Carefully slipping out from under Zela Diren's embracing arm, I walked to the closet where my clothes were... No, first get a shower. Zela... Standing under the cold shower drops, I tried to figure out what had happened... What do I feel for this woman? Any feelings? No, even though I'm not particularly talented in empathy, even I can figure it out — between us was simple, animal sex, with no strings attached. It helped relieve my tension... But I shouldn't count on a serious relationship with this woman. She thanked me, that's all. I have too attractive a face; I've caught thoughtful glances many times, even Mila Karnur, who had only seen me a couple of times, fell under that...
"Master," the trill of BB-7 sounded as I exited the captain's cabin. While we were in hyperspace and everyone was asleep — BB-7 could control the flight. This time, we were heading to Coruscant. We should start searching for Joyran based on Mila's testimony. Mila immediately recalled two places where her brother might show up. He was always prudent, after all... Yeah, right, a prudent being who, instead of enrolling at Alderaanian, becomes a galactic smuggler outside the law. In any case, first we had to finish repairing my ship. We could have done it on Chandrila or Tyrann, but my ship would be best repaired in the Order, which, despite its decline, accumulates the best personnel in terms of technicians. "One of the females we picked up is sitting near the engine and periodically emitting sounds that I can identify as surprise and whistling."
"She's a mechanic, BB," I calmly replied to the droid. "There's nothing surprising about her sitting by the engine. If you're afraid she'll break something, you can keep an eye on her."
"She threatened to overhaul me," BB squeaked as I sat down in the pilot's seat and checked the hyperdrive sensors. About two hours remained until the exit at Coruscant.
"Maybe then you'll treat me with more respect, you bucket of bolts," came the grim voice of Lorm Decer, who entered the cockpit, sipping aromatic caf — or rather, finishing it. "Better take the cup and wash it."
"I'm an astromech droid, not a dishwasher, you horned beast," BB-7 beeped and rolled out of the cockpit.
"What a rogue. Your father clearly overdid it with the loyal dog personality manifest," Lorm grunted irritably. "Though if you asked him, he'd carry out that order right away," he sat down in the adjacent chair.
"You're gloomier than usual today, Master..."
"Is it that obvious?" Lorm asked me.
"I've been with you for years; you've taught me a lot. So I can tell right away. Is something bothering you?" I asked.
"You're not the only one who has visions, student," Lorm replied with a sigh. "I certainly don't have the potential you do, but since the moment we found Mila Karnur, my premonitions have been getting worse with each passing hour."
"Maybe then we should hand the Karnur case over to the Sentinels?" I asked him.
"Then we'll lose even the ghost of a chance, student. No, we'll handle this ourselves, just like your problem. Shall we talk?"
"If you mean that incident, I thought..."
"The question is still open, my young student. I understand," Lorm chuckled, making me feel a burning desire to smash a brick in his face, "that after Zela, you clearly don't want to talk to a tall, muscular Zabrak, but want to relax a little, considering your night together."
"You heard..."
"Of course I heard! You were radiating so much lust through the Force Bonds that you even managed to transmit images to me. I could barely stop myself from running over and making a woman out of Mila!"
"You refrained from sex, Master?" I asked, stunned.
"I did all sorts of things while I was a Padawan, and I even refrained from sex. So, as you can see, the skill of thinking with my brain, not my dick, came in handy," Lorm replied importantly, and in such a didactic tone. "But that's not the point. You've let us down for the second time."
"Second?"
"The Crimson Kraken..."
"But you yourself..."
"What do you mean 'you yourself'?" Lorm Decer asked sarcastically. "Understand, student, our training is excellent. You master Force techniques quite quickly; your swordsmanship already places you on par with an average Jedi Knight. You are an ideal student," he said with pride. "Such motivation, with such potential. And I would be proud to go to the Council right now and say: 'My Padawan knows everything that, give or take, I know. He is worthy of undergoing the Trials.' And I am sure you will pass on skills, but as for your mind, your character... You have big problems. The mind. You are smarter, but not wiser. Do you think that just because I said something, it is the ultimate truth? What about thinking for yourself? Checking my statements..."
"But..."
"Jedi raise Padawans and Younglings in the concept of trust in one's elders, and that is fundamentally wrong!" Lorm cut in harshly. "Trust in elders... Trust in the Council... Trust only yourself, student. And the Force, but trust the latter only by letting it flow through you. Because I have doubts regarding the concept of the Will of the Force."
"These are strange conversations, Master," I noted, "after all, the Council insists that the Will of the Force..."
"Hutt, student!" Lorm exclaimed. "I told you. Your mind is weak, since you didn't ask me questions before the mission, or take precautions yourself. The Galaxy is a dangerous place, you know. And it's better you learn my lesson through a conversation than the Galaxy's lesson."
"But, Master..."
"You still dare to argue, my foolish student," Lorm hissed angrily. "Fine. Experience is a much better teacher. I've said my piece, and you've heard it. Our mission will provide you with practice; I just hope you won't pay too dearly for the practice itself."
The cockpit door opened just as the master finished his speech, and a pleased, smiling Zela Diren entered, along with BB-7 and Mila Karnur. The woman's whole demeanor showed her mood was the best... And I felt some irrational pride in her being so satisfied. The Master's words... I think I need to think them over... A bit later, right? The Master sat back in his chair, turning towards those who had entered.
Mila Karnur, unlike the Togruta Zela, looked serious and calm. A focused expression was fixed on the girl's beautiful face.
"So, on Tyrann we didn't have much time, so let's talk more thoroughly," Lorm sighed.
And indeed, there we thought only of leaving the system as quickly as possible. After finishing repairs, we took off, just missing a passenger ship that was traveling under the escort of Judicial Forces tubs... Tubs? Well, compared to Venators, Acclamators, and ISDs, calling what currently passes for the Republic's so-called 'army' decent starships is a stretch.
"My name is Lorm Decer," the master continued. "I am a Jedi Knight, and this is my Padawan, Light Flyingstar," he nodded in my direction. "But you've already heard that, haven't you, Mila Karnur?"
"Y... Yes, that's right," the girl nodded. "You said you were looking for my missing brother."
"Your brother is missing," Lorm confirmed. "He disappeared after stealing an important Force artifact... In short, he's important to the Jedi..."
"I know what the Force is, Master Knight," the girl said in a quiet tone. The address made Lorm's eyes widen. "I... It's... I'm a weakly Gifted one," as proof, she took an ordinary wrench from her pocket and used Telekinesis. True, it was weak, very weak; I felt she was straining too much... In the end, her legs gave way, and she would have fallen, but I caught her and sat her down in the pilot's seat.
"You shouldn't have strained yourself so much," I remarked. "Just saying it would have been enough."
"Sorry," the girl looked away, breathing heavily. "It's just that few people believe me."
"Well, that simplifies things," Lorm chuckled. "Simplifies them greatly. We need your brother."
"Do you want to kill him?" the girl asked. "It's a dangerous artifact, after all. You wouldn't just be looking for it for no reason! I..."
"Mila," I took her hand in mine, looking into her eyes. "Two bad individuals are hunting for the artifact your brother stole. If anyone is going to kill your brother, it's them. We want to take the artifact from him. That will automatically protect him."
"Really?" Mila asked, blushing slightly.
"Neither we, nor those two," the master joined the conversation, "will have any interest in your brother once we take what we're looking for from him."
"Then I will help you..."
"That's not necessary," I shook my head. "You're taking an unnecessary risk. Just tell us all the places..."
"This is about my brother!" Mila exclaimed, letting go of my hand. "And I'm the only one who decides whether I should take the risk or not. And you will take me with you. Otherwise, I'll go search on my own!"
And she'd run into Teyron and Shilazh. And they wouldn't stand on ceremony. An option to leave her at the Temple? Yeah, right... The Temple Guards have nothing better to do than feed another extra mouth. Get her in as a mechanic in the Temple Hangar? Mila is a good mechanic, but that requires enormous work experience. All our mechanics are no younger than thirty, having worked at least ten years in their position before the Temple. Besides, there's also the Service Corps, which recruits from Younglings who didn't find a Master, or who weren't taken as Padawans for some reason. Or leave her on Coruscant? No, they'd get to her there too. Maybe take her to Tustra? No, stop! What Tustra? My family is there, and Shilazh and Teyron clearly wouldn't stand on ceremony with her.
"Master," I looked at Lorm. Judging by his expression, he was also feverishly sorting through options.
"Very well," the Knight finally replied. "So be it. I agree to take you with us. And you will help us, Mila Karnur. But keep a couple of things in mind. First — don't try to cover for your brother. If you find an important lead, tell my student or me. Second — stay out of the way. We're not Jedi Consulars, you know, we don't go to social gatherings. We might get attacked, and more than once."
"I understand, thank you," Mila said shyly.
"Right now, we're flying to Coruscant, dropping off useless cargo, making repairs, and then flying to the coordinates Mila gave us..."
"Hey... Stop! So I'm the useless cargo?" Zela asked. "And besides, I don't need to go to Coruscant, I need to go to Corellia!"
"I don't really care, Zela," Lorm hissed.
"You were a heartless horned beast, and you've remained one!" Zela exclaimed angrily. "But you seem to have forgotten that you owe me, Lorm."
"I owe you?" the master flared up. "For what? I was nearly atomized by a Hapan Battle Dragon (Author's Note: a cruiser-class starship.) during your last job with me! I nearly failed the mission, and you still think I owe you?."
"But I was the one who got you out of there," Zela batted her blue eyes.
"Oh, how you got me out, I'll say nothing at all," the master growled. "Let's step outside, I'll tell you exactly what I think!" he said, looking around at those present. Lorm Decer unceremoniously grabbed Zela and dragged her out of the cockpit...
"Master, that woman was speaking truly," BB-7 beeped.
"What exactly?" Mila asked curiously.
"That he is a heartless horned beast," BB-7 beeped, and I just sighed heavily. When will this all end?
We found Mila Karnur, I won't argue with that, but we didn't get any closer to our goal. Where is Joyran Karnur? Will the medallion work for us? If I doubt the results of the current mission, which has already turned into some kind of madness, what should I do about my 'global plans' regarding the reformation of the Jedi?
"Is everything alright?" the girl asked, breaking my train of thought.
"Perfectly fine," I nodded, looking at the brunette. "I'm just probably mentally tired. They say sex should relax a man, and it's true... Physically, my body is rested, but mentally and psychologically, my head hurts... So many thoughts... The dressing down from the master, and the missions are quite stressful for an archaeology Padawan. Mercenaries, bandits, and even dark-siders."
"Then maybe we could talk?" the girl asked. "Mom used to say that if you feel bad, you need to talk it out."
"Talk it out? To whom?" I glanced at the timer.
"Oh... You're right, sorry. I guess I'm not close enough to you for you to tell me things. I just think it would make you feel better," Mila raised her hands in front of her. "Yes, better."
"Better, you say..." I looked over the girl, and my words somehow slipped out before I could think about them. "We'll be on Coruscant for a few days. How about going somewhere together?"
"Hm?" Mila raised an eyebrow questioningly, then blushed. "Well, yes... I suppose so. Only I don't have any clothes, nothing but this jumpsuit," she patted the pockets of her mechanic's jumpsuit. Something metallic clinked in the pockets, apparently tools.
For some reason, I felt a growing joy in my chest... I need to understand why...
* * *
Lorm Decer's Padawan was always allowed more... I felt that immediately. Instead of memorizing the Code until my head hurt — practice. Endless practice. Swordsmanship, The Force, survival. Lorm seemed to cram knowledge into me, furiously, yet systematically. Hence his evaluation: 'worthy of undergoing the trial, purely on skills.' And at the same time, while Lorm gave me plenty of practice, and even theory on applied archaeology, sometimes showing me artifacts he had found and turned over to the Jedi inventory, he didn't pay attention to molding a 'proper Jedi.' That is, conversations about the Code were sent to hell after the 'third conversation about the Code' went into unknown distances. He chose as the basis of his upbringing 'to show what a shitty place the Galaxy is.'
Because of this, I, Light Flyingstar, had absolutely no qualms about relationships like that, calmly sleeping with Zela, even though it was unexpected. But I felt no doubts and even thought about 'repeating it'
We flew to Coruscant, where Zela, remembering that Coruscant wasn't Corellia, said goodbye to us — she snuck a kiss on my lips and slapped Lorm across the face, under the stunned gaze of the Temple technicians and Mila Karnur. Then she immediately took off somewhere, probably toward the Starport, to finally make it to Corellia. Lorm ordered me and Mila to rest, and he himself left the Temple. Carefully, unhurriedly, I led Mila to the room Lorm and I shared, so she could freshen up. The girl accepted such courteous treatment graciously and simply took over the shower for a good hour and a half. As a true man, for whom ten minutes is enough to wash thoroughly and smell good, I sincerely didn't understand what one could do in the shower for a whole hour and a half...
While Mila was in the shower, I calmly tidied up the room, dusted things off, and brought Lorm's luggage over to his bed. The Council had unexpectedly given us a new room — much more comfortable. This time it was a huge room with four exits: the bathroom, which Mila had now occupied, my room — the smaller one, furnished ascetically, with only the bare minimum. A desk stood by the window, a computer on it, where, behind a password like any self-respecting geek, I had porn, fanservice, tons of games, movies... Just kidding. Mostly it was Jedi training materials — I hadn't been too lazy to download all that stuff from the Archives and, little by little, kept doing what I'd done as a youngling. I sorted all the material into "things that'll come in handy" and "things that aren't needed at all." For better sorting, I had to read everything completely. In effect, I was looking for mentions of Force Techniques I still needed to master and compiling my own... Wine list? No, a map of Force Techniques. That's how I added Morichro and Force Paralysis to it — both made to effectively stun an enemy. I went into Lorm's room only once, and immediately ran out, because Lorm... That Lorm, who couldn't care less about the Council, had simply plastered his wall with posters of top models...
And now he had taken off — judging by the fact that he wasn't in the Temple, and my bond with him pulled me somewhere outside it, he'd clearly gone to rest his body... The doorbell rang... Who was that? Lorm would have just walked in... I opened the door and was slightly stunned... Before me stood a green-skinned Twi'lek girl. She was wearing tight, light-colored pants, and her top was a rather revealing blouse of the same color, with a deep neckline. Hmm... I only recognized her because of her smile.
"Rela?" I asked the girl.
"Light! Long time no see." She hugged me, practically beaming. "I heard you were back, so I decided to drop by..."
"Umm... Well, yeah, come in, of course," I gave in, letting the girl inside and closing the door.
Rela walked into the room, spotted the couches standing in the middle, and sat down on one. I glanced toward the kitchen...
"Can I get you something to eat?" I asked.
"Nah, don't bother," Rela shook her head. "I'm not hungry. I just decided to stop by." She gave me a strange look. "To see a classmate. We haven't seen each other in a while. Cin mentioned you'd dropped by here some time ago. But I wasn't here. Neither were a lot of our group."
"Yeah," I nodded. "With a master, you have to get used to the idea that I'll be far from civilization for a long time." I sat down across from the girl. "I doubt I'll be back on Coruscant anytime soon. We're leaving in two days." That's how long the technicians would be working on my ship. "And this time we're flying to Selvaris." A swampy little planet where, according to Mila, her brother's hideout was. The main one.
"Selvaris?" the girl asked. "Never heard of it."
"In the West, in the Inner Rim," I explained. "How are things with you?"
"Oh, slowly but surely." The girl yawned. "My teacher thinks I have a talent for diplomacy. At least — I managed to negotiate with some... particularly rowdy types. Though the teacher made me wear pretty revealing clothes."
"Yeah, I see," I nodded. "Your teacher believes in 'the end justifies the means.' I can even imagine how you negotiated."
"HEY! You know you can't say that to a girl. So uncultured! You compared me to... to... And I've never done anything like that! It's just that my mentor thinks any element can be used in negotiations. Some perverts only need to see it once..."
"Rather than hear it a hundred times," I finished her sentence.
At the edge of my awareness, I felt movement... Mila Karnur? And why was I sensing her movement? Wrapped in nothing but a towel, with drops of water on her bare skin, the girl came out of the bathroom...
"Ah," she sighed longingly. "Hot water — created by the gods. It's so great to shower properly, not with that thing on the ship."
"L-L-Light!" Rela exclaimed, pointing at Mila. "Who is that?!"
"A human woman..." I explained calmly. "More precisely — a girl."
"Light!" Mila exclaimed in embarrassment, staring at Rela. "Who is that?!"
"A woman of the Twi'lek species, more precisely — a girl," I continued just as calmly, though my eyes were studying Mila's exposed skin. "Rela, meet Mila Karnur — she's helping us, me and my master, with our mission. And Mila Karnur, this is Rela, my classmate — we were in the same clan."
"A classmate?" Mila asked.
"What do you mean, helping?" Rela scrutinized Mila critically.
"In the normal sense!" Mila replied, even a bit louder than necessary. "Light saved me from slavery, and now I'm helping him find my little brother!"
"Seriously?" Rela looked her over haughtily. "And what can she help with, Light?"
I had a feeling I'd made a mistake somewhere. Only... where? And how could I rewind this?
"Calm down," I sighed heavily. "Our mission is important, Rela, so we turned to Mila. Something like that."
"I see-e-e," Rela drawled, glaring menacingly at Mila. "Go get dressed, little helper... Ow!" She got smacked on the back of the head.
"In my quarters, I give the commands," Lorm Decer said in a menacing voice, having just entered our room. "You don't need to rush," he smiled benevolently at Mila, which made her grimace and hurry into my room, where she'd left her things. "And what are you doing here?" he asked Rela.
"I... I," Rela pouted resentfully, holding her head. You couldn't just hit your own with the Force, and from behind at that. "I came to see Light... We studied together. And... Well, also to tell him about the others."
"You've seen him?"
"Mm-hmm..."
"Told him?"
"Mm-hmm... I mean, no!" She caught herself. "Anyway, Light, just so you know — Mara and Vers died on missions, along with their Knights. That's it... And Feemor said he's about to become a Knight under his master, Qui-Gon..."
"Wait, wait — Vers and Mara died?" I asked. Just like that, sentients I'd known...
"Well, yeah. Cin didn't tell you? Haven't you seen him?" she asked. "Never mind. It doesn't matter now..."
I see. So she'd come to me to calm her nerves somehow... After all, she, Versaria, and Mara had been close friends. As for Feemor — nothing surprising there, really.
"And what about Gol?" I asked.
"Our fluffy one decided on his own to leave the Order. He went back to Kashyyyk, to his parents, I think." Yeah. Our graduating class had changed completely. Vers and Mara were dead. I'd have to find out why. Gol left the Order. Cin... well, he was obvious — all our meetings usually ended in duels, I couldn't even have a proper conversation with him. And Feemor... He was about to become a knight.
"Qui-Gon?" Lorm asked with a smirk, cutting Rela off. "Dooku's protégé?"
"Master?"
"You're free, girl, since you've said your piece." He waved his hand toward the door, and Rela left.
"Your friend Feemor is the perfect Jedi in the Council's eyes. Obedient, smart, doesn't stick his nose where it doesn't belong. So the question of his knighthood isn't even up for debate. It's already decided. But at the same time, about two years ago, when your group was just being split up, Qui-Gon started training a boy named Xanatos." I flinched, remembering Xanatos from Telos. "He paid him attention, even while he had an apprentice. And it's not like it's a forbidden thing," Lorm sat down across from me. "Paying attention to a future student. But Qui-Gon overdid it with the praise for an already arrogant young man. As a result, I'm afraid we'll get not a second Count Dooku, but another arrogant idiot."
"Really?" I asked.
"I'm afraid so. The boy is talented, almost your equal." And he was a year younger than me, according to canon. Feemor should have been older than me, but that detail was slightly altered here... "But mentally, he's worse than you. Well, for now, that's Qui-Gon's problem." Hopefully it wouldn't become mine. "So it doesn't concern you. In two days, we're leaving for Selvaris. I talked to the Shadow handling Shilazh and Teyron. So far she hasn't been able to find them. So I'm asking you, Light — be careful! You're strong, but what's the point if you're an idiot?"
* * *
A trading megacomplex on Coruscant, one of many. Its visitors bustled back and forth. An enormous number of humans, aliens, and even droids created a truly magnificent crowd, in which absolutely any assassin could hide without being noticed. And in that crowd were we: me and Mila Karnur... The girl carried two bags of purchased clothes in her hands. I wondered when she'd have time to wear them, considering we'd be traveling all the time...
"Let's go to that café over there," the girl pointed at one of the establishments. We weren't short on funds. I received a steady income from the patent on the BB droid series, and Mila's family wasn't poor either, though brother and sister, from what I could tell, were practically competing in a game of "who can waste their inheritance more stupidly."
But spending time with the girl was very pleasant. It gave me a feeling... of spiritual warmth. If sex with Zela gave me physical warmth — my body truly enjoyed it — then being with Mila pleased me mentally. After eating at the café, I decided to take her to one of the panoramic viewpoints of Coruscant, where you could see the great city-planet... I wisely decided not to take her to the lower levels, but going higher to look at Coruscant itself was clearly a good thing, especially with a girl.
On the roof of an observation tower, which rivaled the height of the Jedi Order's tower — one of the four — Mila was literally breathless. She had never been this high before and looked with awe at the streams of speeders below, the burning lights of evening Coruscant, and the star setting beyond the horizon. She liked Coruscant... We went down, full of impressions, and ordered a speeder to the Temple... When would I get to relax like this again? The landing pad was almost empty, very few sentients, but I kept feeling like Mila was deciding something for herself — at least, her face looked overly tense... Finally, when a speeder landed in front of us, she just took and kissed me. What?
"Thank you," Mila blushed modestly, which made me soften. "At the Temple, you can't thank someone like that."
"Umm," I scratched the back of my head, looking into the girl's eyes. "And what made you decide to thank me that way?"
"I just... I like you," the girl announced. "And Zela... She told me a lot about how to thank a man." I'll kill that Togruta. What was she doing?! "But I thought it was too early for that and... well, there."
"For that — it really is too early, Mila," I told the girl, looking into her eyes.
"But... I'm really not inferior to Zela," she said. Why did she take my words as me comparing her to Zela? Female logic, goddamn it.
"That's not what I meant..." I immediately stopped myself, looking at Mila. "Well, I..."
"Just be quiet." Mila Karnur suddenly closed the distance between us and sealed my lips with a kiss...