Carth Onasi Comes Home ch36

"Do you think he knew he was using a predators old hunting trail?" Revan asked. They had located the twisting path Tanner Korr directed them to by midday. She was crouched down, her fingers sunk into the soil while inspecting the so-called walking path Tanner's friend had been acquainted with. 

"Bah, I doubt it. Young folks don't pay much attention to nature, seem to treat it as something to conquer or vanquish," Jolee snorted. He was perched on a gnarled root watching Revan. 

"Poor kid," Revan mumbled. Brushing the dirt from her fingers she straightened. 

"Bound to happen if you ask me. He had to meet up with the owner of this trail sooner or later," Jolee shrugged.

Depending on the creature who had hewn this path Revan began to consider the possibility they might not find a body. Neither would the humid tropical atmosphere or Wayland's native scavengers have left a body untouched for long. But they didn't need the body, Tanner seemed content to acknowledge his friend had passed. Provided she and Jolee could locate his friends datapad the trek would still be a success. 

"Come on," Revan said. She adjusted her backpack as Jolee capped off his canteen. "I want to cover as much as we can by nightfall."

They pressed on. At times the trail grew narrow, choked by the dense vegetation making it near impassable. Revan or Jolee would fall back on their lightsabers to cut the overgrowth back. All the while the jungle sang around them. It was a raucous chorus of twittering birds, the occasional shrill scream of some distant creature, the patter of leaves in the canopy, and the rustle of the undergrowth. The day began to fade into evening.

Both of the Jedi felt the stirring of danger at the same moment. For Revan it was a caress, almost a whisper, across her mind. The Force rippled and they'd been trained to obey its callings. Wordlessly they ignited their blades and the weapons hissed in an arc over their heads as the pair leapt from the path. Between them the heads of several vine snakes dropped to the ground. Their bodies hung from a branch above then slowly began slithering off to coil in the dirt below. 

"Dinner?" Revan asked Jolee brightly. 

When nightfall descended they made a small camp. It was not much more than a small cooking fire and a place to catch a few hours sleep, but Jedi were accustomed to hardship. Still Revan thought of the old apartment on Coruscant with fondness as she sat with her back to a tree. Carth would have cooked their meal, and it wouldn't have been roasted snake, and they'd have passed the evening watching holovids before finding bed. Revan didn't think any greater luxury existed.

She sighed, pushing away her plate and the remains of charred snake meat. Canderous made the future sound so easy and for a little while Revan wanted to believe it was. If she didn't deserve that kind of happiness then Carth certainly did. 

"Keeping some long thoughts there," Jolee remarked.

Revan could only purse her lips, eyes watching the dance of flames from their campfire.  He was waiting, she could tell he was, for her to say something. But she'd told Canderous about the marriage proposal. Until she had given Carth her answer Revan didn't want to discuss it with anyone else.  

"You might feel better sharing," said Jolee with a mouthful of meat. 

"Not tonight Master Bindo," Revan said knowing that would irritate him. Indeed the old man bristled and muttered about his age. Smirking Revan stretched out and closed her eyes. 

Of course, she could escort Carth back to Coruscant under the pretense of remaining and return to the Outer Rim alone. The idea came from some cold place within that Revan hated. Lingering whispers of a person she used to be, but she was never sure if it was the voice of a dead Sith or a dead Jedi. Such an act would be a betrayal of everything Carth had given her; his trust, his forgiveness, his love. 

Sleep came to her amid thoughts of wedding Carth Onasi. When the dreams came they were of his gentle hands and his promise to follow her roughly whispered in her ears.  

There were numerous plans to make before Lassiter Osh could go in pursuit of either Revan or Czerka's virus sample. It was his hope that the former would assist with the latter. 

Lassiter's research netted a few interesting items. The sample had been sold to Czerka by a Hutt on Gargon. A local gangster who organized duels among other business interests. Lassiter knew it was no small coincidence the most recent fight had featured a menagerie of enemies pitted against the masked Revan. 

He tracked down a holovid of the fight then the subsequent news on the HoloNet about the fallout over rumors it hadn't been Revan fighting. Lassiter had no doubt it was her. He'd seen her two handed style of fighting personally and recognized some of the maneuvers she'd pioneered. But the paying audiences of Gargon were turning against the Hutt who'd arranged the match. Lassiter wasn't sure where the rumors had come from, no one it seemed knew, but they were taking them seriously. He didn't much care about the misfortunate of a Hutt though and wasted no further time on it.

First he needed to know where Revan had gone after that debacle on Gargon. As expected the Ebon Hawk had departed the very evening of the fight along with one other vessel. It was a light freighter called The Raptor registered under Carth Onasi. Lassiter couldn't help but grin when he'd discovered that. It was as though the Force itself wanted him to locate Revan. 

He'd tracked both vessels to Wayland and made quick contact with nearby informants who would keep him updated on any developments. For once Lassiter was being very generous with credits. And he'd had to be in order to locate where Czerka had taken their newest prize. 

Gizer in the Lantillian sector had been the final destination of the package, and Lassiter had dived into whatever he could find about Czerka's operations there. Perhaps it had been foolish to expect a biological research outpost. It was painfully obvious when Lassiter reexamined the idea. But Czerka did have a manufacturing plant, specializing in the construction of heavy arms installed on battleships. This particular venture of Czerka's had seen a brisk business before Revan ended the Sith invasion. Yet the factory had not shut down. Even with no war, there was still business. There were always governments and more aggressive minded civilians who liked to be well prepared. 

Czerka had taken their little sample several stories below the factory, which according to blueprints Lassiter paid a handsome fee for, housed a small science lab. And a large number of unpleasant microorganisms Czerka had no business preserving. 

After careful consideration Lassiter knew beyond doubt he would need Revan's help to get into Czerka's plant. He compiled just information onto a datapad to peak her curiosity then set The Wager towards Wayland and Revan.

She understood now why Dustil liked Pulla Vaga. The Rodian was kind and happy to spend time with her. He played several rounds sabacc for her, helping to improve Mission's bluff and make better calls. The first person she'd turned her new skills on was Carth and they wagered for Trandoshani flatcakes. The admiral scowled as Mission cheered her own victory, muttering something about being a bad winner which she choose to ignore.  

< Mission, he has a lot on his mind. You should be kinder. > Zaalbar gently reproached her. Carth had left to Sontel's to keep his end of the bet. 

"I'm doing him a kindness Big Z, I'm taking his mind off Revan and Dustil," Mission replied. Though she stopped and reconsidered her friends words. 

Carth had been in a bleak mood since the others had left. It was hard on Mission to watch him. By sunset of the third day he was pacing everywhere, his expression locked in an unhappy frown. The growth of his stubble was starting to become a beard. By the dark circles beneath his eyes Mission was positive he wasn't sleeping either. Like a nervous tic Carth was constantly checking on his communicator. But it stubbornly remained silent. 

After everything they had been through over the years Mission looked to Carth as a father figure. He'd been always been nice to her and hadn't treated her like a dumb kid. Maybe once or twice, but never after Taris. 

When Carth returned with the winners flatcakes Mission would apologize and give him at least half she decided. She settled herself outside the loading ramp and wondered if there was anything she could say to ease his mind. Drawing her knees to her chest she propped her elbows on her knees and kept her eyes on the port door. 

She was still sat like that almost half an hour later when Carth returned. There was no box of flatcakes in his hand, and Mission rose, at first to complain. The words died on her lips when she noticed how urgently he moved to the ship and her.

"Inside!" Carth grabbed her upper arm and pushed her ahead. Surprised by it Mission stumbled and he was dragging her back to her feet, propelling her into the Raptor. She tried to glance behind him, the port doors were closing, and she managed only a glimpse of a hooded man looking curiously back at her. 

"Is that a bounty hunter?" Mission breathed. Carth slapped a control panel on the wall and the ramp began rising. 

"I think it is," he acknowledged. He heaved a sigh and pushed the hair from his eyes. "He was lurking when I left the ship. I circled a few times and he was just stayed there, watching, not doing anything else." 

"Do we tell Pulla?" Mission asked biting her lower lip. It would scare him undoubtably. There didn't seem to be a mean bone in the Rodians body and he was already shaken up there was a contract on him. Carth was peering down the hall, looking for Pulla she realized. Mission tugged at Carth's sleeve. "He's in the galley."

"Tell him nothing of it right now, I'll talk to Zaalbar about this," Carth told her. He looked haggard Mission thought to herself. What he needed most was rest, and this chuba faced bounty hunter was the last thing he needed to deal with. 

"Big Z and I will keep watch tonight Carth," Mission suggested. That surprised him enough the worry melted from his eyes. With a faint blush Mission continued, "We'll take turns. We used to do it on Taris, when the gangs started getting real bad, we figured it would be safer. Don't worry, we can manage."

"It's a good idea, but I can't leave it up to you two alone," Carth said.

"Sure you can. You'll have to go see that Korr guy Revan talked about tomorrow morning," Mission argued. She wanted to do this, to give Carth a desperately needed break and prove she'd been a worthwhile risk back on Taris. In the face of his doubt Mission smiled hopefully. At long last he nodded. 

"One condition," Carth said raising a finger. "If there's any sign of trouble, you come get me first. Understand?"

"Of course," Mission agreed amending it silently in her mind to exclude waking Carth for all but the most serious of emergencies. She'd faced Black Vulkars, Sith soldiers, rakghouls, Gammorean slavers, and even dark Jedi. What was one bounty hunter Mission asked herself.