Knights of The Old Republic

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It's highly suggest you read the formatted version. It's a lot more organized.
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Prelude - Endar Spire

Darkness...

It’s a weird feeling to be surrounded by darkness. Everything is obscured, but you can still see darkness. It makes me wonder if something may be beyond it, hiding from my sight, using the all-encompassing black to cloak its movements. My instincts kick in and my hand drops to my blaster, but it’s gone.

I look down and for the first time I notice I can still see myself, and the distinct lack of clothes somewhat explains the disappearance of my blaster, which is something I never keep far from my grasp. Feeling a presence, I turn my gaze upward and find someone very familiar, too familiar, staring right at me, not more then a few feet away.

He’s sickly pale, with four colored lines across his bald head, and a metal plate concealing a large portion of his face from view. The rest of his body, which for some reason I know is scarred from many battles, is covered with a tight, form fitting armor made for protection and manueverability.

The most notable thing about him is the blood red lightsaber clutched and ignited in his grasp, the red beam cutting through the darkness and bathing the imposing figure in a red glow to compliment his attire.

Malak...

Malak is a person anyone in the republic should notice on sight. He’s an enemy of the republic, and former Jedi hero, along with his master Revan, who fought in the Mandalorian Wars.

“So much has changed...”

When he finally speeks, the metallic drawl of his face sends a shiver down my spine, but years of strict discipline forces me to keep my cool.

“Isn’t it sad that we depend so much on our memories that if we lose them, or if they're altered, an entire life time can be manipulated...”

Malak slowly raises his lightsaber and points the red beam in my my direction.

“No one is above it. Not Revan, not myself, and certainly not you. Memories are an untapped power amongst our kind, but from the very moment you came into existence, you were a tool of your past.”

My body refuses to move as he starts walking toward me, his boots making a large thumping sound, matching the slow beating of my heart. It’s odd, but not once do I get the feeling to say anything to Malak. I just listen. Like a student to a teacher...or a friend.

“Let us see if history will repeat itself...”

In the blink of an eye, his lightsaber flashes forward and plunges through my chest.

Instead of my screams, the next sound that takes over my senses is an alarm.

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“Hey! Wake up! The Endar Spire is under attack!”

I instantly open my eyes, years of training instantly waking me up and making me forget the dream. I quickly roll out of bed, take a quick glance at the person who woke me up, Trask, my roommate, and grab the blaster at the side of my bed.

“What’s the situation?”

I ask him as I quickly gather my equipment and suit up in my standard soldier outfit. It’s not really made to shield against most blasters, but it is made to hold a variety of items within easy reach to be prepared for almost any situation. That's all I need really. I’d rather not get shot than get shot and be able to survive it.

Trask nervously clutches at his blaster.

“A Sith warship sppeared out of nowhere and instantly started attacking us and Sith landing parties have infiltrated the Spire. We've managed to hold them off so far but they are quickly overtaking the ship. We need to meet up with Bastila Shan and secure the ship.”

That damn Jedi better not take all the action...

I smile to myself and turn toward Trask.

“Ok, I’m ready. Let the fun begin...”

Trak gives me a funny look at my choice of words but shrugs and walks over to the door. He presses the button to open the door but nothing happens.

“The lockdown has sealed all the doors on the ship. Give me a moment to bypass it.”

His fingers dance across the computer console and moments later the door swings open.

“Ok we're through. The Sith have probably taken care of most of the other locked doors so keep your eyes open.”

The signs that the ship was taking a beating become abundantly clear. Debris, scorch marks from explosions and blaster fire, and droid parts litter the once white and clean hallway. Blaster fire join the loud cacophony of explosions as the Sith warship continues to fire on the crippled Endar Spire.

Even from the first hallway I can see that things aren’t good.

How the hell did they do this in such a short amount of time?

Trask and I move forward in a two man formation, which includes him watching our flank while I watch our front. It’s basic but effective in such a confined space like the hallways of a ship.

As the sounds of battle draw closer, the frequent attacks on the ship’s exterior become much more pronounced. The smaller ships of the Sith battlefleet pepper small holes across the hull, which individually doesn’t do a lot of damage, but together turns everything into a slagheap.

As we reach the end of the hallway, I open the door and glance quickly around the corner. The next hallway splits both to the right and left, with the right path ending quickly because of a wall, and the left path leading straight through two Sith soldiers. I signal with my hand for Trask to hold.

A surprise attack would be best for this situation. A Republic soldier seems to have a better idea and runs right in their view and starts wildly firing his rifle. It might have worked but the blasts aren’t focused enough to cut through their armor plating, and merely glanced off. Their returning fire quickly cut through the soldier’s armor and killed him instantly.

It seems that is all it takes to make Trask forget his training.

“For the Republic!”

Trask yells and jumps out from hiding, sending a spray of bolts in the Sith’s direction. One bolt manages to knock one of them off balance, but the other one responds in kind, grazing Trask’s leg and causing him to fall to the floor.

Damnit!

To save the idiot, I roll out of hiding, jump to my feet, and fire. The blast tears straight through the Sith’s faceplate and he crumbles to the floor like a ragdoll. The other one stands back up but doesn’t make it far before I give him the same treatment.

“Why is everyone so afraid of these guys? They die just the same.”

Not expecting a response to my question, I turn toward Trask and help him back to his feet.

“Do you always forget your training so easily? We could have taken them by surprise if you hadn’t jumped out and made yourself a target.”

Trask tests his weight on his foot before answering with a glare.

“I’m sorry, but watching one of our own die has a tendency to piss me off.”

I sigh and shake my head. I’m not completely without sympathy for the dead soldier, but...

“You almost joined him. If you die while ignoring your training to avenge him, then you aren’t honoring his memory at all. Keep to your training.”

Before Trask can respond the loud, repeating alarm is interrupted by a familiar voice.

“The Sith are threatening to overrun our position! We can't hold out long against their firepower! All hands to the bridge!”

Trask checks his portable communicator and confirms my suspicion.

“That was Carth Onasi contacting us on our portable communicators. He's one of the Republic’s best pilots! He's seen more combat than the entire crew put together.”

Trask clips his communicator to his belt.

“We have to hurry to the bridge to defend Bastila.”

She’s a Jedi. I’m pretty sure she can take care of herself.

Instead I just nod my head and we continue on our way to the next room, which is a small lounge for the security staff. The next Sith we encounter open fire immediately, and Trask, remembering his training, takes cover behind a crate and fires blindly in their direction. It’s enough to keep them suppressed behind a table and I grab one of my grenades.

“Hey, Sith!”

I press the button on the grenade and toss it across the room, making sure it lands pretty much right on top of their heads.

“Nice cover! It means I won’t have to wipe what’s left of you off my clothes!”

The explosion shakes the room and a few seconds later the heat from the blast dissipates. Trask and I move out of cover and walk quickly across the room.

“I don't recall taunting our enemies to be a part of our training.”

Trask smirks slightly and I grin in response.

“It’s not. It’s just a lot of fun.”

Slowly, we work our way from one hallway, one room to the next, taking out Sith one after another. They're not particularly hard to kill, they just have superior numbers, and the typical Republic grunt isn’t trained to fight them.

The Sith have a particular style. While the Republic soldiers work together as a team to try and accomplish a goal, the Sith work individually to try and accomplish a goal. The Sith believe that strength in numbers means that the more people you have with you, the less chance you will die before they do.

Despite being an awful way to think, it works well for them. Trask and I enter a room where two Republic soldiers are holding off four Sith. Before we can reach them, a Sith with a vibroblade approaches and cuts them down, but is blown up moments later, along with the Republic soldiers, by a grenade thrown by one of his fellow Sith.

Seeing a friend and ally getting blown to pieces is never a sight you can forget. It sticks with you, even if you’ve seen it happen a thousand times. But Trask and I quickly step over the pieces and engage the Sith at a distance.

The Sith who threw the grenade, thinking he might get another kill, tosses another one our way. I follow the path with my eyes, raise my gun, and fire. The resulting explosion knocks me on my ass and the smoke gives Trask enough time to get me back on my feet and around the corner we came from.

Blaster shots ring against the walls in our direction, and another explosion shakes the area as the grenadier tries again.

“Persistent bastard.”

A few moments later, another grenade shakes the area. But this time much closer.

“How accurate are you? I don’t think I’ve seen you miss once.”

I was one of the best at the academy. The instructors told me I had an unnatural ability with a gun, and that's why they assigned me as a Sharpshooter during the Mandalorian Wars.

“Accurate enough...why?”

He smiles and tells me his idea. After the next blast got dangerously close to painting the walls with our blood, I waited a moment and then leapt out of hiding. The Sith with the grenades stopps in surprise, a grenade armed and ready to throw.

“Boom.”

My next shot hit the grenade in his hand and he explodes, taking his two partners with him. Well, seeing your own friends blown to pieces is disturbing, but seeing your enemies blown to pieces by their own grenade is satisfying on so many levels.

Quickly moving on, we barely reach the next door before the sounds of lightsabers ring out. After the Mandalorian War, it's a sound I’ll never forget. Trask opens the door and we encounter a Jedi and a Dark Jedi amidst a fierce duel.

The Dark Jedi wore a heavy chest plate and all black, while the female Jedi wore more form fitting clothing in order to increase the speed of her movements. My mind becomes more focused, and for some reason my eyes watch the duel with keen interest. I note each movement, thrust and parry and saw the mistakes. I’ve never used a lightsaber before, but I still see the mistakes clearly as if I’m a master of the weapon myself. Trask taps me on the shoulder and I shake my head clear of the cobwebs.

“We better stay back. All we'd do is get in the way.”

I nod in response and just watch as the brilliant blue and red beams connect, one trying to overpower the other. The Dark Jedi spins in a three hundred and sixty degree turn, and uses the moment to connect his saber hard against hers, but she's prepared for it, and grabs the hilt strongly with both hands, and turns his blade aside with an upwards sweeping motion which sends the saber up high and opens him up.

With a blue flash of her lightsaber, she sweeps her saber down and back behind her, reverses its direction, and plunges the beam straight through his chest. The Dark Jedi manages to spit out a curse before falling to the ground.

Just a second later, another explosion hits the Endar Spar and the female Jedi is caught in the blast and she is thrown forward to the floor.

We’re at her side within moments and I gently turn her over to inspect the damage. A large piece of metal is has pierced her stomach. It’s not hard to see that she won't live through it. I’ve seen a lot of injuries like this before.

“Hey, come on! You did a good job back there, you can't die from this!”

Trask tries to encourage her but even she knows she’s dead. Countless emotions flash before her eyes: Fear. Sadness. Happiness. Anger. These are common emotions, and everyone feels them, even Jedi, right before they die. For all their vaunted power, their wisdom, and their sacrifice, Jedi are living beings afterall. When they die, when they become one with the Force as they say, it's no different then when a common person dies.

The circumstances may be different, but death is the same. If war teaches you anything other then how to kill someone, it's that. We’re all the same at the end. I reach out and grasp her hand and the last emotion that passes before her eyes is contentment. I let go of her hand and stand up.

“Come on, we have to meet up with Carth Onasi. We did all we could for her.”

Drawn by the explosion, two Sith carrying vibroblade run around the corner and spot us. We easily kill them long before they reach us.

“We better grab their blades. We’re about to enter the bridge, and all adjoining rooms are really cramped. A blaster doesn't do much good against an enemy that can get close enough to stab you.”

I reluctantly holster my blaster and pick up one of the vibroblades. I’m good with a vibroblade, I just don’t prefer them. I check to make sure Trask is ready then open the door. What greets us is a score of combatants, both Republic and Sith, engaged in close quarters combat. At this point, protecting the bridge is only necessary for others to escape.

Trask and I charge into the room and I immediately cut down one surprised Sith. The one nearest to him sidesteps my lunge and then steps forward before I can retract my blade, leaving my torso wide open. Seeing this, Trask intercepts the attack with his blade and turns it aside, allowing me enough time to back up half a step and smash my foot against his kneecap.

The cracking of metal and bone ring together. Before the Sith can recover I remove his head from his shoulders with one quick swipe of my blade. Now with two others at their side, the Republic soldiers fight with more vigor, easily overpowering the Sith that had been overpowering them before.

That’s when I notice them. Black ships, swarming like flies, outside of the bridge’s viewport. Two of those flies break off and fly toward the bridge. The Sith occupied planet of Taris looms and spins behind them.

“Everyone out of the bridge now!”

The bridge is designed in the shape of a V, with computer consoles in the way of the other door leading to the escape pods. Trask, the few remaining Republic solders, and myself, jump over the consoles and dash for the door.

My instincts kick in, my blood pumps in my veins, adrenaline rushes through my body, and everything slows down. I jump over another console, duck into a roll, then leap forward just as the ships fire on the bridge. The explosion propels both Trask and myself through the door, just as the safety measures kick in and the door closes and locks itself down, trapping the republic solders inside.

Son of a Bitch!

I slowly rise to my feet and Trask joins me. We both stare at the door for several moments then decide to move on.

Are any of our friends going to survive?

The next couple of rooms were empty of all life, just strewn with the bodies of Republic and Sith soldiers alike. Around this area the damage wasn’t as pronounced, and some of the droids were even trying to repair the damage, following their programming even now.

As we entered another room I note that we are very close to the escape pods. It won’t take long to reach them.

“Hold up...something’s not right...”

Trask walks up to one of the doors, the opposite door we need to enter, but at the moment we can't have anyone surprising our flank so the extra caution is necessary.

I have a bad feeling about this...

A split second later, I hear the sound of a lightsaber being ignited.

Shit!

I grab Trask by his uniform and pull him back just before the red beam of a lightsaber pierces straight through the metal door right where Trask was standing.

“Shit!”

Trask unknowingly echoes my previous thoughts and the lightsaber retracts then the door opens. Standing there is another Dark Jedi, a red colored double-bladed lightsaber in his grasp. He smiles menacingly.

“I detect you are only two of the three left on this ship. If you tell me where the third is located I shall grant you a mercifull death.”

Mercifull my ass!

Seeming to have the same idea, Trask and I charge forward, our blades ready. When our blades connect with his lightsaber, the cortosis lining keeps them from being cut in half, but the blades still strain under the massive pressure from the Dark Jedi’s strength.

With a laugh, he twists his lightsaber clockwise to loosen our grips on our weapons, then pushes forward hard, knocking us to our backs and our blades across the room.

“I have no patience for this foolishness! Tell me where she is!”

She? Does he think the last person on board is Bastila?

Thinking quickly, I roll back to put some distance between us, unholster my gun, aim and then fire. The Dark Jedi laughs again as he easily swipes the bolt aside, but his amusement is literally cut short when I leap toward one of the blades, spin around, and hurl it at him like a spear.

The Dark Jedi barely manages to sidestep the sword, narrowly missing impalement. The blade connects hard against the wall behind him and shatters from the impact. Trask uses those several moments to his advantage and grasps the last remaining vibroblade. He quickly closes the distance between himself and the Dark Jedi.

I can only watch from a distance as Trask pushes him back through the door he came from. They remain bladelocked, Trask clearly exerting all of his strength to keep the Jedi pinned.

“I’ll distract him as long as I can! Get to the escape pods and protect Bastila!

The Dark Jedi growls in anger and finally manages to break free from the lock. He swings forward hard, and Trask ducks to avoid the attack, but the lightsaber cuts into the door’s console and, to my disbelief, swings close, trapping Trask inside with the Dark Jedi.

I stare at the door for several moments before I make a silent prayer and continue on to the Starboard section of the ship.

Don’t die, Trask....

The next hallway looks a lot worse, but with each explosive impact against the exterior, I’m reminded that things are much worse than they appear.

“Hey!”

I nearly jump out of my skin before I notice it's coming from my portable communicator. It must be Carth Onasi.

“You need to hurry up. I’m tracking you through your personal communicator. Bastila’s escape pod is away, you and I are the only ones left on the Endar Spire. I’m holding as long as I can, but I can't wait for you forever.”

I grab my communicator and respond.

“I’m on my way.”

I almost smile as I make me way through the hallway. I’ve always been on my own. I’m good because I had to learn how to survive on my own. The training academy only strengthened my skills. I love it when the odds are against me. To me, facing bad odds and coming out of it on top is worth any risk to oneself.

I run quickly through the hallway, my blaster clutched in my hand, stopping at every corner to look around before proceeding. The first Sith I come across was unlucky, I put a bolt through his head without stopping.

As the sounds of battle get worse, my pace quickens even more. Smoke fills the area in a partially thick cloud, and every few moments sparks fly as wires are torn from the walls under the impact of another explosion. I round the corner, finding the next room leading to the pods, and fire once, then twice, hitting one surprised Sith in the shoulder and another in the chest.

I barely pause to shoot the wounded one in the head before I open the next door. Hearing the blaster fire, the next two Sith are ready for me. I get only a single shot off, and miss, before I duck behind a crate.

Blaster fire rains down against the crate as one of them attempts to supress me so the other can flank and take me out. I grab my last grenade, arm it, and toss it in the direction of the one trying to pin me.

The Sith runs away from the grenade, only to me taken down when I roll out of hiding and shoot him. The other one takes that moment to get me in his sights and, almost pointblank, at my face. The grenade’s explosion knocks the blaster off course and the bolt hits just inches from my head.

I return fire, hitting him twice in the chest and once more in the head for good measure. I’m sweating, my heart is beating, and I don't want to die. But I can't stop smiling.

I check the crates in the room and get a few Medpacs for any injuries I might sustain later and head for the adjoining door.

“There are a lot of Sith beyond that door.”

Carth warns me over the cummincator. I grab it again and ask.

“Any ideas how I might be able to thin the herd a little?”

Carth chuckles over the communicator at my choice of words.

“Well if you have any computer skills you can slice into the room's console and use the Spire’s defenses against them, or if you are good with droids you can program the droid in the room to help you out.”

I walk over to the console and activate it. After pressing a few buttons I bring up a camera in the room I’m about to enter.

Lets see...five Sith and one of them is wearing red. Must be the one leading them. Yeah, I don't really feel like attacking all of them. What can I do...a computer hacking tutorial? What’s that doing there? No matter. Ah here we go, I can overload that power conduit. Won't that be a shocker.

My fingers fly across the computer console. I learned a very long time ago that a computer can be just as dangerous as a blaster as long as you use it right.

The console beeps as I finish rerouting more power to the conduit. I switch back to to the camera view as the conduit starts making funny noises. The one in red walks closer to inspect the problem, and then it explodes. Electricity arcs across the room, and all Jedi within are fried within moments.

Heh...I guess that’ll teach you not to wear full metal armor.”

After shutting down the console I ready my weapon and open the door. I search the bodies for anything useful, which consists of a few more Medpacs and a strange vibroblade that the red armored Sith had in his posession.

I open the next door and find Carth Onasi on the other side, standing beside a computer console and the very last escape pod.

“Good! You made it! The Endar Spire is falling apart! Get inside the escape pod and we’ll hide out on the planet. Since Bastila is gone there is no sense in sticking around to get blown up by the Sith.”

Sensing that I can trust him, and knowing there will be time for proper introductions later we both enter the escape pod and strap ourselves in.

Damnit, I hate escape pods! It always feels like you're falling with a Bantha strapped to your back.

A few seconds later, the pod launches from the ship and shoots toward the planet. A deafening explosion tells us both that the Endar Spar has been turned into galactic dust in our wake.

Although the pod doesn't have any viewports, I can sense us getting closer to the planet. It’s like being swallowed up in emotions and feelings, the past, present and future. I can feel towering buildings, the people inside of them, watching as we break atmosphere and plunge, flaming, to the lower parts of the city.

Oh this is going to su-

My thoughts are interupted, hard, as we hit finally hit the planet, and I’m knocked unconscious.


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Hello everyone! I was somewhat inspired by Banter's attempt to novelize the game so I decided to work on my own version. According to Microsoft Word, this Prelude contains 4,423 words and is ten pages long. Not bad for a prelude I think.

I want people to know that I'm going to do my own thing. The base story is still going to be there, I'm just going to play around with the dialogue a little. Or a lot. The next chapter will actually be split into two parts for Taris. The first part starts from the moment the character wakes up on Taris and leads all the way to the moment he frees Bastila.

The second part handles the rest. I've already started writing the next part, and I've already got to around 4000 words and haven't even reached the Lower City section. I also want you to know, that while the romance between the main character and Bastila will be a huge focus for the story, containing many scenes that weren't included in the game, that doesn't mean I'm leaving some of the others out of it. I have plans for Mission Vao.

I hope you enjoy the story, and if you have any comments or suggestions then please leave them. I love constructive criticsm more then anything.