Galen stared at the pile of laundry in front of him. On board the Executor, the Jedi never had to clean any clothing from his missions. Normally, they were incinerated once they surpassed their use. Such was the way of the Sith.
So, here he sat in the courtyard for the past two hours, staring at the water, washboard, and basin. He fought against the Sith, the Jedi, and the limitless armies of the Empire. He could fight against overwhelming odds with only a lightsaber, produce lightning from his hands, and even move objects with his mind. Hell, he even ripped a Star Destroyer out of the sky using only the Force.
Yet washing clothes… was a skill he unfortunately lacked.
Galen put the garments in the basin, filling it with cold water. That seemed right. But now what?
The Jedi awkwardly lifted the washboard. He tried to reach out with the Force to understand its use. After all, some Force-sensitives could use a technique known as Psychometry to see into an object's past and determine its use.
To Galen's dismay, he didn't have this ability.
He grumbled in frustration, putting the board in the basin. That looked to be right… right?
Galen growled as the basin sat there, doing nothing. Maybe it needed a little… encouragement. After all, the ancient Sith created weapons able to tap into the Force with no physically apparent machinery. Could this thing work the same way?
He balled up his right fist, concentrating the Force into it, as electricity crackled across his fingers.
Just a little bit of power should make this work… he hoped as he extended one finger, causing a single arc to fly across into the water.
When Galen regained consciousness, he saw, to his surprise, that where the basin had sat, was now a small, charred crater.
What kind of world doesn't use droids for this kind of work? he mentally grumbled, as he collected the bits of scorched fabric as best he could.
As near as the Jedi could figure, he hadn't reduced his power far enough, and had inadvertently blasted the entire basin with Force Lightning.
In hindsight, subtlety wasn't his strong point.
This Louise wasn't Vader, so maybe she won't be so angry over what happened. Or, at least, she couldn't harm him in the same way Vader did.
The Jedi returned to Louise's room and shoved the wreckage under her bed as he sat down in the corner, closing his eyes.
Since meditating while washing the clothes was out of the question, he would have to make do with the corner Louise had denoted as "his", judging from the straw spread out as a makeshift bed.
Overall, it was not the worst place Galen had slept. A little cold, but manageable. He closed his eyes, thinking about what Louise had said earlier.
Judging from her ignorance on Vader and the Empire, this… Halkeginia must be a world beyond their control.
To have traveled so far through space… Did the Force bring him here for a reason? Shouldn't he have died?
Well, his eventual goal would be to find a starport. Galen hoped that, by hopping on a freighter, he'd be able to find and rejoin his rebel allies. They'd need a leader...
For now, though, it would be best to lie low, pretend to be this girl's familiar. He needed more information about this world. While the other people he saw didn't look too threatening, there was that feeling of power each one emanated. He didn't know what kind of opponents he was against here. If they were normal civilians, he could dispatch them easily, but something told the Jedi that there were more than they appeared.
Besides, Galen knew whatever abuse this role could throw at him couldn't be worse than Vader. Sure, Louise had a lot of pent-up anger and hatred building up within her small frame, but Galen knew she lacked the intensity his former master possessed.
Having made his mind on the current situation, Galen thought over the incident involving the basin, before shaking his head.
He would tell her about that… in his own time. While he had already concluded that Louise wasn't as dangerous as Vader, he didn't want to test the limits of her patience. Saying you accidentally incinerated her clothes would likely cause that anger to be vented on him.
So, Galen concluded, ignorance is bliss. For now.
"Good morning, my master..." Galen began, opening the curtains, letting a stream of light into the room, as the strawberry-blonde girl groggily rolled over in confusion. The Jedi knew enough of familiars from other cultures to know it was a type of master-servant relationship. Naturally, he went with the behaviors that worked with Vader, but they were altered to be applicable for this girl. Waking up his 'master' was one of the duties of a familiar, after all.
If that didn't work, well… there was always Force Lightning.
"Wha-?" she groaned, holding her hand up to block the light. "Who are you?"
"Forgot about me already?" Galen replied, as he tugged the blankets off the noble girl. While he would have preferred to use the Force, he didn't want to accidentally rip the whole bed away. Besides, the girl would be shocked if he did that. This world probably never even heard about Jedi, much less the Force. He wisely decided that scaring his 'master' wouldn't be a good idea… for now.
"You summoned me yesterday, don't you remember?" he explained, concealing his annoyance at her cavalier manner.
Louise blinked several times, as her mind processed this information. Then, as if a light turned on, her eyes widened in comprehension.
"Oh, the familiar… the peasant I summoned..." she muttered, standing up, moving to the basin and washing her face.
Galen leaned against the wall, patiently waiting for the brat to finish. When she did, Louise stood in the center of the room, staring at him expectantly.
"What?" he asked coarsely.
"Dress me!" she replied.
Galen almost fell over laughing. The idea that he, who had fought against armies this girl couldn't imagine, was little more than a dresser for her amused the Jedi.
Then he realized that she was serious.
"I don't know how your clothes go on, so dress yourself!" he replied, stepping towards the window, overlooking the academy.
This place was old, built entirely out of stone. It wasn't the precision-cut architecture like the Jedi Temple, or the Sith fortresses he had explored. Rather, it was roughly-hewn at some points, but unnaturally smooth at others, almost like it was made out of something similar to plasma cutters but not quite.
"The nobility never dress themselves! That's what they have servants for!" Louise angrily replied. Galen felt her flaring anger and frustration, but felt something… off about her, as if her fury was concealing something deeper. It was just like he felt when they first met. Something insider her was raging, trapped, much like a Gundark in a cage. It yearned for freedom, but couldn't break out of its prison.
"You mean..." he replied, turning to face Louise. "You've never bothered to dress yourself? What are you, a Hutt in a human body?"
Louise stared coldly at Galen, who was disturbingly unfazed by her glare. Unable to intimidate him, the noble elected to change her approach.
"I guess you won't be needing to eat, then..." she said carelessly.
Galen stared at the clothes for several minutes. Food wasn't much of a concern. If need be, the Jedi could steal something edible from any number of civilians. But if he was staying to gather information, Galen knew he would need to fully commit to playing his role. Even if it meant catering to the whims of this brat.
"Fine, get over here," he replied, grabbing the skirt and, recalling how she was dressed the previous day, managed to figure out where everything went.
Louise smiled.
"That's better. Now," she said, grabbing her wand, "let's go down to breakfast."
Galen merely rolled his eyes. If she knew what he was really trained to do… But no, not now…
The sheer decadence and ornate designs of the dining hall intrigued Galen, as he and Louise walked past pile after pile of food. Outside of Imperial festivals and all-you-can-eat diners, the Jedi had never seen such a high concentration of food. Not even the gluttonous Hutts had this much edibles laying around their palaces. Just how much did these people eat?
"Is there some kind of special occasion today?" Galen inquired, as Louise stood expectantly at a nearby chair.
"Would you hurry up and pull the chair back? You really are inconsiderate!" she grumbled.
Frowning, Galen complied with the little brat's wishes. He hoped that a starport was very close. The Jedi wasn't sure how long he could keep up this act.
He went to sit down near Louise, when he suddenly detected a tinge of anger mixed with embarrassment emanate from her, coupled with poorly-concealed laughter from the other students gathered.
He looked at the girl, only to see her grumpily indicating a plate on the floor.
"Only nobles are allowed to eat at this table. You, peasant, eat down there," she ordered.
At first, Galen wished to object, that this was poor treatment for anyone. But… an idea crossed his mind. Concealing a smirk, the Jedi sat down on the floor. He subtly reached his hand out and, using the Force, probed Louise's chair for weak points.
Finding a sufficient joint, Galen poured the Force into it, making sure not to overdo it like he did with the wash basin…
CRACK!
Louise's chair collapsed, dumping herself onto the floor next to Galen. He tried his best to look surprised at the noble.
"I guess we're both eating on the floor," he remarked humorously.
The noble shook dusted herself off.
"S-shut up!" she hissed, and picked another chair, a bit more cautiously this time.
While she kept her haughty demeanor, Galen could feel that the incident nettled her. It wasn't much, but if he could get back at her from time to time by doing such tricks with the Force, then maybe this familiar role wouldn't be too bad after all…
As student snickered at her, Galen suddenly felt Louise's emotions change drastically. He could sense that she was on the verge of tears, as though this mocking were just the latest in a series of humiliations for this girl.
"Normally, the familiars wait outside during meals until their masters are finished," Louise explained sullenly, as both she and Galen left the dining hall. "I made a special exception and let you stay."
"That's, uh, kind of you, but I'll just eat outside from now on," Galen replied. While the food was a nice change from ration packs, the bread was still pretty lousy and unsatisfying. He promised himself that, the first thing he'd do after getting off this backwards rock, would be to hit up the closest restaurant for some real food.
Louise glowered at her familiar's behavior, as they approached an array of tables and chairs sitting in the sun.
"What's going on?" he asked, as Louise followed his glance.
"Second year students have the day off today. We're supposed to communicate with the freshly-summoned familiars."
The Jedi grimaced.
"Well, we're already talking, so, unless you want my life story, let's just skip this."
"Oh?" a velvety, feminine voice replied, as Galen turned, facing a giant red lizard-like creature with a flaming tail. To the Jedi, it bore some resemblance to a Dune Lizard, minus the sail on its back.
He furrowed his brow, bending his knees into a defensive posture.
"What is that?" he asked, as flames wreathed the creature's mouth. If this… thing tried to attack either he or Louise, he wanted to be ready to throw that beast into orbit.
The woman, with tanned skin and fiery red hair and a very… top heavy demeanor, smiled. "Is this the first time you've seen a Salamander?"
"Whatever it is, you should keep an eye on it. I don't want to hurt it," Galen replied, trying to phrase his words in a way that didn't sound like he'd kill it in creatively brutal ways. At least it wasn't a rancor…
"It's perfectly safe," the woman replied, "Under the contract, familiars faithfully obey every order from the master. Right, Flame?" she cooed to her salamander, which wagged its tail happily in response.
Louise gritted her teeth, as Galen sensed her anger flaring up.
"Why don't you just shut up!" she snapped, as the woman drew herself to full height. Galen noted that her… assets were almost the same size as Louise's head. How could she manage such… excessive physical presence?
Galen looked at Louise. Her petite body and flat physique made her perfect for fights. Her compact frame meant it would be easy to keep her balance, and erratic momentum wouldn't be as much of a problem. Plus, her lack of curves gave her a perfect way to appear plain and fade into any crowd… if it weren't for her pink hair.
Overall, Galen concluded that, if Louise was trained as an assassin, she'd easily be one of the most dangerous opponents he would face.
"You know, I think you just grabbed some peasant that was nearby and pretended to summon him. You covered up your lie well with that explosion."
Louise stamped her foot furiously, bringing Galen out of his thoughts.
"That's not true! I did a proper summons! It just happened that he showed up!" she pointed to Galen.
Ok, this woman was starting to annoy him. She was stirring up Louise's anger, which the noble was directing towards him.
"What Louise says is true," he interjected, "I come from beyond this world of yours. If you have a star map, I can show you the exact coordinates."
Both ladies stared at the Jedi.
"What's a… star map?"
Galen balked as the woman laughed.
"Your familiar's talking nonsense. He's a perfect match for Louise the Zero!" she said as she walked away, her familiar in tow.
Louise's anger boiled over as she growled at the woman leaving. She quickly turned to Galen, screaming, "Don't just stand there! Bring me tea!"
Wincing at the strength of her fury, the Jedi quickly moved to find some of the drink for her.
As he walked, Galen reflected on this turn of events.
Nobody knew what a star map was. There was no Empire, no Vader, and no sign of technology like the rest of the galaxy.
Either this was some kind of crazy technology-hating cult, or this entire planet was new.
The Unknown Regions were largely unexplored regions of space, so maybe he's stuck on one of those odd worlds, untouched by the larger galaxy. Either way, he was definitely trapped here for the time being.
He then pondered Louise's emotions.
This fury he felt, while as hot as Vader's, lacked the controlled, distant malice of his former master, nor was it like the cold, merciless wrath of the Emperor. Rather, this felt more unfocused, insecure…
Galen recalled Vader's lesson on Dugs: at their core was knots of unfocused rage. It wasn't centered in a drive of hatred like a Sith's, but rather in insecurity. They were valueless, and they knew it. Because of this, they were quick to pick a fight, but in the long run, they would always be defeated.
The Jedi also mulled over Louise's title by that strange woman: Louise the Zero. Zero held no value… Since her anger was based on insecurity, then the source of her wrath was that she viewed herself as having no value, hence the "Zero".
That does explain the trapped feeling inside her…
A gasp of surprise broke Galen's train of thought as he ran right into a girl with dark hair and wore some kind of garb that the Jedi deduced was a servant's dress, judging from the drab colors and different design than that worn by the others here.
Plus, she was holding a now-empty plate.
"I'm sorry..." the girl meekly replied as she bent over to retrieve the cake on the ground. Galen moved quickly and retrieved it before she could. He did briefly use the Force to pull the slice towards him, but he exerted so little of it that it escaped the girl's notice.
"It's my fault," Galen assured the girl, placing the cake back upon its plate. "I should have watched where I was going."
That was something that puzzled the Jedi. By all rights, he should have sensed the servant's movements. Yet, he didn't sense her walking by. He reached out with the Force, and felt that she did indeed have a presence in it, so he should have sensed her location. So why couldn't he…
"Um, would you happen to be the one summoned by Miss Valliere and became her familiar?"
Galen nodded. That was the second time this girl had interrupted his thoughts.
"I take it you've heard of me?" he asked, hoping that maybe, just maybe… there was an Imperial presence here. That would mean there's a starport somewhere.
"Are you kidding?" she replied excitedly, "that's all anyone's talking about: a peasant getting summoned as a familiar."
The Jedi concealed his disappointment. So much for the Empire.
"You wouldn't happen to know where I can find a starport to get off this planet, would you?" he asked. Since his other hopes were dashed, Galen figured he might as well go for broke.
The girl stared blankly before shaking her head.
"No, the only port in Tristain is La Rochelle, but that only flies to the continent of Albion."
Galen sighed. This place hadn't even heard of interstellar travel. There's no way off this planet, then. But that also meant that they had not yet been discovered by the Empire. The fact they had flying ships meant there was some kind of repulsorlift here, so maybe…
"What can you tell me about these nobles and peasants?" he asked, as the girl handed cakes out to the various nobles sitting in chairs. This could be his chance to learn about his new surroundings. The more he knew, the sooner he could ditch Louise.
"It's simple, really: Those who can use magic are nobility, and those who can't are just peasants," she explained.
"Magic, huh?" Galen wondered, as he reached out with the Force. He could feel the varying strengths of each noble: some felt as strong and unyielding as stone, others felt as relaxing yet flexible as water, a few seemed to be as quick and forceful as the wind, the rest were as hot and passionate as fire itself.
Yet there was one that felt… different. It had the Force, yet didn't have any of the elemental traits associated with it. It was almost like this person was void of this world's magic.
The Jedi let himself slip back to his body, and looked at the girl. She didn't feel like this last person.
"So, I take it you're a peasant?" he concluded.
The girl nodded, "My name is Siesta, and I have the honor and privilege of serving the nobility here."
Her face seemed to light up. "You're a peasant, just like me!"
Galen smirked. She was going to be so disappointed when she found out what he could do. Although, he didn't have a fancy title like most nobles, so she was partially right.
"I'm Galen Marek."
"Galen… Marek?" Siesta replied, fumbling with the unusual syllables, "You know, that's a very strange name."
"Would you rather call me Starkiller?" he asked, watching in amusement at the maid's reaction to his codename.
"Galen it is, then!" Siesta replied, as the both of them laughed.
"Hey!" a blonde boy shouted, with what looked like a giant mole sitting on his lap. "Aren't you going to bring me my cake?"
"Oh, coming right up!" Siesta replied meekly, as she began to bring the man his dessert. Galen noticed that the boy's presence felt gilded, as if his golden exterior hid a weak core. The Jedi noticed that, while his attention was focused on the blonde in front of him, a small portion of him was nervously looking out for someone, as if paranoid of being seen.
He noted the rose the blonde carried around. It appeared to have been specially treated and preserved to keep its luster.
As Siesta moved away, Galen felt another presence enter the courtyard. This one was younger, more eager about the world. She carried some kind of baked good the Jedi couldn't identify in her hands.
The girl looked around in confusion, as she wandered around asking about a "Lord Guiche".
Immediately, Galen felt the blonde boy's fear flare up, as he and the blonde girl he was with began to move towards the exit.
It didn't take a tactical genius to put two and two together. Whatever interest this girl had in this Guiche, he was trying to avoid it.
The Jedi smiled darkly. If he was going to be stuck on this godforsaken rock, then by the Nine Corellian Hells, he would need to entertain himself!
"Excuse me," Galen called to the girl, "but does this Lord Guiche have blonde hair and carry a rose?" he asked. He had to hold back his laughter as the girl furiously nodded.
"Then, he's right over there," he replied, pointing over to the blonde couple.
It was time to sit back and watch the fireworks.
"Oh, uh, Katie..."
"I've been looking for you, Lord Guiche! I even brought my homemade souffle!"
"Oh! Well..."
"Guiche! What is the meaning of this?"
"This is just a misunderstanding..."
"So there really is something going on with this first year girl!"
"Please, Montmorency,"
"Oh, how could you! You told me I was the only one!"
"I can explain..."
SLAP
Even Galen winced at the force behind that slap. A nasty red weld marred Guiche's face as he glared at the Jedi.
"It seems that you," he began picking himself up off the grass, "Do not know how to pay the proper respects to nobility."
Galen shrugged.
"The only nobility I respect are far stronger than you. And I've beaten them." He neglected to mention that those nobles were Sith Lords, but, hey, they wouldn't understand anyway.
Guiche smirked as his arrogance swelled.
"Then I challenge you to a duel!"
Galen cocked an eyebrow in surprise.
"A duel? You've got to be kidding..." The last thing the Jedi wanted was to hurt someone. If he went too hard against this kid, well… they'd be picking up his pieces across their academy.
"That's right, a duel! You are nothing but a peasant, and a mere familiar to boot! Yet, you have mocked me, and have made two noble ladies cry, you cad!"
Galen gritted his teeth. This kid needed to be publicly humiliated. He didn't seem as durable as Vader or the Emperor… This was going to be tricky…
"Name the time and place."
So, I updated this. The truth was that I had a hard time coming up with how to keep Galen powerful without him basically being… too powerful. Let's face it, Galen could have crushed Guiche right then and there. But that's too boring and predictable.
Additionally, I didn't really have much of an opportunity to dedicate time to write this, which is why it took so long.
I still don't have much story figured out for the next few chapters, but I've got like 80 pages of notes on concepts for the future past the first story arc. In particular, things are going to change during Tristain's war against Albion. But enough of that for now.
I would like to shout out to Arcane37, who helped me get back on track with this story. Now, I'm not sure when I will be able to get the next chapter up, but it WON'T be soon, but it also WON'T be a year from now. It'll be sometime in between.
In the meantime, feel free to come up with your own ideas and speculation where I'm going with this. I really want to surprise everyone with where I'm going.
EDIT: Updated details here and there, and added a scene where Galen gets back at Louise. Childish, probably. Worth it? Yes!