As soon as I stepped out of my room, dressed in my actual gear, I came face to face with Amella. The girl was standing right in front of the entrance, clearly waiting for me.
"T… Taivi?" she looked at me questioningly, trying to peer under my hood.
"What?" I asked her. "Did you want to see me?"
"I… hmm…" I sighed, took the girl by the hand, and led her into my room. Closing the door, I sat her down on the bed, then stood about three meters in front of her with my arms crossed.
"So, what?" I asked her. "What do you intend to do next?"
"Well…" Amella was embarrassed. "I just wanted to ask you… about your plans…" she looked away.
"About my plans?"
"It's just that all this is… unexpected," she explained. "A man appeared with a glaive on his back and said that some mentor of his is waiting for you. And you arranged a meeting with them… Why are you going to them? And what are you going to do?"
"Amella," I sighed, "that man is quite important in my past, which I can't tell you about. Some secrets are better left untold to others."
"But I told you how I misbehaved as a child!"
I snorted. All her misbehavior amounted to was being allowed to do something, though sometimes her father would rein her in.
"Understand, what's happening here isn't childhood mischief, Amella. This is all incredibly serious. They didn't come for nothing—they found something. Something incredibly important," I closed my eyes. Could Teydor really have found the one that entire squads of Shadows couldn't find… And why? Is it because someone in the Order is leaking information to our target? And that someone… has ties to the Shadow Corps? Or can somehow track members of the Shadow Corps? Who has access to our missions? First—missions for the Shadows can be issued by the High Council; second—the Grand Master, in this case Yoda, though rumors say Yoda is thinking of handing over the reins to someone. But such rumors appeared from time to time. Third—some other Masters, members of the High Council, could order Shadows to act, albeit limitedly. Yet any Master could request information about Shadow missions, including current ones. Too many suspects… "I can't fill you in on everything, because these aren't my secrets. And yes. I will most likely leave Alderaan." Considering that the enemy hasn't found me here—that means the informant from the Jedi Order doesn't know my location. And that's good; only Yoda, Jonal, and Jorus know my current location. And Jorus only because I revealed myself to him when circumstances demanded it. So from the list of potential informants, we can exclude Yoda and Jonal? I was still somewhat confident in Yoda partly because he's canonically for the Jedi. As for Jonal—I've never heard of such a Master, nor of the Shadow leader. So I need to keep my ears open regardless.
And at the same time—a couple of Matukai tracked me down easily, even if it took two years. So they have valuable information. Maybe they even want to offer me to go with them to destroy our enemy, whoever he is. And I'm inclined to agree to their proposal. So much time has passed; the actions of the Shadows under Jonal's leadership have had no effect. I feel like I'm in a golden cage on Alderaan, locked up. Deprived of any action.
"Leave?" Amella asked. "For long?"
"Who knows," I shrugged. "Who knows."
"And…"
"Well?"
"What about us?" Amella asked.
"Us?" I looked at her in surprise. "In what sense are you using that pronoun?"
"Well…" she tried again to look under my hood. "You see… Why isn't my father against our relationship?"
"I have an idea," I nodded. "The Sephi, though they don't seem it, are quite orthodox and don't marry other representatives very often. Besides… our birth rate isn't the highest. At the same time, your House is considering the possibility of us having children, Amella," the woman blushed. "Even though it would take several generations to root the traits of my race into House Doyn."
"Exactly!" Amella said loudly. "You understand, Taivi! The House is considering it. My father is thinking about it. And I… even despite how my marriage to you might be perceived, I think it's the best solution. For us…"
And aristocrats might not take such a marriage very well. After all, Taivi Lanian is the son of merchants—not insanely rich ones. Just ordinary ones. My real identity has aristocratic status, though many would think that the family of the King's maidservants is at least funny, but actually it's an elite position. Hereditary. Getting into King Alaric's palace is incredibly difficult. And that's only because the ancestors of the courtiers long ago took all the positions in the palace and simply pass them on, essentially by inheritance. Yes, they teach their children their craft. But no one is allowed into the palace for our positions—that's a fact. That's what "court aristocracy of Tustra" means. And marriage to such a sentient—no aristocrat would consider it shameful, especially given that we might also bring a longevity gene into the family. But the problem is that the Sephi aristocrats, even those who hold positions like maids and servants of the King, are incredibly proud and orthodox. My mother and father essentially married through battle. And that's the main reason why the elf-Sephi haven't conquered the galaxy yet. Because longevity is an important motive to start using us as sperm donors or "breeding mares," depending on gender. But at the same time, everyone remembers that forcing a Sephi to marry an outsider is difficult. And forcing by force is impossible. Tustra is a fairly rich world; our system has a neighbor like Mandalore, which has left its mark on our worldview. Defense is a very important item for the Sephi government—billions of credits are allocated to it annually, and they certainly aren't embezzled.
"Hmm," I cleared my throat. "For us? Amella," I sighed, "I can't reveal everything to you. But I can show you why I definitely cannot marry you," tears appeared in the girl's eyes. So quickly? "Not now, not in the future," I twirled my wrist, and from the sheaths hidden in my suit, a lightsaber flew into my hand. "Do you know what this is?"
I used telekinesis and brought the lightsaber to the girl's eyes.
"So you…"
"Right," I nodded, returning the saber to myself. "I liked it here. I like you, I like our group, even the squabbles with Mecetti and his comrades. But there are things I must do. And, unfortunately, they are important now. Very important."
"So your whole life with us was a lie?"
"Don't exaggerate like that. I said I liked it. You really are my friends, but, unfortunately, I must… I have to move on, Amella. I revealed myself to you because I trust you, your feelings," I'm not an empath, but even now she's practically radiating love. Which is surprising. "Maybe you'll understand me."
"Then I understand everything," Amella took out a handkerchief and wiped her tears. "Now everything is clear. Your actions, your attempts to push me away. Though one thing isn't clear—why did you still enter into a relationship with me? Were you amused by it? You're forbidden from any relationships."
"Mmm… No," I shook my head. "I simply liked you. You're an incredibly persistent and such a proper girl," I walked up to her and stroked her cheek with my hand. "At first it even annoyed me, but getting to know you better, I discovered a growing interest in you. Which I didn't fight. Because if you suppress something, it will later burst out with much greater force and sweep away everything in its path. We're not forbidden to love, Amella. We're forbidden to surrender too much to the mercy of love… So that love doesn't become passion. Because, believe me, there is nothing worse and more disgusting than a Force-sensitive who has fallen under the power of base emotions. Love, as you correctly remember from your favorite novels, is something much more exalted than simple passion."
"And do you love me?" she asked.
I crouched down and hugged the girl. The warmth of her body was mesmerizing, as was her scent. I wanted to undress her right here and… No, now is not the time.
"I love you," I whispered in her ear. "That's exactly why I can't give in. If it were just passion between us, I'm sure I would have just brushed you off, left without you noticing, hit you with a technique so you'd forget me…" though, the latter isn't so bad either, "I didn't even notice how I succumbed to these feelings for you. Hmm…" I stood up and moved a little away from her. "But you know, I love you. But I also perfectly understand that I cannot truly give you everything you deserve from a sentient who says those words to you."
"And that's why you're leaving…"
"The novels you read, unfortunately, are different from real life. Only in them does the knight stay with his lady until the end of his days and they live happily ever after," I sighed heavily. "Often—duty calls the knight to leave. And it also calls me to leave. And all I can do is try to ease your possible pain from all this with words."
"You revealed yourself to me," Amella suddenly said. "Told me about your true origin and said such beautiful words," oh, that tone. It usually precedes a scandal. "But what were you even doing here, Jedi? Why did you play with everyone and then 'become friends' with us?"
"Hmm… Why I'm here is Jedi business. And if you want to understand your value to me—I finished that business a year ago, but I'm still here, with you. And I'll repeat once more—I didn't play with you. Not in friendship with Bail, Delon, Rulana, and Mia… Nor in love with you. You can believe all that, or you can not," I headed toward the exit. "But I have to go. The Matukai are waiting."
"Taivi…"
"My name is Light, not Taivi," I said.
"Light…"
"Right," I stopped at the exit. My heart felt awful. And infiltrating society is also a Shadow task. But I've grown too attached to this society. Though I joined the Shadows because they constantly fight Force-sensitives, all kinds. I thought it would let me gain experience, hone my skills.
"I'll remember, my knight," I chuckled at that address. "You know, Light. At first, I wanted to beat you up badly."
"You still want to…"
"Right, but maybe I've just read too many novels," Amella suddenly laughed. "Go. And remember, no matter what happens, I will always accept you. And as for your name… And your real identity… I won't tell anyone."
"And I wasn't wrong about you," I said. Amazing—I'd constructed possible traits of Amella's character, including those she showed to almost no one, based on data from Rela and studying diplomacy at Aldera University. So this really works?
Though what am I doing? This is nonsense… I revealed myself, almost completely… Giving in to my feelings. If Jonal could see me now—he'd be preparing a belt to whip me for my stupidity. My infiltration was perfect… And yet I couldn't hold out… Perhaps this is a pathetic sight? Or maybe I did the right thing? Who knows… The Galaxy is a strange place. You think you're doing the right thing, but your actions can lead to the most unimaginable consequences.
"Farewell, Amella Doyn," I opened the door. The woman got up from the bed and walked to the exit. Beside me, she stopped and, spinning around abruptly, kissed me on the lips.
"Farewell, Jedi Light. Remember… You can come to me. I may be a little confused, but…"
"Thank you," I simply said, stepping out of the room.
The girl and I left the hotel together; as we descended, I shielded her with the Force, and myself as well. That's what I did whenever I moved in my main Jedi gear.
* * *
The Pika restaurant was located practically on the outskirts of Aldera. In that part of the beautiful city where the poorest strata of the population lived… as far as that even applies to Alderaan as a beautiful and prosperous world. I reached the meeting place with the Matukai quickly. My soul felt bad… Intellectually, I understood that I couldn't take Amella or any of my friends with me from Alderaan. It was stupidly simple—I travel the Galaxy, and I will inevitably form bonds with sentients. Men, women… From planet to planet, from system to system—I will definitely find those I can befriend, or even fall in love with, as with Amella. Because, finally, I realized that you can't live only on the memory of Mila. I have to move on. At the same time, I perfectly understand that I'll have to move forward a lot, sometimes leaving behind all those with whom I've managed to form so-called bonds.
There's just no other way. I'm a Jedi, I decided to be a Jedi, I have goals and plans that I intend to realize as a Jedi. And, most importantly, I don't want to cancel them, I don't want to change them… No matter how much it hurts to realize that I'm leaving someone, I'll forget someone… I have to move forward. For whatever reason… Why? Because there's no one else. All Jedi do this, all Jedi have done this. They did exactly what they did—because no one else did. That's why I decided long ago for myself. May they all be happy… I'll find my happiness too… Someday. Or is my happiness the process itself, the journey? Or the achievement of my goal? I'll answer those questions when I reach the final point. The restaurant's interior looked decent, solid. Throughout the hall, tables were placed in correct order, mostly rectangular. At two of them, even a festive procession was seated.
"Good afternoon," a waiter approached me, dressed in a classic three-piece suit consisting of black trousers, the same shirt, and a white vest. "Do you have a private order, sir, or did you just come to eat?"
"I have a private booth," I looked at the middle-aged man. "I'm expected by Theodor Loy."
The man tried to peer under my hood. But he couldn't see anything special there—the hood reliably hid most of my face.
"Hmm," he said thoughtfully, "based on the description Master Theodor gave, you match. But could you tell me," he raised his right hand to his eyes and activated a datapad attached to his wrist, "where did your first meeting take place?"
"In the orbit of Rishi," I smirked at such a check.
"That's correct," the man nodded. A childish check. Lothar's employer would certainly know exactly where two Matukai and one Jedi, united, destroyed a group under his control. "Follow me, Master Taivi."
I just smiled and followed the waiter. He led me into a corridor with ten doors leading to rooms. I take it these are the private booths.
"Third booth, sir," the man pointed to the open door. And I went in. Inside it was quite richly furnished. In the middle of the room stood a table for four, done in a modern style. It was covered with dishes, which Sheygen was devouring with gusto. The Matukai sat facing the entrance… The waiter winced, looking at Sheygen, but said nothing. The young Matukai ate, barely using utensils, stuffing himself with everything in sight. His mentor just smiled, not trying to rein in his student, and on the contrary, displaying aristocratic manners, wielded his utensils. "Gentlemen, your guest has arrived. He answered the question."
I threw back my hood and sat opposite old Theodor. The man nodded; a full portion was set in front of me. An analogue of pasta, with meat and sauce.
"Try the wine," he offered. "It's excellent here."
"I'd prefer a liqueur from my home planet," I addressed the waiter. "Do you have 'Wind of Tustra' liqueur? It has a wonderful, rich flavor."
"Alas, such a liqueur is not available in our restaurant," the man apologized. "But we do have sweet drinks from Bothawui."
"Bothans good for something other than spying?" came from Sheygen's side—at least he'd chewed before opening his mouth.
"Bring it; we'll see," I asked, and the waiter left. "Your manners suit you," I looked at Theodor. "Just as they would suit your student, Master Theodor."
"Ho-ho," the man chuckled, wiping his lips with a napkin, "you think I haven't tried to instill them in him? But it's all useless. The only thing he's learned is to swing his glaive in all directions."
"Hey, mentor! He's humiliating me… Do you think…"
"There, Sheygen," Theodor interrupted him. "I'm listening. And thinking. With my head, while you think with your glaive."
"Familiar," I snorted. The waiter brought a bottle of a yellowish liquid. A sweetish smell emanated from it.
"As for me, perhaps another bottle of that alcohol from Kashyyyk," Theodor smiled. "Better two."
"But sir," the waiter said, slightly stunned, "it's not that I want to object, but you've already drained two bottles," he glanced at two empty bottles on the table, "are you all right?"
"I came and paid the restaurant so you wouldn't ask questions like that, waiter," the old man said sharply.
The waiter nodded knowingly and left the room, closing the door behind him. After a couple of minutes he returned with two more bottles, set them in front of Theodor, and then left us for good.
"Hmph. Can you use Ionization?" Theodor asked me.
"I've practiced." An instant later, a wave of white energy rippled out from my body, leaving sentient beings untouched, but cameras and listening devices must have burned out immediately.
"A friend recommended this establishment, saying you can't be overheard here. I must say, I'm surprised they don't serve your Tustran liqueur, Light. After all, this is a waypoint for Alderaan smugglers."
"Hmph," I grunted, scanning the room with my gaze. "I'd say the absence of alcohol from my homeworld is the least of the problems you're about to drop on my shoulders, Theodor." The man nodded. "We parted ways about two years ago. You helped me by translating part of your founder's treatise for my training. I won't hide it—it was useful for mastering Force techniques aimed at the physical aspect. But I thought that was our last meeting, respected Matukai. Considering which Jedi Corps I belong to... and what the formal Head of that Corps demands. I can explain his demands—they literally boil down to," I crouched slightly, "killing you both, right here, right now. I'm far less radical than Master Jonal. But you know him."
"Better than you do, Light," Theodor Loy nodded. "Met him a couple of times. A long time ago. Don't worry. We've taken precautions—no one will find out we're meeting with you."
"Then let's get to the question that's bothering me. How did you track me down?" I asked angrily. "You know, I'm here incognito, as it were. Even to the Jedi. Why were you Matukai able to find me?"
"Is that really important?" Sheygen cut in.
"It's important to me," I said, freezing him with a look. "If I can be easily found by those who aren't part of the Jedi Order..." I stared straight into Sheygen's eyes. Theodor's student couldn't hold my gaze and looked away. "Then," I clasped my hands together, "this is very serious. The scale of the problem is serious."
"Well then," the senior Matukai spoke up. "I think we'll start by answering how we tracked you. Since we parted, we've been thoroughly investigating the matter of Boss Lothar. You understand—the secrets of our Order are important to us. And someone is killing Matukai and taking our artifacts and knowledge. We managed to pick up the trail. Found several of his hideouts. Lately, your colleagues have joined in too." Theodor poured himself a glass of Wookiee drink and saluted me. "We worked... in a sort of tandem, scoured the Outer Rim. And you know what? We found an abandoned tracking station. A kind of base, a transit point where our enemy couldn't completely control the destruction of information. For some reason... apparently related to the fact that three charred, almost completely burned bodies of Shadows from the Jedi Order were there. We were three days late, but we managed to get a datachip from the base."
"Is that so," I said with interest. "Any leads on the identity?"
"Unfortunately," Theodor shook his head. "Most of the information was still destroyed. The datachip wasn't an ordinary one... We gave it to Sheygen's acquaintance... Sheygen's good acquaintance." Sheygen smirked crookedly. Only now I noticed a faint mark under his left eye, like a cut.
"Life treating you well?" I took a sip of Bothan liqueur. Not bad.
"Not just you get to mess around with beauties, you know," the man snorted.
"In any case," Theodor interrupted us. "We found that he had reliable data on the whereabouts of many Jedi. Shadows—where they're going and why. Consular and Guardian missions. Everything!" Theodor slammed the table. "Can you imagine? A significant part of your Order, concerning operational work, has been compromised. But... we were able to roughly predict his logic." The man raised his left hand and activated a datapad. A star map appeared before me. "Look here."
"Hmm?" I looked closely at the map. "What system is this?"
"Wild Space," Sheygen said. "The system has no name, it's almost on the border with the Unknown Regions. And it's interesting to the Matukai."
"Hah, who would've doubted that," I chuckled.
"Of course, it's our heritage," the senior Matukai said. "Possibly, one of the planets is the capital of the 'Ancient Tsai Kingdom'—a state that, according to legend, was once founded by the children of the founder, Tsai Lyn."
"Oh, so your founder has a name now?" I thought the Chinese style was closer to the Yuuzhan Vong.
"Exploring tombs holds incredible wonders. Until now, we didn't know our honored founder's name, let alone her holograph—no one had ever seen it," Theodor chuckled. "And trust me, it's worth a look."
"Old lecher," Sheygen muttered.
"Shut up," Theodor snorted and, pressing buttons on the datapad, brought up before me an image of a beautiful, slender woman in scarlet clothing. The woman had black hair and blue eyes. She was wearing something like a light sundress. On her upper body was... an "armor-bra," hiding her breasts... Well, well—a special super-technique of any self-respecting man. "Boob size detect-o-matic.".. Four.
"I see," I nodded. Truly, a beauty to match. And according to tradition—yes, a woman engaged in incredible labor and martial arts, yet maintaining an exclusively feminine body, not a hint of an excess of male hormones... Well, that's for the best.
"I think it's a five, respected Light."
Sheygen choked.
"It's a four," I said in an authoritative tone.
"Hey! Don't you dare argue with the master on such a matter!" his student sputtered.
"In argument, truth is born, my eternal student," Theodor said instructively. "After all, as we know, it's always somewhere in the middle, and one person rarely finds it on their own!"
"Don't turn this into another moral lesson," Sheygen exclaimed.
"But you think it's a four? You think that someone as experienced as I can't tell a five from a four?"
"An old ox doesn't ruin a furrow," I sighed, "but an old ox's eyes and limbs can fail him. My sight is clear, though. I've sharpened it over time. So it's a four."
"I see you're firm in your convictions," Theodor sighed, after staring into my eyes for a couple of seconds. "It suits you."
"Founder, forgive these..." Sheygen sighed heavily, folding his hands in a prayer gesture. "But I'll get much stronger and, in your name, I'll knock the foolishness out of them! Both of them at once!" the young Matukai promised. Naive child.
"Let's return to our debate later, young Light. For now: why we contacted you. We found data about you in that hideout. We contacted you because you are the only Jedi we know who, with at least a fifty percent probability, is not a hypothetical spy. Or the only Jedi we could contact without risking getting killed by the Shadows. We need your help, Light. Our enemy is definitely headed to that system, to the capital planet." Theodor zoomed in on the fourth planet from the system's star. "Will you help us? In return," Theodor placed a datachip on the table, "I'll give you advanced techniques of our Order. Not just part of our founder's research, but almost everything we have," the man said seriously. "Plus—I'll translate for you what we can find on planet Tsai."
"If it is planet Tsai," I noted.
"We gleaned information about it from the data we pulled from our enemy's former hideout, Light. And I'm certain he plans to visit it. Now is a unique time—your ship is quite fast. We can intercept him, force him into battle on our terms. And also—gain incredibly valuable knowledge. You'll destroy the one who's been hindering your Order, and you'll get techniques to strengthen your body. It won't hold a lightsaber, but you'll be able to withstand a lot. For instance—enter a village ravaged by a lethal disease and come out alive and unharmed."
"It seems he's touched a nerve, Theodor," I noted.
"He's touched everyone's nerve," Sheygen said sharply, slamming his hand on the table. "We don't know who he is, how old he is. But the fact remains—for years, he's been hunting the legacies of the gifted across the entire Galaxy. Killing us if we get in his way. And if to do that we have to team up with Jedi Shadows... even with the Sith, by the Force, we'd agree to it!"
"And I agree to team up with you, Theodor, Sheygen." I was already on my third glass of liqueur. "When are you ready to leave? And what are the hyperspace jump coordinates? Do you have an approximate route?"
"Glad we've reached an agreement, respected Light. We can start right now..."
"Wonderful." I stood up from the table. "Then I'll order the droid to prepare my ship for departure right now. From here to that system, it's about a week's flight. You'll find something to do?"
"Of course. We need to finish our debate."
At that, Sheygen face-palmed.
"Then get ready, because I don't intend to back down." I'll try out some diplomatic techniques on him that I gleaned from Rela's notes. Not all of them can be used—after all, I'm not a slender, pretty Twi'lek. But some should work.