Alright chapter three is done along with its illustration. Sorry it took so long everyone, but I hope it was worth the wait. Any comments or critiscim is most welcome.
Chapter 3: On Board The Gloria II
Bastila looked up from her lightsaber, which was lying on the main hold floor partially disassembled, “Good morning you two. That is to say it will be morning when we enter Alderaan's atmosphere.”
Revan smiled as she looked down on Bastila's work, “Realigning the focusing crystal?”
Bastila nodded her head as she turned a small adjustment knob, “All of the crystals actually. The beating you gave me on the Starforge knocked nearly all of them out of focus.” She was quiet for a moment. “And, I need to pull this red one out.”
Revan let go of Carth and knelt down in front of Bastila looking into her pale azure eyes, “The crystal in your lightsaber may be red, but I know the color of the one in your heart; purest white.”
Bastila nodded and yanked the red crystal from its fixing. She stood up and crushed the fragile formation in her fist. The glimmering particles drifted lazily to the metal floor and she smiled as she watched them fall, “Senator Nagal of Alderaan sent a transmission a short time ago. He has invited us to a victory party on his ship if you wish to go.”
“Why not? I'm in the mood for a party.” Revan replied moving back to Carth's side.
Mission strolled into the room from the cockpit and leaned up against one of the walls as was her custom, “We're one minute out from Alderaan.”
Carth headed towards the control cabin, “I better get up there.”
As soon as Carth had left the main hold Mission addressed Revan, “So, you gonna go to the party?”
“I certainly am.” Revan replied as she sat down on the communications display in the center of the room.
Mission beamed, “I've never been to a real party before!” She looked down at her carbon scored suit of light armor and frowned, “Do you think I should wear something fancier?”
Bastila looked over Mission's clothing for a moment and then said, “You look fine. The armor gives you a tough appearance.”
“I don't want to look tough! I want to look pretty,”
“Well, you look pretty tough.”
Mission scowled and at that moment Carth's voice came over the intercom, “Heads up everyone! We're coming out of hyperspace, so hang onto something.”
Bastila quickly reached for her lightsaber parts with one hand while her other grabbed onto the refresher. Mission and Revan braced themselves as the Hawk thrashed around. As quickly as the shaking had started it stopped and Carth was heard over the com again, “Sorry about that everybody; the stabilizers on this girl aren't what they used to be. We should be docking with the Senator's ship in a few minutes.”
Mission hurried out of the room muttering, “I need to find something better to wear.”
Bastila chuckled and then asked, “Speaking of clothing, where you find that dress?”
Revan was about to reply when Carth walked in and answered the question, “Remember on Taris? She beat a Pazaak player, and he threw the dress in along with the prize money. He said he had won it from some woman playing Nar-Shadaa rules and he didn't have any use for it.”
“Oh yes, I remember now. It's quite a lovely dress.”
Revan smiled, “Are you worried about what you are going to wear?”
“Curios would be a better word,” Bastila replied.
“You could wear those pretty blue ceremonial robes we found,” Revan suggested as she stood up and stretched her arms.
Carth walked into the center of the room and asked, “Where are the others? We should tell them what's happening.”
“I'll tell them, and I'll slip into those robes too.”
Carth sat down in the pilot's seat and his eyes widened with amazement as he looked out the windshield; the space around Alderaan was filled with hundreds of spacecraft of all shapes and sizes. He looked up at the com channel display to see that it was covered in welcome messages and joyful salutations. He let a single disbelieving laugh jump from his lips and then turned to shout down the passageway, “You should see this!”
Revan walked up behind his chair and gasped, “Look at them all! How are we ever going to find the Senator's ship?”
Carth flipped a switch on the control panel in front of his seat, “We just have to sort out his ID beacon from the others and....” He pointed to a line of text on another screen to his right, “Right there; Senator Har Nagal, Gloria two. Now we just put that up on the HUD and we're all set.”
Three red arrows appeared on the windshield and pointed to a large graceful looking ship several thousand meters away. Carth pressed his thumb against a large green button on the com display and spoke, “Gloria two, this is Carth Onasi of the Ebon Hawk. Requesting permission to dock.”
A gruff voice came back over the com channel, “This is captain Janor, you are clear to dock. I'll look forward to meeting you in person when you board.”
Carth released the green button and guided the Hawk towards the fast approaching Gloria II.
“Is everyone ready?” He asked Revan without turning from the controls.
“If you are, then yes,” she replied leaning over the back of the chair and kissing him on the cheek.
“As ready as I will ever be. I never was very good at parties.” He pulled back on the control sticks, “We're docking.”
Moments later the entire crew of the ship was arranged around the boarding ramp of the ship. There was blast of steam and the ramp lowered down allowing the crew of the Ebon hawk to walk out onto the docking gantry of the Gloria II. They approached the airlock with Revan and Carth in the front, arm in arm.
There was a metallic hiss and the airlock door opened. Standing on the other side was the tall form of Senator Nagal. He smiled and bowed his bald head in a sign of respect, “Welcome, saviors of the galaxy.” He stepped to the side and gestured for them to enter, “It is an indescribable honor for me to meet you all in person.”
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Revan and her companions stepped into the exquisitely furnished main room of the ship and were greeted by thirty or forty distinguished looking people, all of them clapping and cheering. The saviors of the galaxy were also bombarded by the flashes of holo-recorders going off as at least a dozen news correspondents captured holographic images for the news streams.
It was a matter of minutes until nearly all of Revan's companions were separated from each other by throngs of doting well-wishers and story hungry news interviewers.
Only Carth and Revan remained together, their hands clasped tightly. Revan was sure she was going to go mad if she heard 'How did you defeat Malak?' one more time, when Nagal came to her rescue. The Senator led them away from the crowd to a private lounge two decks up.
He locked the door behind himself and offered Carth and Revan seats and drinks, both of which were accepted.
Once they were settled Nagal spoke, “Damned news correspondents. I feel I must beg your forgiveness for the rather rude welcome. I'm sure you have had enough stress for a few days.”
Carth sipped the fine spiced wine and sighed, “That's an understatement. Thank you for getting us out of there.”
Nagal sat down in a chair across from them, “It was the least I could do. Hopefully they will calm down given a little time.”
Revan smiled sadly, “I feel sorry for my other friends though.”
“This is a fine ship,” Carth said in an attempt to make conversation.
“Thank you, with all of the space travel I do she is more of a home to me than anywhere else.”
Revan opened her mouth to speak when a terrible blast rocked the ship shattering the wine glasses and sending the occupants of the room sprawling along with the furnishings. Nagal was the first one up and he scrambled through the scattered contents of the room to a com port by the door.
He pushed the talk button and shouted into the receiver, “Captain! What in hell is going on?”
Captain Janor's frantic voice came in along with a flurry of static, “We're hit! Something big just hit us in the engine block! I tried to contain the blast but she's breaking apart!”
“Get everyone off! Right now!” Nagal shouted back as he opened the door. He turned to Revan and Carth as they staggered towards the door, “Come with me! We can take my shuttle; it's nearby!”
The three of them made their way out into the hallway as alarms bleared and mechanical woman's voice announced, “Life support failure, please disembark at once.”
“You're bleeding,” Carth told Revan as they followed Nagal down the hallway.
Revan looked down to see that the skirt of her dress had ripped and her shin and calf were spattered with blood.
Nagal stopped a little further down the hallway and opened a door in the wall, “In here!”
Revan limped towards the doorway only to be knocked off her feet by another explosion. She didn't fall though, and for a moment she floated in the hallway amused as drops of her blood drifted in the air around her like little bubbles.
“Gravity is down!” Nagal shouted pulling himself through the doorway and drifting towards the shuttle hatch that lay in the small hanger beyond.
Carth wrapped a strong arm around Revan's waist and clutched a railing with his free hand as he pulled his wounded love through the air towards the shuttle entrance. It seemed to take forever to reach the hatch, but they finally made it inside the shuttle. Nagal had managed to strap into the pilot's seat and he shouted to them as he slammed the start sequence into the control panel, “Hold onto something. As soon as we start up the the shuttle's gravity kicks in.”
Carth found a handhold and said to Revan, “Heal yourself. You can use the force.”
Her face was pale as she replied with a shudder, “I can't. I can't center myself.”
Carth shouted to Nagal over the sound of another blast, “What are you waiting for? Get us out of here!”
“She won't start. Damn it to hell she won't start!”