I recall that in the Clone Wars there were a couple of episodes about a planet inhabited by aquatic races, where battles took place underwater. The problem is that it's not just about being able to use hydrokinesis to transform water into a breathable gas mixture. The water in the environment doesn't only contain the necessary oxygen, but also other elements essential for air. The issue lies in the natural resistance of water. I'm not Hoshigaki Kisame, and I can't move as fast underwater as I can on land. That's the second problem. So for now, I can't even dream of becoming a Sephi amphibian.
What I need to do is master hydrokinesis better, so I can use the technique more easily. And I also need to figure out something about the natural resistance of water, since the regular water column will slow me down. In my style — whether it's the Soresu variant, the Ataru variant, or the Jar'Kai variant — speed is the cornerstone. Pirouettes, feints, dodges. Why am I even thinking about all this? Because I have to be ready for anything. The galaxy is incredibly vast, there are countless planets, and who knows where my travels will take me, or under what circumstances I'll be forced into a fight? Only the Force knows the answer to that question. You could, of course, point to basic logic — don't fight in conditions that put you at a disadvantage. But there are moments when you simply have no choice. You have to fight. And to survive those moments, I have to account for the conditions.
I can resist the water column and the pressure it creates either thanks to my suit or the Force. And for breathing, I can extract the necessary gas composition from the water, from the chemical elements that might be dissolved in it. Of course, there's also a simplified version of this hydrokinesis that I've been thinking about lately — breath control. Its essence isn't about breathing underwater or anywhere else, but specifically about holding your breath. With it, for example, you could inhale a poisonous gas and survive. It's one of those techniques whose basics younglings study. As for my thoughts on hydrokinesis — those are honestly just my own assumptions. In theory, the Force could be used to turn water and the chemicals dissolved in it into a breathable mixture. But in practice, it's still incredibly difficult, almost impossible. At least, based on my experiments in this direction — I kept sputtering and getting questioning trills from BB, who was genuinely puzzled about why his master was trying to drown himself in the bathtub.
But right now, I had to push those thoughts aside. I came here to relax, didn't I? The moment we stepped out of the ship into the water, I couldn't hold back an awestruck sigh. There was an additional protective field around my mouth so people could talk over the comm if needed. An incredible space opened before me, flooded with blue light… The crystals on the bottom practically lit our way, revealing all the richness of Alderaan's marine fauna. Schools of fish darted past, not far from our shield. There were also giant fish, rays, and even a life form that reminded me of a whale. According to the encyclopedia, it actually was a whale — a massive one, about ten meters long. My friends swam nearby and immediately started acting silly. Though I could understand them — they were relatively young people who craved impressions.
"Taivi! Taivi!" Amella's voice came through the earpiece. "Let's take a bunch of holos!"
Her diving suit perfectly accentuated her figure. A lot of people were openly staring at Amella in it, even forgetting their manners. And I could understand them. Nodding to the woman, I swam over to her, and for about five minutes she snapped about a hundred different holos with me. Then the rest of our group swam over, and we repeated the photo session for a good ten minutes. After that, everyone swam off to have fun in their own way. Delon and Bail started racing each other, Amella went to scold them, while Miya and Rulana cheered on their chosen ones. I just swam to the edge of the shield and started watching the fish swimming nearby. Many of them were different from the ones on Earth. That's what made them so fascinating. I got more than my fill of impressions from this underwater walk. It wasn't even the seabed — just watching the fish. But the lighting from the crystals made this walk unforgettable. Finally, when we were already back on board, full of impressions, they showed us how the crystal the team had pulled from the bottom actually worked. There had been a rumor in the media that it was all a trick — that they weren't real crystals, that House Apalis had just rigged up spotlights to illuminate the bottom so sentients would buy more tickets to Alderaan's Blue. But no — I'd checked this through the Jedi databases. Everything connected to the word "crystal" had been studied in as much detail as possible. It was a truly unique natural phenomenon, found only on Alderaan.
And indeed — the blue crystal started glowing when heated, so brightly it was almost blinding. Unfortunately, these crystals weren't suitable for lightsabers, not at all. They could only produce light, no matter what energy you put into them. A shame — the blades would have been beautiful. Though, no more beautiful than mine.
* * *
The fencing tournament started the following week. First came the qualifiers, during which thirty-two participants were selected. There was no Royal Battle — it was just duels. It was announced that the tournament only had thirty-two spots, so only thirty-two sentients would compete. Those who wanted to participate, of course, were many times more. So everyone who wanted was given tokens and told to fight each other. Five wins, and you're in the tournament — three losses, and you're out. And then the chaos began… On literally every deck, over the course of a day, the candidates for the tournament started fighting, challenging each other. I handled the task pretty quickly and was one of the first to make it onto the list of thirty-two.
And among those thirty-two, some troublesome opponents showed up. Only the best of the best made it through, and a few of the participants could even make me think. In the first round, I knocked out Delon, who came at me with the stubbornness of a rhino. I landed plenty of unpleasant hits on him — I was faster and more technical — but he kept pressing forward. In the end, breathing heavily, he admitted defeat, and I admitted I'd gotten a bit carried away and beaten Delon up too hard. My second opponent among the thirty-two was a woman from the Togruta people. She was an elite guard for some wealthy man present here — literally a fat cat — and was participating on his orders. Judging by her attacks, her specialization was probably a different kind of weapon — something with a flexible base, like a whip. She kept spinning her sword too much and too fast, even though it was the only weapon allowed in the tournament.
The Togruta lost, though I suspect the male part of the crowd would have genuinely liked to see me get beaten by a beauty with a great, athletic body. In the third round, I ran into a Twi'lek who was also pretty agile, but that didn't help him. By the penultimate round, only four participants remained. Me, Bail Antilles, a participant wearing a mask under the strange name "Josur," and Jaiko Mecetti. He'd made it this far… Josur got paired with Antilles, while I had to fight Mecetti.
"Now I'll finally destroy you!" Mecetti spat angrily as we both stepped onto the arena, surrounded by spectators.
It was Thursday — about three days left before the cruise ended. Mecetti attacked, using something similar to the Makashi style, though he wasn't using a lightsaber. I easily deflected his attacks — they were pretty straightforward. Even Delon fights less directly. After I made Mecetti step back a little, recoiling from me, I launched a series of fast attacks, practically driving him into the ground. But the real challenge came when I fought this Josur guy. Bail somehow managed to lose to him pretty quickly…
The fight took place the day after the finals. Josur was a tall man hiding his identity behind a mask. Dark hair escaped from under his hood. I'd watched his fight with Bail — Josur had mocked Antilles, provoking him, and then ruthlessly punished him for every mistake, acting with excessive cruelty. In the end, battered and angry, Bail decided to surrender. Josur just laughed and said Bail would make a shitty ruler, since a ruler never gives up. Antilles walked around gloomy for the rest of the time.
"I know you," Josur said, his voice loud and arrogant. "You're one of Antilles's friends."
"And you're Josur, right?" I looked him over. "My name is Taivi Lanian," I nodded to him. "Shall we fight?"
I settled into the Soresu stance.
"Pfft," Josur snorted. He closed the distance quickly and attacked me. "You think you can defeat me? You're just as weak as your friend."
This was… Josur's speed caught me by surprise. His movements, his swings… This was even a little above human limits. Implants? No, more likely a Gifted. He was using the Force in measured doses, enhancing specific physical characteristics. But who was he? And what was he doing here? Should I use the Force to suppress him? I rolled back, avoiding Josur's fast thrusts… No, I shouldn't reveal myself. Interesting… I licked my lips and switched to the Ataru stance.
"Hmph… That stance… Who are you trying to copy, weakling?" I could use the Force to enhance my perception. Nothing more. My physical reflexes were enough to react to his attacks. And with Prescience, I could predict them perfectly.
The flow of the fight changed. This time, I showered Josur with a huge number of strikes. He didn't stay in my debt, but I attacked more decisively and more often. Though I couldn't keep up this pace for long. Using the Ataru concept without the Force wasn't the best idea. Soresu, which was a defensive style, was more comfortable. But Ataru, with its need for constant movement, was quite difficult to use in a fight without the Force. The movements I'd learned required constant circling around the opponent — jumps, somersaults, pirouettes. Of all those, I could only manage the last. Josur was surprised by my pressure and even let a few strikes through a couple of times. Though I didn't cross the line — I didn't actively use the Force, just slightly accelerating my perception.
"It's rare to find a worthy opponent," he said arrogantly. I ducked slightly, letting a strike aimed at my head pass over me, then launched my own attack, hitting his arm with my left leg, hoping he'd drop his sword — he didn't. Then I landed a powerful blow to his head. He ducked and tried to stab me in the stomach. Spinning, I moved out of the line of attack and immediately counterattacked, striking him in the shoulder. The hit landed perfectly. He jumped back, hissing curses. "Bastard. I'll have to get serious."
Yes, he was definitely Gifted. And he had excellent control over the Force. Considering his refined style, his Force enhancement… A Jedi. Josur's dark eyes bored into me.
"I concede the fight," I raised my hand. "I don't think I can defeat the esteemed Josur."
"Taivi Lanian concedes the fight!" the judge announced into the microphone. "The winner is the esteemed Josur."
"Cowardly bastard," the man said angrily.
* * *
Late that night, satisfied with my second-place finish, I returned to my quarters. Practically one more day, a little more, and the tour would end. Well, I'd had fun — there were plenty of good impressions from this trip. I turned on the light in the room and walked forward a bit. BB rolled up to me, the droid greeting me. Bail had taken third place — angry and tired, he'd gone off somewhere toward the dance clubs. Hmm? I sensed a sentient behind me. In an instant, a lightsaber flew from BB into my right hand, which I aimed toward the bathroom.
"I didn't invite you, Josur," I said, looking at the man.
"That weapon. Where did you get it?" he asked me. "Who are you? A Jedi?"
"First, introduce yourself — you're my guest, not the other way around."
"Don't play these games with me, Taivi Lanian!" he hissed, a barrier spreading from his body. "I'll kill you if you don't answer my question!" He drew and activated a lightsaber. A green blade pointed in my direction.
"Fine, I'll hope you understand," I sighed. "I'm a Shadow."
The man's eyes widened in surprise.
"A Shadow?! What are you doing here?" He didn't deactivate his sword.
"Contact Master Jonal Ezar and you'll find out," I shrugged. "The nature of my mission is classified. I can't tell you."
"I'm a Jedi Knight!"
"So am I," I replied calmly. "So what? We're both Knights. I'm a Shadow, and I have an assignment here concerning Bail Antilles. And who are you?"
"Hmph. My name is Jorus K'Baoth," I flinched. He was on Alderaan? Well, that figured… The Alderaan crisis erupted at a specific time before the Clone Wars, and he was the one who resolved it diplomatically. Right now, the political standoff between the Organas and the Antilles had reached unprecedented heights. And this was with Queen Mazicia still alive, along with her husband. What did Jorus do? He arranged a marriage between Breha Antilles and Bail — the one from House Organa. After that, they became the Queen and Viceroy of Alderaan. That way, representatives from both Houses ruled. A reasonable solution. But Jorus himself had always been an extremely arrogant person. He considered his talents a Gift from the Force, and those without the Gift… well, let's just say he saw them as lowly creatures.
"As for my real name — I'm Light Flyingstar," I introduced myself to the Knight.
"So easily gave away your real name?" he asked me with a smirk.
"No, not easily," I shook my head. "Don't forget, I'm a Shadow. And I know that you were sent here and what your mission is. I was warned that a Consul would be dispatched to resolve the brewing conflict between the Organas and the Antilles. Our missions only affect each other indirectly."
"I see," the man deactivated his lightsaber.
"But I still don't understand why you beat Antilles so badly."
"Became friends with the objective's target?" Jorus answered my question with a question. He was starting to annoy me.
"I wouldn't say that," I gave the lightsaber back to BB, walked over, and sat down on the bed. "I'm just curious — why would such a proud and strong Jedi Knight suddenly start using the Force against non-Gifted? It's… kind of barbaric."
"I don't care what you think of me, Light," Jorus said arrogantly, crossing his arms over his chest. "Stay out of my mission, and I'll stay out of yours."
"Again, my objective is Bail Antilles," I shook my head. "But you, by the looks of it, have already decided something for yourself."
"Your friend," the man headed for the exit. "A pathetic coward and weakling! I broke him easily. Do you know what I was doing here? I was assessing the future of both Houses: Antilles and Organa. Bail Organa is also here," ah, he'd just turned thirteen recently. "And I'm carefully studying this future — the heirs."
"And what did you find out by beating up a sentient when you had a colossal advantage over him?"
"Don't try to shame me!" Jorus glared at me menacingly. "And my conclusions are none of your business. Remember what I warned you about, Light!"
He left the room, leaving me alone.
"And how did he get in here, BB?" I asked the droid. "What do you mean you don't know? How did he get past you? Show me the sensor logs… Ah, I see," I nodded, studying the readings. "He used a variant of Ionization that tricks all of the droid's electronic sensors. An interesting technique. I don't know how to do that."
I looked at the door again. Jorus K'Baoth possessed unique abilities. And now he was using them, having found a solution to Alderaan's problems. Despite the apparent ease, the questions of succession had become very pressing. Mazicia had pushed the Antilles away from the trough too carelessly. But Jorus was the reason I didn't consider the conflict between Alderaan's Houses my problem. Honestly, I didn't have much time left here. Though I wanted to finish my studies at the university… I'd probably have to take exams externally.