Knights of the Old Republic: Fragmented

Prologue

"The Endar Spire? Stupid name."

A shove at my shoulder forced me forward.

"Keep moving."

The cold loading dock was filled with hundreds of Republic soldiers. Most of them went about their business to ships of unknown names, heading to unknown origins. Others followed our group at a careful pace. All of them gave the five Jedi and their prisoner curious stares.

That prisoner, of course, was me.

I wanted to wave a mock salute at them but the cuffs around my wrists turned it into a weak flail. The pushy dark haired Jedi glared at me. Jedi Bitch. I'd asked for her name, of course, but she ignored me and instead shouted commands into my ear. I gave her a small smile over my shoulder as I increased my walking pace.

Even though I kept moving, Jedi Bitch shoved me again like I was a kath hound.

"I can walk you know," I muttered.

A few soldiers took off their red helmets and headed into the same transportation ship we were going to be shuttled into. The other four Jedi, besides Jedi Bitch, surrounded me like the dangerous smuggler I was. I'm sure they had their reasons, but the whole thing was rather over-dramatic. I was just some captured criminal being forced onto this job, after all.

One small victory.

If this even was one.

The inside of the transport smelled sterile—too clean. I was used to alcohol and smoke filtering through the air like in my old ship. Where I was the captain and in control. Where was I now? Captured and humiliated.

I was shoved by Jedi Bitch onto a steel bench beside some poor young looking soul. One of the older Jedi in their pack undid my bindings with a quick flick of his wrist. I smiled as my bare skin was able to breath again. I leaned back, resting my head against my crossed fingers. The young recruit shot me a nervous eye.

One small victory.

I was "free" to serve the Republic. Why had I agreed to this again?

Jedi Bitch faced an aged soldier. "The commander will be arriving shortly, captain. She's been delayed by the Council."

The captain sighed. "Well, the 'commander' better hurry up. We've been stalling here for an hour."

"We leave on Bastila Shan's command."

With a final "humph", the pilot left the entrance to the transporter for the cockpit while shaking his head. The five Jedi climbed into the transport and acted as if they hadn't dragged me across the docks. Probably hated that they were being ordered around by the Republic to take unwanted "prisoners."

A more experienced looking man sat in the seat in front of me and had this ugly expression on his face. He looked like he'd seen action. Beside him was a man with dark hair who looked my age.

"Wait..." The veteran narrowed his eyes at his datapad. "You're the one who was added to the roster."

I released my head from my hands.

"What? I'm not a part of any roster."

He didn't look convinced and neither did his friend.

"You're Gale? Wesley Gale?" he asked.

I sneered. "I'm Wes. No one calls me Wesley."

"Then you're a part of the crew, Wes Gale."

The veteran shoved his datapad in front of my eyes. On it were rows of pictures and names with ranks listed beside them like little add-ons to weapons. My eyes squinted as I searched the dark tinted names with unimportant ranks until I found the one on the bottom.