Isa let out a low whistle. The Jedi library was...big. Books, datapads, holocrons, even stone and clay tablets, were stacked floor to ceiling as far as the eye could see. The air was heavy, quiet, even despite the destruction that she and the rest of the Imperial forces had caused. Peaceful. Said Imperial forces were probably rounding up the padawans she'd captured and complaining about her no torture rule. Goh was off looking for something, and considering the level of crazy that usually happened when Sith were in a library, she wasn't sure she wanted to know what it was. Which left her all but alone with all these books.
Mako studied the stacks with an appraising glint in her eye. "You know, if you believe the stories, some of these artifacts go all the way back to the founding of the Jedi Order. A lot of people would pay a fortune to get their hands on this stuff. If the Sith aren't paying you to trash the place, you could probably line up a buyer for some of it before we even left the system."
"Not this time. It's not good business, mixing smuggling and bounty hunting." Isa sighed. It was a lousy excuse and they both knew it. And, well, if you couldn't let the kid you'd known for over three years see behind the armor, who could you? She took off her helmet and set it on a nearby bench. "If we sell these, they'll just go in some crime lord's vault and trotted out to impress people who think they're big shots." Her hand hovered over a volume of poetry. The Tale of Ulic Qel-Droma. One of the more recent additions and it still predated the Jedi Civil War. "Poetry should be read, recited."
Mako's eyebrow went up. "I had no idea you cared about that kind of thing. Just credits. The way you just blew off Mandalore, I didn't think you cared much about traditions either."
"Mandalorians care too much about the fight and not enough about what the fight gets you. Credits get you a lot of things. Things like this." Her earliest memories were of wandering Coruscant with other street kids that the Republic preferred not to think about. Sometimes they would find a datacron or an ash-covered vase. Nothing big, just things that happened to survive the war. But she had hoarded them and tried to study them, even when most of it went over her head. Nuggets of aurodium in a world of permacrete. But, sooner or later, people with soft voices and flashy gowns would come and take them away, tossing the poor urchin a few hundred credits for her trouble. Something like this belonged in a museum or a collection. Someone like her couldn't possibly appreciate it. They would take it to the world it belonged to.
Isa had understood. She'd stowed away on the next freighter to the Outer Rim. She'd buy or force or wheedle her way into that world and she would always have books. She would be respected. A lady. Loved.
"I care about beautiful things. Knowledge." She closed her eyes. She had succeeded beyond her childhood dreams. She had a nice apartment on Dromund Kaas. She was a baroness, even if it was on a technicality. The Empire came to her when they needed something done, not the much-vaunted Wrath or a member of the Dark Council. But in a thousand little sneers and sighs, then let her know that she was valued only for her blaster. The world of politics or of art, that wasn't for the Grand Champion. She should be grateful. She should.
Mako watched her with a soft, almost unreadable expression. Then she smiled. "I don't see anyone around. And this stuff is meant to be read. I think Arkous can deal with you reading a book. Especially if I remind him that the Empire owes us more-hazards-than-usual pay. You deserve a vacation. I'm going to go make sure there are no more surprises in the place. Enjoy." Mako practically smirked as she left. Someday that mouth was going to get the kid in trouble.
Not today though. Isa took the volume of poetry from the shelves as gently as she could. It didn't disintegrate. She plopped down on the bench and stared at the volume for a long time. Something about this was valuable enough for the Jedi to keep it. Here was knowledge she had always been told was never meant for a Force-blind thug. She read.
This is a tale of the journey from Light to Dark and back again. However long the path, none are beyond hope.
"I've always liked that one," said a soft voice behind her.
Isa shot to her feet and groped blindly for her helmet. Satele or Marr she could have handled. But it was Beniko whose holoprojection stared back at her. Even drained of almost all color, she was beautiful with her tousled hair and skin that should be too smooth for a Sith. Isa's face burned. She was suddenly conscious of this scars and bits of metal that slashed across her face that made most people back away slowly. Beniko, though, she was a natural in a place like this. The kind of woman Isa had dreamed about when she had thought credits alone could open any door. "How long have you been listening?"
"Long enough to be glad that you aren't a smuggler." A smile played at her lips. "I sensed there was far more to you than being an exceptional bounty hunter. Now I know one of the reasons."
"You aren't angry that I'm poking my nose where it doesn't belong?"
"I value knowledge, whether it comes from the Light or Dark Side of the Force. And I value talent and determination no matter who shows it. You've worked for what you have. That's commendable in these days. Half the apprentices are coasting on connections. No desire to truly learn at all."
The heat on Isa's face deepened. She tried to remember the last time anyone had complimented something other than her capacity to kill. She couldn't. "I—thank you."
"It's merely the truth." Beniko's expression grew serious as she put her hands behind her back. "But there are events in motion. A strange pull in the Force. Every hand will be needed. I'll debrief you when you're back."
Isa sighed and put the book away. Duty called, even for a bounty hunter.
"Events in motion" turned out to be the Republic sacking the Sith Academy and killing a Dark Council member. Isa lost track of the hours she spent locked in Arkous' war room, hashing and rehashing the battle plan. Beniko hovered at the edge of her vision, saying little but always watching. Isa dared a handful of glances in her direction. She looked as she always did, and if what she had discovered about the Empire's favor mercenary had altered her opinion at all, she didn't show it.
Finally though, Arkous leaned back in his chair. "You may not understand the gravity of the insult the Republic has paid us, but I expect you to show no mercy to these invaders. Lana will handle the details of your fee."
"He's right. This is a serious blow," Beniko said when he'd gone. "All my studies in the Force began there. To have it ransacked..." She clenched her fist and bowed her head. "I never thought I would see it."
Oh. Sometimes it was easy to forget that even Sith Lords were only flesh and blood. "It was your home."
"I haven't truly had a home for years. But when I entered the Academy, I felt like I was finally where I was meant to be." Her smile was sad. "That reminds me. Given the scale of the recent offenses, I believe a bonus is in order."
She stood and walked until Isa imagined that she could feel the heat of her. "Credits seemed inadequate, given all you've done." She removed a dark object from her robes and handed it to Isa.
Isa stared in disbelief as she read. "The tale of Ulic Qel-Droma, as annotated by Master Bastila Shan." She blinked once, twice. The volume was still there. "I don't know what to say."
"Jedi she may have been, but I found her theories on the Force most enlightening and surprisingly comprehensible to a nonspecialist."
Isa swallowed. The girl she had been wouldn't have dared dream of a gift like this. Wouldn't have dreamed of a woman like Beniko simply handing it to her with a smile. "Thank you," she said and took it. Their fingers brushed just the tiniest bit. A casual touch Isa could barely feel through gloves and gauntlets, but she still suppressed a shiver. Beniko's smile brightened. Maybe, just maybe books weren't the only impossible thing she could have. "Maybe we could discuss it when I get back?"
"There's much I have to discover about whatever is lurking in the shadows but…" Her fingers closed around Isa's and squeezed. "I think I'd like that."