KoTOR: Chapter 2

Chapter II


      I awoke from the same dream to find myself in a spacious one room apartment. I was laying in a hard bed facing a large window. To my left was a workbench where a man was working on something. “Carth?” I asked. Startled, he dropped whatever it was he had been working on. I sat up shaking my head, trying to remember the last few hours.
     He turned to look at me. “You’re finally awake. Good to see you up instead of thrashing around in your sleep. You must have been having one hell of a nightmare. I was wondering if you were ever going to wake up. I’m Carth, in case you’ve forgotten, one of the Republic soldiers from the Endar Spire. I was with you on the escape pod, remember?”
“Carth Onasi. The one on the communicator, I remember. I’m Trik Starr, by the way. How did we get here, and where is here?”
     “You’ve been slipping in and out of consciousness for a couple of days now, so it’s understandable that you're pretty confused about things. Try not to worry. We’re safe. For the moment, at least. We’re in an abandoned apartment in the upper city on Taris, in the Outer Rim. You were banged up pretty bad when our escape pod crashed, but luckily I was mostly unhurt. I was able to drag you away from the crash site, and in all the confusion I stumbled onto this abandoned apartment. By the time the Sith arrived to investigate the crash we were long gone.”
     “I guess I owe you my life then,” I replied. “Thanks. But why are there Sith here?”
     “Taris is under Sith control. Their fleet is orbiting the planet, they've declared martial law, and they’ve imposed a planet-wide quarantine. But I’ve been in worse spots.”
    “Worse, huh? Remind me to ask you about that some time.”
    “Sure, when we have a moment. Now, I saw on your service record that you understand a remarkable number of alien languages. That’s pretty rare for a raw recruit but it should come in handy while we’re stranded on a foreign world.”
     “My service record? You’ve been reading up on me.”
     “I may have done some reading while waiting for you to wake up. Not much but enough”
      “Well, did you happen to do any reading on how to get off this planet? Or how to contact the Republic?”
      “There’s no way the Republic will be able to get anyone through the Sith blockade to help us. And there’s another problem. We have to find Bastila. She should have landed on this planet when she took her escape pod off the Endar Spire. If we’re going to find her and get off this planet, we can’t rely on anyone but ourselves.
     I stood up, shaking my head. “Bastila? Why do we need to find her? Why is she so important?”
      “That smack to your head did more damage than I thought. Bastila is a Jedi. She was with the strike team that killed Darth Revan, Malak’s Sith Master.”
     I shouldn’t have stood up because at the mention of Revan and Malak my head flashed with pain and I stumbled back onto the bed, putting my hand to my head.
     “Careful now. Don’t stand up so fast.” Carth eyed me with concern.
     "I'm fine.” I thought back. Malak. Sith Lord. He betrayed his master to become leader of the Sith armada. Bastila had lead a strike team a few years ago aboard Revan’s flagship. She killed him when Malak betrayed his master by firing upon the ship, though she almost died in the process. “Tell me something Carth; how can one person, even a Jedi, be so important? And how do you even know she’s alive?”
   
      Carth pulled a chair over and sat down. He sighed. ““Listen, Bastila’s no ordinary Jedi. She’s the key to the Republic war effort. She has a rare gift the Jedi call Battle Meditation. Bastila’s power can influence entire armies. Through the force Bastila can inspire her allies with confidence and make her enemies lose their will to fight. Often, that’s all it takes to tip the balance in a battle. Of course, there are limits to this power, but from what I understand of her ability, it requires great concentration and focus to maintain. The attack on the Endar Spire happened so fast she never had a chance to use her ability. Like us, she barely got out alive. Look, Bastila’s going to need our help. Many of Darth Malak’s followers can use the dark side of the Force, and the Sith have already killed more than their share of Jedi in this war. Everyone will be looking for her but no one will be looking for a couple of common soldiers like us. And if we’re careful we can move about the planet without attracting notice; a luxury bastila won’t have. She’s gonna have half the Sith fleet looking for her. They know how important she is to the war effort.The Sith must have found out she was on the Endar Spire and set an ambush for us in this system. The whole planet is under quarantine. No ships are getting in or out. I believe Bastila was on one of the escape pods that crashed down here on Taris. If Bastila is going to escape from Taris, she’s going to need our help. And we probably are going to need hers.”
   
      I sighed and rubbed my hand over my face. I had a splitting headache. All I wanted to do was rest but it sounded like that wouldn’t be happening anytime soon. All right then, where do you suggest we start looking?”
      “While you were out I did some scouting around. There are reports of a couple of escape pods crashing down into the Undercity. That’s our best lead. But the Undercity is a dangerous place. We can’t go in there unprepared. It won’t do Bastila, or us, any good if we go and get ourselves captured or killed.”
      “Well, the sooner we start looking, the sooner we’ll find her. Where’s my blaster?”
     “I was hoping you’d say that.” Carth smiled as he stood from his chair he walked to a small table where a smaller bag was resting. He reached in and pulled out a holstered blaster pistol. He tossed the holster and the blaster to me. Then he went to the workbench he had been working at when I awoke and picked up another, slightly larger pistol, and placed it inside his own holster. “I suggest you change out of your uniform before we head anywhere.”
     “Good thinking. Got a change of clothes for me?”

He went to a footlocker and tossed a bundle of clothes to me. I found a dark blue jacket and a tan tunic, changed quickly and attached the holster to my belt.

“Well, what are we waiting for?” I looked to Carth, feeling better now that I had on fresh clothes and a weapon by my side. “Let’s go save a Jedi.”

I am a Biotic God!

My novelization of KotOR: Chapter 1

Chapter I





I awoke from a dream, more like a memory. It was of a woman fighting a Dark Jedi. Her face was familiar to me but I didn’t know her. She stood with a few Jedi at her back facing the Dark Jedi as he brandished his red lightsaber at her. Suddenly there was an explosion and everything went dark. That’s when I woke up. Only to find myself surrounded by very real and very near explosions. Shaking off my restless sleep I quickly stood from my bunk and turned towards the bulkhead doors when I saw a man rush through them.





“We've been ambushed by a Sith battle fleet! The Endar Spire is under attack! Hurry up – we don't have much time,” he shouted as he slammed the bulkhead doors shut. “Why are you still laying in bed, private?” Recognising him as an Ensign, I saluted. “What’s going on; who are you?”





“Did you fall out of your bunk and hit your head? I'm Trask Ulgo, ensign with the Republic Fleet. I'm your bunk mate here on the Endar Spire. We work opposite shifts; I guess that's why you haven't seen me before. Now hurry up, we have to find Bastila! We have to make sure she makes it off the ship alive!” I went to my foot locker and opened it. “Bastila? Who is she and why is it so important that we keep her safe,” I asked.


“Bastila's the commanding officer on the Endar Spire. Well, not an officer, really. But she's the one in charge of this mission. One of our primary duties is to guarantee her survival in the event of enemy attack! You swore an oath just like everyone else on this mission. Now it's time to make good on that oath!”


Of course. Bastila. The oath. Our mission to the Outer Rim. It all came flooding back in an instant. I had been assigned last minute to the Endar Spire, some kind of special request. I hadn’t had a chance to ask anyone why I was requested. I had tried to gain an audience with this Bastila but she refused to see me. Jedi were high and mighty like that sometimes; too good to talk to a lowly private.


“Why are you just standing there?! We need your help! I heard what everyone's saying about you: you've explored the farthest reaches of the galaxy, you've visited planets I've never even heard of. People with your skills and abilities are hard to find; it's no wonder the Republic recruited you for this mission. But now's the time to prove yourself! I know you're a scout and not a soldier, but Bastila needs all troops at her side during this attack! So hurry up and grab your gear. You need to suit up so we can get out of here.”


“Of course.” I reached into my footlocker and pulled out my uniform. I had it on and was armed and ready to go in less than a minute. “I’ll follow you.”


“Okay, let's move out.”


Trask opened the bulkhead doors once more and stepped into the hallway. As I stepped forward to follow him my communicator beeped, alerting me to an incoming message. I stopped to listen.


“This is Carth Onasi – the Sith are threatening to overrun our position! We can't hold out long against their firepower! All hands to the bridge!”


Trask had heard the message too. “That was Carth contacting us on our portable communicators. He's one of the Republic's best pilots! He's seen more combat than the rest of the Endar Spire's crew put together. If he says things are bad, you better believe it. We have to get to the bridge to help defend Bastila!”


“Let’s get going then.” I gestured down the hall with my rifle.


Trask turned and ran toward the next set of bulkhead doors. He pressed the keypad on the wall… Nothing happened. He pressed it again. Again, nothing.


“Blast! The kriffing door won’t open. It must be on lockdown due to the attack.” Trask started entering more codes. “None of my codes are working.”


“Let me give it a shot.” I reached into my utility pack and pulled out a security spike. “That’s not standard issue.” Trask raised his eyebrow. I inserted the spike into the keypad as I replied. “You pick up a few tricks here and there when you’re a ‘scout’ for the Republic.” A few clicks and beeps and the door unlocked. “Scout. Right.” Trask continued to eye me with suspicion as I opened the door. It opened to reveal a Republic soldier in a firefight with two Sith soldiers. “These Sith must be the advance boarding party! For the Republic!” Trask shouted and ran through the door firing his blaster as he went. I followed though admittedly with a little more discipline. Between the 3 of us we quickly took down the Sith and the hall was quiet once more.


“Arg!” The Republic solder grunted as he grasped his side. He had taken a blaster bolt to the ribs. Trask quickly ran to him and helped him sit on the floor against the wall. “Move your hand, soldier; let me see the wound.” Trask examined the man. “I've got a feeling that won't be our last battle with the Sith.” he said, looking to me. “Good thing I’ve got a couple medpacs here we can use to heal any wounds we sustain. Now hold your breath,” he said, looking back to the wounded soldier “this might hurt a bit.” He pulled a can from a small pouch attached to his waist and pressed the nozzle against the soldier’s wound. “Son of a bantha! That’s not pleasant,” the soldier grunted. “I haven’t even started.” Trask pressed down on the nozzle.


“Dark side take you, Trask!” The soldier flinched as Trask laughed. “I just saved your life, boy. Show some appreciation. “Yeah right; it wasn’t that bad.” The man grimaced once more as Trask removed the nozzle and tossed the can away. “We should get going,” I say, helping the man to his feet. “Let’s stick together; you’ll have more success with us than on your own.” The soldier nodded and lifted his blaster rifle once more.





We continued down the hall and into a storage area where we met two more Sith soldiers. This time our Republic friend wasn’t so lucky and caught a blaster bolt square in the chest. He went down hard. Trask didn’t bother trying to revive him. We finished off the Sith and moved on without him. Just one more casualty in a war I had no control over.





We stepped out of the storage area and continued down the hall. We once again heard blaster fire and rounded the corner into another small firefight. This time there was a team of five Sith soldiers and three of ours. Two of them were blasting away at the soldiers across an intersection while the third was locked in a vibrosword battle. Trask and I quickly stepped in to help. After a few minutes of exchanging blaster fire we emerged victorious. All but the vibrosword wielder. He had fallen in his battle and his killer was now slowly stalking towards us. He held his double-bladed sword out towards Trask. “Republic scu…” I blasted him in the chest before he could finish his insult. We didn’t have time to waste listening to Sith trash. Trask stepped over the body but picked up the vibrosword. He handed it to me, saying “You might need this.” I accepted it gratefully.


When I approached the next bulkhead I heard a strange clashing sound beyond. I cautiously opened the door, prepared to face whatever it was that was making the noise. What I saw was a large man and a petite woman. Both wore robes though his were much darker and he also had some armor. They were facing each other wielding melee weapons. But not vibroswords like the soldiers behind us. THey had lightsabers. They were Jedi! I was about to fight with a real live Jedi! Against a true Dark Jedi! I have to admit I was excited. But before I stepped through the door, Trask pulled me back. “Hold on. That’s a Dark Jedi! This fight is too much for us - we’d better stay back. All we’ll do is get in the way.” He pressed his hand against the door’s keypad and closed it. I was disappointed, but Trask had a point. I wasn’t ready to face a Dark Jedi, no matter how badly I wanted to… And I really wanted to.





“That was one of the Jedi accompanying Bastila. Damn, we could use her help! Let’s try another way around.” I followed him through several more hallways and through a few more bulkheads. Luckily we didn’t run into any more Sith, or Dark Jedi. Finally we reached a door and Trask stopped. “The bridge is just beyond that door. You’d better put your blaster away and pull out that sword I gave you earlier. There isn’t much room on the bridge, and it’s suicide to use a blaster in close quarters. I’ll have to use my standard issue vibrosword.”


“What if they have lightsabers?” I asked. I wasn’t ready to face one Dark Jedi let alone a room full of them. “Hmm, let me see that blade… Yep, as I suspected. It was made using a cortosis weave. It’s strong enough to stand up against anything, even a lightsaber,” explained Trask. Somehow that didn’t make me feel better. I didn’t get a chance to argue though because Trask was already keying in the code to open the door. I stood ready, holding the blade with two hands, trying to remember the little training I’d had at the academy in double bladed weapons.The door slid open and I charged in…





There was no one there. No Sith, no Republic soldiers either. Not a soul. “Bastila and Carth aren’t on the bridge!” I shouted back to Trask. He followed me in, lowering his blade. “They must have retreated to the escape pods,” he exclaimed. “We should head that way too, The Sith want Bastila alive, but once she’s off this ship there’s nothing stopping them from blasting the Endar Spire into galactic dust!” Trask moved toward the door on the opposite side of the bridge. I followed him through and down another few hallways.





I was just about to step through yet another bulkhead door when Trask stopped me. “Wait… There’s something behind here.” He pushed in front of me and opened the door himself. Standing there as though waiting for us was a man. He was wearing similar robes and armor as the Dark Jedi we had seen fighting the Jedi in the hall. He extended his hands and ignited his weapon. He smiled in the heat and glow of the lightsaber.





“Damn! Another Dark Jedi! I’ll try to hold him off, you get to the escape pods! Go! He dashed through the door. Before I could pull him back or join him or do anything he slammed his hand against the keypad on the other side and the door slammed closed in my face.





I was angry. Trask had just killed himself so that I could escape! Why would he do that? He didn’t even know me. I tried keying in a code to the keypad but the door was locked tight. I would have tried a security spike, but Trask was likely already dead. I didn’t want his sacrifice to be for nothing. He had bought me time to escape and I wasn’t going to waste it. I had to make my way to the starboard section of the ship, to the escape pods.





I turned away from the door when I heard my communicator beep. I answered the transmission. “This is Carth Onasi.. I'm tracking your position through the Endar Spire's life support systems. Bastila's escape pod is away – you're the last surviving crew member of the Endar Spire! I can't wait for you much longer; you have to get to the escape pods!” That confirmed my suspicions about Trask. I wouldn’t forget him, but now was not the time to mourn. That Jedi could break through the door at any second. I started to run back down the hall I had come, and turned at an intersection. “Be careful. There's a Sith patrol just down that corridor!” Carth was still in my ear. I slowed but not for long. I pressed a button on my stealth field generator on my belt (not exactly standard issue to most Republic soldiers) and continued forward.


I slipped past the soldier unnoticed and continued onwards. I felt as though I had been running for hours and that this damned ship never ended. But Carth assured me I was almost there. Just one more room. And one more problem. “There's a whole squad of Sith Troopers on the other side of that door! You need to find some way to thin their numbers.” Carth sounded almost as nervous as I felt. I looked around the room I was currently in for ideas. There was a computer console and a broken down patrol droid. Inspiration struck. I could repair the droid but that could take hours and I wasn’t sure I had the parts or could find them anyway. The computer console. I ran over to it. I keyed through the commands. Opening up a video feed of the room beyond, I had my answer. There was a bare power line that was clearly in the middle of repair when the attack had started. All I had to do was enter a command to send a power surge to that particular room and… CRACK! Electricity crackled out from the wall and zapped the soldiers that were standing guard waiting for last minute escapees. I had only meant to injure or slow the soldiers but I guess I sent a little too much power because they all dropped dead. Oh well, less cleanup for me. I shut down the power again and proceeded through the room, past the bodies, and out the opposite door.





“You made it just in time!” This must be Carth, I thought. “We’re the last two crew members left on the Endar Spire. Bastila's escape pod's already gone, so there's no reason for us to stick around here and get shot by the Sith. There's only one active escape pod left. Come on, we can hide out on the planet below!”





I gestured towards the escape pod door. “After you.”

WIP Dream Cast of Mass Effect Movie (8/11/19)

Shepard (male)- Matt Lanter, Josh Duhamel,

FemShep- Mila Jovovich, Michelle Rodriguez

Kaiden Alenko-Matt Bomer, Danny Pino, Sebastian Stan, Alden Ehrenreich

Jack- Ruby Rose

Ashley- Melissa Fumero

Captain Anderson- Andre Braugher

James- Taron Egerton, Matt Lanter, Tom Hardy, Chris Pratt

Jacob- Michael B. Jordan,

Garrus Vakarian- Paul Bettany

Liara T'Soni- Sophie Cookson, Willow Shields, Alexandra Daddario 

Thane Krios- Benedict Cumberbatch

Zaeed Massani- Dean Winters, Jeffery Dean Morgan

The Illusive Man- Jared Leto

Kai Lang- BD Wong

My notes on how I'd change (and improve) Star Wars TLJ

1. Leia Deaths:
     A: Same as before but when floating in space, becomes "one with the force" leaves just her robes
     B: takes the place of purple hair lady; "Luke... Leia." (Maybe force persuades Holdo to let her take the helm). Makes a reference to the hyperdrive failure of the MF in the OG trilogy "Let's hope this hyperdrive actually works"

   ‎Note: possibly find a Recording of her begging Luke to return to defeat the first order; "Help us Luke, you're our only hope." Reminiscent of her first request if Obi Wan
     C: Senses incoming shot, force-slams bulkhead door to save majority of ship and crew, dooming herself (and perhaps a few others, to make the choice that much more difficult), shows force by sensing the shot and shutting door  Shows that even at the end she was a leader and cared about others.
             C.2: Senses incoming shot, turns to warn others, is too late. "Move!" *Boom* Shows that even at the end she was a leader and cared about others.

 Note: Only seconds between sense of shot and actual shot so no time to move crew from room; no "get out of here" rushing everyone out of room; no time for that. Either everyone in that section of the ship dies or she separates them instantly (closing bulkhead without bothering to warn anyone).

IMPORTANT: Must be dead by end of movie. Dying off screen or CGI scenes in the next movie are not an option. Carrie deserves more. 

(Important edit after seeing Episode 9 "The Rise of Skyalker": I'm actually happy with the way Leia's story ended. I didn't think there could be a better ending for her than dying fighting for the cause, something she's been fighting for her entire life, but (big spoilers for episode 9 coming) dying to save her son, Ben, bringing him back to the light (and in doing so, saving Rey, and killing the Emperor for good) is the perfect ending for Leia. She loved the Rebellion, and the Republic, but she always put her family first. (Which used to piss Mon Mothma off to no end.) This is exactly why Abrams should have had control of the entire trilogy, and they should have planned out the story BEFORE just slapping shit together and calling it a trilogy. Fuck you, Rian Johnson. Actually, fuck you too, Abrams and Kennedy and Disney and LucasArts and George Lucas and pretty much everyone except Carrie Fisher.)

2. The Codebreaker:
They find the one they're looking for but as he's being arrested for hacking a machine. They doubt his ability and must break him out of the casino jail. Perhaps he meant to get caught (?), impressed them and proves his skill as a hacker, perhaps stealing a ship and escaping with them without setting off alarms

3. Proof Rey can actually see Ren, his immediate surroundings, and not just his face:
   A: She notices his broken mask. He's destroyed it but not gotten rid of it. He is still conflicted.
   B: He is cutting his hair.  She notices the Droid doing the cutting and the trimmings on the floor. (perhaps barber-bot can reference Hardware Wars, like the iron did) Shows he's changing and that she can see more than just his face.
NOTE: He has his freaking shirt on.

4.Vice Admiral Holdo: She's an admiral. Dress like it. And let Poe in on the freaking plan. At least before he starts a damn mutiny. She has no reason not to trust him; he's a loose cannon, not an idiot or a traitor.

5. Rose sacrifices herself to save Finn. Let her crash into the "battering ram cannon". Adds Character arc to Finn; the whole "Finn is mad because of the horrors of war and death of innocents" thing he's got going on; the reason he left the troopers. Will make reunion with Rey more meaningful as he has lost a friend and was afraid of losing her.

A day in the Life of a UNSC Marine

This is a story I wrote for school a few (many) years back. It'll help to understand it if you know a thing or two about Halo, the video game franchise. I'm thinking about continuing it but I kind of like leaving it where it is.  Thoughts?

     Okay. Here we go. Relax. Take a deep breath. You've done this a millions times before. No worries. Okay. Are you ready? You better be ready. Breathe in. Breathe out. Now. Go! I start running. Eyes in front. No looking down or to the sides. Just have to run. Coming up on the first corner. Slide around and scramble through the door. Okay. You made it. Now just pick up the launcher and go. Boy, it's heavy. Set it on your shoulder. Good. Aim. Fire. Bam! Bull’s-eye!

     I've got to run again. This time to the stairs. No time to count them. Just go. I reach the top. Gun down the nearest grunt. Reload. Refill on grenades and head back down the stairs. I slip on damp stains I’d rather not identify and almost fall. Keep going. Get behind cover. Take down the couple grunts coming toward you. Run again. There's the Warthog. Hop in the driver's seat and punch it. Don't lose control. I slide around the other corner and run over two more grunts. I drive towards the stairs. Jump out. Don't even bother stopping the car. Reach the top.

     I'm okay. No holes in me yet. I reach for the sniper rifle right as a shot burns a hole in the wall two inches from my hand. Ugh. Jackals. Twist around. Aim for the hand. Then the head. One down. Load the sniper rifle. Pop over the wall and take aim. He's moving too fast! I won't be able to get him. Think. Breathe. Aim. Follow his head. Pressure on the trigger. Not yet. Not yet. NOW! I fire. Got him in the chest. Reload. Take aim again. Bring him down!  I fire again. This time I hit him in the head. Plasma begins to rain down all around me. They've spotted you! Take cover! Don't move yet. Wait.  An explosion goes off no more than ten feet from where I'm crouching. Smoke from burning grass stings my eyes and nose. Now go. Run. Keep low. Don't let them fire twice.

    I scramble for safety. Wherever that is. Gunfire, grenades, plasma, you name it. I'm dodging it.  They're bringing in reinforcements. I've got to get a stronger gun. There! That brute with the Plasma Cannon. That'll work. I smile to myself. It’s about a 20 foot drop from here to the ground. You can do it.  I step back, take a few steps and leap.  See? You totally got this. Crap. He's spotted me. I can't move. I'm in midair. Come on gravity! Work faster. I hit the ground and immediately dive to my left. Plasma burns the ground I was just standing on. Roll. Take aim. Fire! I said fire! I'm out of ammo. I quickly pull out my pistol and start shooting like crazy. Not that it will help. The brutes armored to the teeth. There's a grunt behind him. Ha! He's got grenades! My lucky day. I stand up and keep firing at the brute.

     I sidestep to the left and he side steps to the right. I keep going until we've switched spots completely. Turn around. Shoot the grunt. Grab a grenade. Aim. Pull the pin. Throw.  My aim is a little off but it does the trick. I sprint back to the brute and pick up the cannon. Just in time too. Three jackals with energy shields come charging around the corner. One shot between them should do it.  Ha!  I was right. They go flying off in different directions leaving some ammo for me to pick up. Thanks. I now have to find who the biggest threat is. I look around. It sees me before I see it.

Uh-oh.

Hunter. Just my luck.

Writing.

So a lot of people I know or know of use writing as a therapy tool. It's got me thinking that maybe I should too. I used to love to write stories. I would like to try again. See if I can't get my creative juices flowing once more. So be on the lookout for some original Tyro stories! Or don't. Who knows what will happen.

KoTOR Mod: Gray Light Battle Armor

A recoloring I did of the light battle armor in KoTOR

Gray Light Battle Armor

Skyrim carriage has a little accident

The "Minotour"

My Blog

I wanted to share some of my gaming stuff: videos, screen shots, funny moments, etc. But mostly I want to work on my anxiety so this blog is to help put myself out there and maybe find some courage. 

I will mainly focus on gaming but may stray into geek culture in general on occasion.