KotOR I: Orin Dakall

AN: Shadows Run--Thanks for the reviews! I’ve always been irritated at the lack of subtext in the game also, so I started making up my version as I played along.



I promise hot sex is coming. I keep wanting to skip ahead to those bits, but damn it, that ruins the line of the story. And having it happen too soon ruins the believability of the characters. Ah well.



Back to the important stuff.



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“I... I was a little snappish when we talked,” Mission mumbled at the ground. “I’m sorry about that. I get a little touchy when it comes to Griff.”



Orin flicked her eyes from the distant dingy gray of Lower City to the Twi’lek. “What?”



“My brother.”



Her eyes drifted back to the intercrossing pathways above them, then closed. “You don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to,” she said, her breath beginning to catch up with her.



“No, I want to.”



Orin shrugged and turned her head toward Carth, watching and willing his chest to continue rising and falling.



“I never knew my parents,” Mission said hesitantly. “My brother always looked out for me. He’s the one that brought me to Taris. I was just a kid, only five. But I remember the trip--if you could call it that. We were stuffed inside a packing crate in a star freighter’s cargo hold with just enough food and water to make the trip. Not exactly first class, you know?”



Carth’s eyes hadn’t opened. The open gashes stood starkly against his ashen skin, and Orin couldn’t stand seeing at them any longer. She sat up and faced Mission.



“Stowaways?”



“I don’t know the whole story, but he owed a lot of money. Might even have been a few arrest warrants out for him, I don’t know. The only way to get off planet was to smuggle ourselves out. I mean, I don’t want to make us sound like criminals...” she said.



Orin’s eyebrow twitched upwards.



“Well, maybe my brother was,” she amended. “See? This is why I don’t like to talk about it! It makes Griff sound worse than he really was. He had his problems, but he always looked out for me.”



Orin took another glance back at Carth and winced. She grabbed his pack, tearing off one of the pockets on his orange vest. “What kind of problems?”



Mission’s face fell. “He gambled. And drank. And he was always borrowing money for his latest get-rich-quick scheme. But he had a good heart, you know?” she said pleadingly. “He taught me how to survive. How to slice into a computer’s security system; how to get inside a locked building without the entrance codes; how to spot a wealthy mark for a quick shell game...”



“Handy skills to have.” Orin had soaked the torn pocket in kolto and was attempting to clean off the congealed rakghoul blood on Carth’s face and neck.



“Yeah, Griff did right by me,” Mission said absently, watching. “You know, you guys remind me of me and Zaalbar.”



“If you mean he’s hairy and smells like Bantha breath, while I’m ridiculously gorgeous, I won’t disagree.”



“No, I mean... You guys look out for each other, even when you’re mad.”



Orin looked at the scrap of orange fabric in her hand, now stained with blood and sweat. “I guess I can’t disagree there either.” She knit her brows for a moment, then looked up with a nonchalant air. “He’s handy for shooting things and giving lectures.”



Mission nodded, not smiling.



“Hey,” Orin said, looking at her with concern, “We’re gonna find Zaalbar and kick the shit out of the pigs that took him.”



Mission nodded again, looking slightly less dour.



“So... what else about Griff?”



“I...” Mission ducked her head. “I really miss him since he left. I keep hoping he’ll come back some day.” She looked up. “He promised he would.”



Orin hid a frown. She doubted Griff was keen to keep that promise. “Why did he leave?”



“He fell in with a bad crowd. It’s all Lena’s fault. She’s the one who took him away from me! Just batted those long lashes at him and off he went!”



Carth took a gasping breath and Orin whirled around.



He coughed, beckoning her closer with a finger.



She knelt over him...



“Was there a line or something?”



Her eyes narrowed. “You’re alive, aren’t you?”



He shrugged. “Wouldn’t say no to another medpac.”



Orin smiled sweetly, taking one from her pile and breaking it directly over his facial wounds. Her eyes widened innocently as he spluttered and yelped in pain.



“Come on,” she said brusquely, standing and pulling her pack on, “Lots to do. You can stargaze later.”



Carth glared at her but struggled slowly and silently to his feet.



“Um, we can wait a little longer...” Mission said.



“No,” Orin stated firmly. “We’re on a deadline.”



“Yeah, but--”



“She’s right,” Carth grunted, shouldering his pack stiffly. “We have to get the swoop bike accelerator, and there’s only 36 hours before the race.”



“Don’t... Don’t move!” All three turned to see a few scavengers with weapons drawn, one shakily trained on Orin. “I’m... I’m not afraid to use this blaster if I have to!”



“Oh god,” Orin said, raising her hands, “Are you serious?”



“Settle down kid,” a gruff voice said to the scavenger, “We’ve already lost enough men to those damn rakghouls! The last thing we need now is more casualties from a needless firefight.” He strode through the others to Orin. It was Canderous, Davik’s merc from Lower City. He looked the three up and down.



“By looks of you I’d say you’re down here for the same reason we are: salvaging those downed Republic space pods. Let me give you some advice: forget about it. Do yourself a favor and just head back the way you came.”



Orin squared her shoulders. “Is that a threat?”



Canderous smiled, well, threateningly. “Mandalorians don’t make threats; we make promises. But I’m just trying to give you a friendly warning.”



Where the hell do I know him from? Orin thought. And why doesn’t he recognize me?



“This isn’t a good place to stand around chatting,” he continued. “The Undercity is crawling with rakghouls. I’ve already lost half a dozen men to those monsters.”



“Heh, trust me,” Orin said with a mirthless grin, “We’ve dealt with--”



“Canderous, I heard something!” the shaky guy interrupted, “Over there in the shadows! Sounded like a rakghoul!”



Canderous, Orin, and Carth sighed collectively, and the next few minutes were spent blasting and hacking apart more mutants. The scavengers then headed out, with the other three going in the opposite direction.