefully, “Friends and fellow humans - I bring you a warning! A warning of a great plague spreading across our planet! Please, listen to me! My name is Gorton Colu. Will you join my cause? We must band together if we are to stop the spread of vermin and scum throughout Taris!”

Zira offered a kind smile, “Are you referring to the Sith?”

The man shook his head furiously before raising his voice again. “I am speaking of the hideous looking aliens who walk the world of Taris! The Wookies and Ithrorians and Rodians and Bith - all of them! Listen, friend, for these are dark times. That is why I, Gorton Colu, have formed the Anti-Alien League. The time has come for action! We cannot sit idly by while aliens blight our glorious planet!”

Zira felt herself stare at him a moment, the only action processing in her mind was enough to blink.

The man started to take in a breath, presumably getting ready to continue his speech, but Zira quickly cut him off. “I don’t know which is worse: your hate mongering or your ignorance.”

The once friendly face of the old man contorted in disgust. “You are like all the Rest! You will not see the truth! On the day of reckoning you will suffer with the rest of the alien lovers!” He threatened.

Zira snarled and her hand was immediately on the handle of her blaster. Before she could draw it, however, Carth’s hand caught her by the wrist. “Come on. We should keep moving. Kook or no, people like him can make trouble for us.”

She wanted nothing more than to kick the man over the edge and let him scream falling to his gruesome death, but she allowed Carth to pull her away. Her thoughts muddled angrily over the bigot steadily trailing away behind them. Moreover, all the horrible things she would like to see happen to him.

She’d become partially aware of the turbolift entrance beyond them, and she continued to let Carth lead her towards it. When they got close, a Sith guard stepped towards them. He had his blaster rifle trained already. “This elevator is off limits. Only Sith patrols and those with proper authorization are allowed into the Lower City. It’s obvious from the way you’re dressed that you’re not one of the Sith patrols, so unless you have the authorization papers, you must move along!”

Zira raised an eyebrow. Wow… I’ve never had to get an elevator license before. “Where can I get authorization papers?”

Zira could feel more than one set of eyes on her now. The Sith trooper spoke back, his voice even more authoritative than before. “If you were supposed to have them you’d know where to get them. Now quit wasting my time and move along.”

Zira pulled her wrist free of Carth’s hand and smiled at the man as sweetly as she could manage. She purposely folded her hands in front of her so that they squeezed her large swells more than they already were. “Can I ask you some questions?”

“I’m not here to give you information! I work for the Sith, not the Taris tourist board!” The man scoffed. “Now move along, unless you have the proper authorization paper.” His tone had become threatening and Zira offered a polite nod. She and Carth began to backtrack. Her mind was mulling over possible ways to get around the guard, when just such a thought came to her.

“Hey Carth?”

“Yes? What’s on your mind?”

“What did you do what that Sith uniform I was in last night?”

“Why? Wait, you’re not planning on trying to slip past him in just a suit of armor are you? That’s crazy. Didn’t you noticed the guard tower? If something goes wrong and he attacks us, we’ll have an entire battalion of Sith to fend off.”

“And if he doesn’t look too closely, we’ll walk right past him.”

“You’re crazy…”

“Maybe, but I can’t think of a better idea. You?”

Carth’s brow furrowed as he thought. Wow… he almost looks cute when he does stuff like that. Zira thought begrudgingly. She took a second to try to understand that thought, finally coming to the conclusion that she must still be mad at him for Janice Nall.

“Fine. It’s for the Republic and for Bastila.”

Can’t forget Bastila, can we?

“The uniform is back at the apartment. But what about me? They said that there were patrols going down there, and I doubt that usually included taking prisoners.”

“Then perhaps we should get you your own armor.”

“And how do you propose we do that?”

“Simple It’s still relatively early, and I’d be willing to bet that those Sith from the party last night are still passed out.”

Carth grabbed her by the wrist, halting her motion. “A party?”

“Yeah, why?”

“I can’t believe it! I was back at the apartment defending a woman you promised to help, and you were out partying!?”

“Would it make you feel better if I said I didn’t have a very good time?”

“No! It would not make me feel better if you ‘didn’t have a good time.’ Have you forgotten what we’re doing here? How we got here? We’re Rep- Ow!”

Zira kicked him in the shin. Her temper flared, “No I haven’t forgotten! You cheapskate! You promised me a real date! And now we’re wandering around the entirely wrong section of Upper Taris! If you had just bought a map like I’d told you to, than we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

The look on Carth’s face was priceless. If Zira weren’t trying to be so angry, it probably would’ve induced a laughing fit. “Wh- Well…”

Zira motioned with her eyes and was happy to see that Carth got the hint. A Sith patrol had been edging closer while Carth was yelling. He seemed to get the hint as he grabbed her by the elbow, “Come on! I know where I’m going!”

She let herself be led along, again. Ever since that kiss he seems to want to hold every part of my arm except my hand. Wonder if this is his way of being an eighth grader, bullying a girl he likes.

He finally came to a stop, and he pulled her around so she was facing him. Her dark navy blue depths aligned with his, chocolate colored wells. She felt a flutter in her chest but she quickly quelled it down. “We have a mission! We need to find Bastila and get off Taris. Do you understand that?”

Zira was pulled from the trance of his boundless eyes, “Yes, I understand. Don’t patronize me. I was planning on using the party as a way to gain intel on whether or not Bastila had already been captured,” she lied smoothly.

She must have been convincing, because Carth just nodded and released her. “So what’s the plan?”
“Well, if we go back to the apartment, we might find those party goers and get you a uniform of your own.”

“Okay, you lead the way.”
It didn’t take too long for Zira to find the apartments she’d been in the night before. She pulled out her datapad and looked on it for the marker that indicated the room. It wasn’t there. Yun must have put a time stamp on it…

She found a room that she was pretty sure was the right one and began to go to work on the security lock. The primitive system seemed to have a “how to hack” manual printed inside. She found all the right connectors almost immediately and the door yielded it’s bounty.

The room beyond was nothing like the one she‘d been at during the party. It was almost completely empty. It had a small bed with a lengthy table beside it, as well as a single couch and view screen.

A tall, lanky man with scraggly black hair fumbled off of the couch. He went to lift a blaster but lost his grip on it, sending the weapon clattering across the floor. He suddenly looked upon Carth and Zira imploringly. “Please… please don’t hurt me! You don’t have to kill me - I’ll have Davik’s money if he… if he just gives me a little more time! Please, I don’t want to die! Here, I’ve got fifty credits on me. That’s all I’ve got. It’s yours, just don’t tell Davik where I’m hiding, okay? I’m begging you.” The man was practically in tears now, crawling across the floor on his knees towards them.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you.” Zira said consolingly.

The lanky man’s knee walk ground to a halt. “You mean, you’re not here to kill me? But… I thought you were one of Davik’s bounty hunters. If you’re not here to kill me, what do you want?”

Zira wasn’t sure that saying ‘oh I’m just trying to rob your neighbors’ wasn’t going to be the best answer. “I’m just looking around.”

“Just looking around?” He asked, astonished. “Oh… okay. Go ahead, look around. Just don’t tell Davik I’m here, okay?”

He pushed himself upright and walked back across the room. He fell heavily onto the couch with a loud sigh. Zira had followed him across the room, and as he sat down, she was standing over him.

His long face suddenly paled, “What… what do you want now? You’re not going to tell Davik’s bounty hunters where I’m hiding, are you?”

Zira shook her head, “Maybe I could help you with your problem with Davik.”

“I don’t think anyone can help me. I owe Davik money, and I was late with the payment.” He stated in a defeated tone. He’d fallen forward and his elbows were now resting on his knees. Zira could smell the salty tears on the man’s face before she saw them begin to drop to the floor. She gently put a hand on his shoulder and he resumed his explanation. “So he went to Zax in the bounty office and put a price on my head! I’ve been hiding here ever since, but sooner or later someone will find me. Unless I somehow come up with another two hundred credits, I’m a dead man.”

Zira couldn’t help but feel for the man. He has no way to leave, no way to make money, and certainly not the skills to defend himself if some bounty hunter were to recognize him. She plunged a hand into her belt purse and counted out the credits. “Here - I’ve got two hundred credits you can have.”

The man looked up at her in amazement, tears and mucus still streaming down his face. “You’d give two hundred credits to a stranger just to help them out!? I… I don’t believe it! Thank you! Now I can pay off Davik! Oh thank you, you’ve saved my life! I better go give this to Davik right away.” He wiped his face on the sleeve of his tunic as he took the credits from Zira. He didn’t even stay to see them out of his apartment; he just bolted for the door, leaving Zira and Carth to watch him leave.

Carth looked over at her, and shook his head. “Wow, that sure was generous of you. I just hope we don’t end up needing those credits later on.”

“He needed them more… You and I have ways of making credits… that poor man would have died without them.”

Zira watched as Carth was rendered speechless, and she began to look through the vacant apartment. Carth started to say something but she cut him off. “I said that he would’ve died without those credits. Doesn’t mean that once he’s in the free and clear with Davik that he won’t be able to get a job and replace anything we take.”

Nothing in the room was worth even a quarter of the credits she’d given the man, and she was fairly sure Carth knew that as well. She only found a few things that were even worth taking, and then they were back in the hall.

She found the apartment where the Sith were to be empty, but the door was still wide open. She looked around a bit, but she couldn’t find any of the people from the party. Likewise, where there were no Sith, there were no Sith uniforms.

Zira thought about it a moment. “You said that the Lower City was populated with warring swoop bike gangs, right?”

Carth nodded, “Yes, what of it?”

“That gives me an idea.”

“Why do I get the feeling I’m going to regret this?”

“Because you probably are.”