Knights of the Old Republic: Fragmented

Dantooine: A Duel

I yawned as the next morning's sun attempted to open my eyelids. Another day of more training. At the mess hall, my tired gaze drifted to the tables. An orange figure bent over his food tray with a frown.

Usually, Carth hung around the Ebon Hawk stooped over the comms. But more recently he jumped from settlement to settlement in order to appease his boredom. I wondered why he didn't just leave—Malak left the Outer Rim a week ago to some unknown system.

I smirked before slapping him in the back.

"Yo, Orangy!"

He jumped then narrowed his eyes.

"What?"

I took a seat beside him and leaned with my hands on the back of my head. I had half an hour to get to my lessons with Zhar. It could wait.

"You're still sticking around? I'd thought you'd jump out of here weeks ago." My smile grew. "Why—are you going to miss my cunning witticisms?"

Carth pursed his lips. "I would have loved to have left by now, yet Admiral Dodonna wants to be kept in the know with the Jedi Council's 'mission.'" He threw his metal fork to the tray with a clatter. "Kinda hard to do that when I'm being left out of the loop."

"Left out of the loop?"

Carth shot up from the bench.

I waved as he walked off. "Hey, am I really that much of a pain in the arse?"

The soldier turned to give me an eye. "How did you gain the ability to use the Force in the first place? Does it really just sprout up randomly? That...that's not natural."

I crossed my arms. "Well, there is Nomi Sunrider. Apparently, she's someone like me who learned to use the Force in her later life. So, it happens."

"But how often? Not very. And you also happened to be on the same ship Bastila was on? It doesn't matter if the Force was involved or not, it all sounds a bit too convenient." He rubbed his face. "How were you captured anyway?"

I put my hands in my pockets with a sneer. "I don't want to talk about it."

"You better start talking about it."

"Why does it even matter?"

"If the Jedi were the ones who captured you then all of this would make so much more sense."

I looked up into the ceiling. "Why would the Jedi capture a smuggler? They don't put their noses into the affairs of the Republic unless the Sith are involved."

"Were the Sith involved?"

I shot him a look. "No! And I don't think that's any of your business. Nor does it matter now that you have your answers."

To make a point, I stood from the bench and walked towards breakfast. I considered going to my lessons early again just to avoid these interrogations. At least people didn't like talking to me when I was waving a wooden stick around.

I was able to dodge Carth's extended hand with ease. I turned to give him a sly smirk.

"Have to do better than that."

Carth stopped me with his voice this time. "I just seem to insult you at every turn, don't I? You might not think this is important but I do. I mean, haven't you felt it?"

I rolled my eyes.

"Felt what?"

"Suspicious."

To be quite honest, there was something abnormal about the Jedi Council. Even though they helped train me for a month already, they always kept me at arms length. In fact, everyone in this Enclave older than twenty kept their distance from me. What was I, a kinrath spider? A krayt dragon? A rabies infected rancor?