STAR WARS: Knights of the Old Republic

Chapter 10

That night, both Venar and Bastila were wary of going to sleep, should they share another dream. Instead, Venar had returned to the ship with a bottle of imported Correllian wine. Once the others had learned of it, they of course wanted a bit of it for themselves as well. Soon, they found themselves all gathered around in the main room, spread out on cushioned metal sofas. Bastila had at first protested to having some herself but upon the encouragement of the rest, decided to have a glass as well.

"So Carth," Canderous said after taking a swig from the glass, "What battles did you fight in? I'm curious if we fought in the same battles."

"I prefer not to remember the battles I fought in," Carth responded, looking slightly uncomfortable.

"Really? I would've figured you out of anyone here would've appreciated the glory of war."

Venar casually listened to the two converse as Bastila and Mission played a round of pazaak.

"Why would you think that?" Carth responded, "We're nothing alike."

"No? We're both warriors are we not?"

"I'm a soldier, not a warrior. A warrior like yourself, seeks war, they enjoy it. A soldier doesn't seek war, we simply respond to it to protect the innocent and the weak, mostly, from warriors."

"Heh, you tell yourself so you can sleep better at night don't you?"

"I don't sleep most nights. Why don't you explain something to me, Canderous. Why did the Mandalorians attack the Republic? What could you have possibly hoped to gain?"

"We believe in glory through combat and war. We are only as good as the enemy we choose to fight. From the time we're born we are trained as warriors and through our skills we seek to gain glory through the enemies and the worlds we conquer. The Republic was the dominant power in the galaxy, who better to achieve the honor of combat with?"

"But you lost. So where's the honor in that?"

"Its true in the end we were defeated. But before we fell we made the entire galaxy tremble at our approach and we nearly brought the Republic to its knees. Through the actions of one Jedi, Revan, we were outmatched. He employed tactics and strategies we would have never expected the Republic to use. He was a brilliant commander and one deserving of our attention. There is no shame in losing to an opponent like that. Even in defeat, there is honor."

"Yeah, I bet you tell yourself that every night so you can sleep, huh?" Carth downed the rest of his wine in a swift gulp and stood up to leave. "I'm gonna check in for the night. I'll see you guys tomorrow." He walked off towards the sleeping quarters, leaving the half bottle of wine to the others.

"Canderous," Bastila said, looking up from her cards, "Perhaps it might be best to give Carth some space... He is a bit touchy about his time in the war."

"No skin off my back," the mandalorian replied, "I'm just saying, he should be proud to have fought and won against an enemy as fearsome as us."

"Not everyone sees it that way," she said carefully, "Just, take it easy on him."

"Noted."

"Hey Bastila," Mission said with a sly smile, "You ever use your Force powers to like play a prank on someone who annoys you or something?"

"What? No," Bastila said, as if the idea was so preposterous that it had never crossed her mind once, "Jedi are above such petty things. We only use our power to help people."

"That's no fun," Mission said frowning, "come on I know there must have been times where you wanted to."

"I... well there was this one Jedi during my training as a youngling," she admitted, "He was always showing off, he always had to be the best and he loved to rub it in. I had always wanted to just trip him from across the hall or something like that, but of course I never did."