Part Four: The Smuggler and the Elf
Daneel stood on a balcony of the second floor of the jedi temple. He looked stoically out across the plain towards his home he shared with Demira. Several hours had passed since he learned of his sister's death, and after calming Dorak, his old friend from their academy days, he came up to this place to be alone for a while. With his arms crossed over his chest he breathed normally as his white hair billowed in the late afternoon breeze. He thought back to the last time he had seen his sister on Tython. Both stood near the docking bays in the orbital station wearing traditional brocart robes. Zufa's brown hair was tied back in a ponytail, and her visor was the same type and style he wore and continued to wear to this day. He was about to leave on the trip that eventually led him to this world, and she was departing for the planet Ilum to help with a crisis that had developed regarding adegan crystals. They embraced one last time before parting, and before he let her go he quietly asked her the name of her husband. She smiled coyly at him and refused to tell him anything except that he would like her spouse and that both men had a lot in common. At the door of his ship's docking bay he turned back to wave good-bye not knowing it would be the last time he would ever see her again.
Now as he looked out across the valley he found some solace in that she was one with the Force, but that knowledge did little to ease the aching of his heart. At least now he knew who she had married, and that man was with the others on the main level. He and Dorak trained together for most of their years as padawans. The human was a weaponmaster even in those early years having mastered the various lightsaber combat forms. He preferred to fight with two individual blades, but he was still almost unmatched with just a single blade or with a saberstaff. It was he who was chosen to lead the strike team against the Emperor of the Sith Empire, and it was he who was successful. Many of the fighting skills Daneel knew were because Dorak had taught them to him. And as he thought about his marriage to Zufa, Daneel was pleased that his sister had picked Dorak for in his mind there was no better match for his sibling. She had been happy in her marriage, and now Daneel could see why because he knew that his friend grieved as much or more than he did over her death. They loved each other greatly.
Suddenly Daneel chuckled. Reminiscing about the past jarred a memory, and with it he realized that Dorak and Zufa had courted each other and loved each other a long time and right under his very nose. The two men were sitting on a ledge over a waterfall not far from the academy building on Tython. They had just finished their lessons for the day and both had been given the rest of the afternoon to explore the area. Near the academy was a small stream that ran from a shallow pond at the base of the waterfall. They were exploring the edges of that pond when they found a cave, and both feeling adventurous, they had followed the cave around several bends and inclines until they had emerged just above the waterfall. The cliff still rose behind them as they sat on the ledge looking down at other padawans as they explored or followed the bidding of their masters. Both were headstrong with aspirations of being heroes in the galaxy and the jedi order. Where Dorak was the master of the martial arts, Daneel was the studious one, and at times like this they would debate about which focus would serve better if the cold war between the Republic and the Empire ever erupted into full-out war.
This day was no different until Daneel noticed that Dorak had suddenly grown quiet. He followed the other's gaze to find Zufa down below as she assisted another young woman near the edge of the pond. The other one was new, and at the time Daneel thought Dorak's attention was drawn to her, but looking back now he realized that even then the man was smitten with his sister. But at the time, a chiss was very uncommon to find in Republic space, and even more was one training to become a jedi, and he thought Dorak's attention had been drawn to the newcomer. But there she was, Kai'moira, new to the order and already befriended by Zufa. As the rest of their training continued they grew even closer, the four of them. And while no one else ever knew it, Daneel and Kai'moira had even lost their virginity to each other. Never was their bond so close to calling it romantic, but both understood they had physical needs and from time to time during the following years whenever they would meet they would satisfy those physical urges. Both believed in the jedi code and so never entertained the thought of a romantic relationship between them, their physical interludes were just that with little emotional attachment. Of course there was the heat of the moment and their sexual encounters were intense and sometimes passionate, but afterwards they both knew that they were jedi and they answered to a higher calling. A smile crossed his face as Daneel realized that he had been so very wrong, and it took meeting Demira to prove it. Kai'moira would always be a friend, but his wife would always be the woman he loved. He reached out through the Force and thanked his sister for teaching him perhaps the most valuable lesson he could ever learn, that when he met the right woman and felt those pangs of love in his chest to allow that emotional attachment to grow into something wonderful and miraculous and life changing. Being that she was one with the Force, Daneel knew that out there…somewhere…Zufa heard him.
After a few hours of solitude Daneel rejoined the others, and they held an impromptu wake for his fallen sister. Kitali and Zharn had arrived while the jedi grand master reminisced about his sister, and they were introduced to the newcomers. Not surprisingly, Grogg gravitated to Kai'moira and Celeste to Dorak. Grogg had an interest in the healing arts, and being that she was a master healer, Kai'moira and he conversed throughout the night about the various healing aspects of the Force and how to utilize those to help others in need. As for Celeste, she noticed right away that Dorak had two lightsabers on his belt, one at each hip. She approached the weaponmaster and showed him the saberstaff she had crafted, and soon they were talking about different stances and forms. However, although both jedi sought the elders for knowledge about the Force, in the end the conversation for both gravitated to the same subject…what was Daneel like as they grew up at the academy? The grand master tried to deny many things that Dorak and Kai'moira told the eager youngsters, but as the night progressed what started as sorrow turned into a night of revelry. Even when Demira learned that Daneel and Kai'moira had a past physical relationship…something neither Dorak nor Olivaw even knew about…she held no jealousy towards the chiss woman. Instead they teased the miraluka into blushing more than had ever before in his life. Some of the revelations about his sexual past and present shocked even the adventurous shaman couple. However, when the night drew to a close, the elder jedi and the smuggler were given rooms at the temple that would become their new home on Azeroth. Kuro remained with the jedi while the other dragons flew back to Wyrmrest Temple. Daneel and Demira walked home in the moonlight, holding hands, and still as much in love as they were when they first met. And for all those that knew her and for those that had just learned about her, Zufa was greatly admired…and greatly missed. But in his heart, Daneel was at peace.
Much like the previous day, Illiana stood at the island counter cutting pieces of fruit for her breakfast just as her master, Celeste, had done. Today, however, she was fully dressed in dark brown robes and her hair was neatly brushed falling down along her shoulders. She took some of the fruit and used a juicer created by Windi to fashion a drink to help her wake up. With a small addition of some nectar she poured her concoction into a glass and sat on a stool. She was about to bite into a leftover slice when Olivaw walked into the room. She held the fruit before her mouth as she watched him walk towards the island counter. Besides his trousers, boots, and the two holsters with his blaster pistols, the man wore nothing and was busily working a towel along each of the horns on his head. Illiana slowly lowered the slice of fruit as she watched the muscles in his arms and torso flex as he approached apparently more intent on drying his head than seeing who stood on the other side of the counter. Like Daneel and Dorak, the smuggler possessed a medium build, but the elf was surprised at how toned his physique was since before now she had seen him only wearing a full golden brown plasteel chestplate under a long black duster…and he wasn't a jedi. She couldn't help herself as she drank in every inch of his body, and when he stopped at the counter and looked at her while he placed the towel on the countertop, she shyly looked away blushing. Either he was used to such a reaction or he was kind enough not to point out her slight embarrassment.
"What do you folks do for breakfast around here?" he asked her with a smile. "I don't know about the others but I'm actually hungry enough I could eat a whole nerf."
"I don't know what a nerf is, but I usually eat some fruit," she answered pointing at the plate before her. A few slices remained, and he looked at it and scrunched his nose. "You don't like fruit?"
"Only in my drinks," he replied. "And especially this morning. I haven't eaten something solid for three days. Those night elven people…all they ate were fruits and berries. I have a craving for meat."
"Well…I don't have any meat prepared," she started holding her glass. "But I can make a fruit drink if you would like?" He nodded with a smile as she took the remaining fruit from the plate and prepared to make him a glass similar to hers. "While you wait…how did you sleep?"
"Actually really good," he answered as he sat on a stool. "You jedi have really comfortable beds, and I don't know if you noticed, but this tree…it's a tree right?" She nodded back with a smile. "Well…it hums. Did you know that? It almost reminded me of the hum of the engines on my ship. I almost felt like I was back on my baby as we flew through hyperspace. Best sleep I've had in weeks."
"That humming I think comes from the sap that runs through its veins," she said as she added the nectar to the drink she prepared for the smuggler. She found herself stealing glances at him and then quickly turning away when their eyes met. For the most part he was looking at various areas of the room like he was mapping out escape routes or possible pratfalls that might trap him. With a final squeeze of honey she stirred the fruit concoction with a spoon and then handed the glass to the zabrak. "Here you go…just like the one I'm drinking," she said smiling. He accepted the glass with a nod and took a drink. He finished the sip with a grimace and placed the glass back on the counter shaking his head and shoulders. "Is there a problem?" she asked with concern.
"This….this tastes like bantha piss," he managed to say. "What's in this?"
Dejected and taken aback, Illiana frowned at him. "I think it's quite delicious," she retorted and then proceeded to take a gulp of her own. After she finished she placed her half empty glass on the counter. "It has three different sweet fruits and a squeeze of honey. I drink a glass every morning." She raised her chin and looked down at him.
Olivaw cocked his head to the side and sighed deeply. "Perhaps it's an acquired taste," he said as he reached for his glass. He brought it back to his mouth and paused. "Honey you said…right?" She nodded as he took another drink. This time his grimace was not as severe, but his whole body shook as he lowered the glass to the countertop. "Smooth," he strained to say. "I've tasted much worse in my travels."
Illiana crossed her arms over her chest and said in a huff, "If you don't like it you don't have to keep making funny faces about it."
"It's not that at all, sweetness," he said with a smile. "This is just a new world with new flavors. I'll adapt as I always have and in a day or two that will be the best tasting thing ever. Always works out that way." He downed the rest of the glass, stood and turned, and his whole body shook again with a slight kick of his left foot. "Yeah-hah!" he shouted.
As Olivaw was talking, Illiana stared at the countertop angry with herself for even having a slight interest in this man. She loved this drink and he insulted it which felt like he was insulting her. But as he stood from the stool, she couldn't help but look up at him and her eyes widened at what she saw. From his left shoulder to his right hip and covering at least three quarters of his back was a single scar. She winced as she imagined the pain he must have felt when he received it, and without thinking her right index finger raised and through her robes traced the scar on her own chest. "Did it hurt?" she asked him quietly.
The zabrak turned and looked at the elf, and in resumed embarrassment she looked back down at the counter. "Did what hurt?" he asked her as he returned to the stool. She looked at him timidly and pointed slightly at his shoulder. "Oh…you mean my scar?" She nodded to him. "Not really…well…I shouldn't say that…I didn't notice it until we got all of the children out…then, yeah…it hurt like hell."
"Children?"
"It was on Ord Mantell," he said. "The separatists had bombed a small village including a few storage hangars. One of those was housing a bunch of refugee kids, so me and a republic soldier went in and rescued the kids before the building fell in and crushed them. It was with the last few that a burning support beam collapsed and scraped my back as we left the building. I knew at the time it had hit me, but the separatists were closing in on our position, so we had to get those last few kids another few hundred meters from the village before we knew they would be safe. The seps didn't care about the kids anyway…or us. They were after the hidden stash of armaments under the village, but their attack destroyed it as well. We were maybe a couple hundred meters from the village before I knew that my back was even on fire, and that was because one of the kids started screaming and pointing. Until that moment I wasn't even aware I was hit that hard…or on fire." He looked at Illiana and smiled. "I had forgotten all about that scar. I even thought a few times about having it removed and replaced with synthetic skin, but I just never got around to it…and now I guess it's too late even do that any more." He shrugged his shoulders and looked at the glass. "Could you…make me another?"
"Are you sure?" she asked finding herself greatly intrigued about him again. His manners earlier were rude regarding the drink, but hearing that he was injured saving children…suddenly she didn't see the brash and rude man but a hero willing to risk his life to save others. Was that why the jedi tolerated him…even respected him? Was it why she began feeling a slight ache in her chest as she looked at him?
"New world…new tastes…and no prospect of ever returning home…might as well start adapting now," he said with a smile and a nod and lifting his empty glass. "Bartender…fill me up."
She did as he asked, and when he had his fresh drink he stood up and nodded for her to join him. As he took the first couple steps she refilled her own glass and hurried to catch up to him. He stood perhaps a couple inches taller than she, and now that she walked beside him she felt goosebumps rise on her arms and her heart began to beat a little faster. He smelled good, and she was surprised she had not noticed this earlier. As they walked through the dining area and out towards the small courtyard outside the temple, she noticed that with each drink he took he shook less. Was he trying to be polite or was he honest in that he could adapt to the taste that fast and was actually enjoying it? Kai'moira had warned her the previous night that she thought the smuggler had his eye on her sexually, and that he was very good with charming those women he found desirable. When they walked outside they could hear the sounds of lightsabers clashing. The sun was bright and few clouds dotted the sky. The morning air was crisp but not cold, and as they walked towards the sounds of combat she noticed that at times he would look up towards the sky wistfully.
They walked around one of the great roots of the tree to see Dorak and Celeste sparring some hundred paces from them. Standing off to the side across from her and Olivaw was Daneel wearing the same outfit he wore the day before when climbing the mountain with Grogg. Like the smuggler, Dorak was shirtless with a muscular torso and arms. Although Illiana knew the man preferred to use two lightsabers in combat, this morning he wielded only one with a blue blade as he stood across from Celeste. He was a foot taller than the human woman, and his superior reach was obvious to the padawan. Celeste, wearing her typical shorts and halter top that she always wore when sparring, stretched out with her violet bladed saberstaff as she lunged at the taller fighter, and he easily sidestepped the woman's attack. Illiana stared wide-eyed. Her master she could not match when they sparred. In their first encounter as enemies, Celeste had purposely lost their battle as she avoided several blows that could have killed Illiana, but at the time both believed that her death would result in the death of the planet. They knew differently now, and Illiana had become Celeste's padawan, but still she could not best the smaller human. Now as she watched her master fight with a jedi master from the original order, Illiana was awed at the prowess Dorak possessed. As much a novice she appeared against her master, Celeste now seemed the same against the alien human. Dorak barely moved at all as Celeste tried again and again to enter his defenses. And Illiana felt no sense that Dorak was trying to mock her master, he was simply that good at lightsaber combat. They, as jedi, still had much to learn if Dorak was any example of most jedi from their galaxy. Until now Daneel had been the only one they knew, and he awed them time and again with what he could do. Illiana simply thought that being he was a grand master he was the pinnacle of what it meant to be a jedi, but now she was not so certain. Perhaps they all had much to learn to equal the true jedi.
After Celeste attempted another lunge at Dorak, he raised his hand and brought an end to their match. Illiana and Olivaw were too far away to hear what was said; but, calm and seemingly rested, Dorak smiled at Celeste whose abdominal muscles reflected her heavy breathing. He was telling her something about their bout and she nodded accepting his suggestions apparently meant to improve her technique. She was also smiling, and Illiana understood why. The small human wanted to learn to become a better fighter and Dorak was said to be a weaponmaster. Who better to learn from? Daneel replaced Celeste in the arena, and the two master jedi squared off. Within a few seconds both men lunged at each other, and even with her vision enhanced through the Force, Illiana could not keep up with their movements. Auburn and white hair spun in a visual cacophony with splashes of blue and green as they attacked and countered, dodged and parried, and each man seemingly an equal match for the other. Illiana's eyes widened more at the sudden realization that she had never seen Daneel move so fast.
"Why is it that all the prettiest women I meet are jedi?" she heard Olivaw say beside her.
She looked to her side to see him sipping from his glass as he watched the fight between jedi masters. Was he so used to seeing them that he could not comprehend the brilliance exhibited before him as the two men sparred? Were they that commonplace in that far off galaxy? But as she looked more closely at him, she realized he wasn't watching them at all, but instead was focused on Celeste as she used a towel to dry her face and arms and then pat the sweat from her finely toned stomach. That was too much for her.
"Are women and sex all you care about?" she asked. He looked over to her and raised his hairless eyebrow. She pointed at the duel between Dorak and Daneel. "I mean…right there are two men fighting with such precision and speed that I can't keep up with them…and all you can think about is my master and how pretty she is and how much you would like to fuck her? Or me?"
Olivaw shrugged his shoulders. "All I see is a blur of colors," he answered. "If I tried to keep up with them I would probably go blind." She turned her head to the side while keeping her eyes on his. "Look jedi are…jedi…where we come from. There are what…a few thousand of them? And they all move like that." He patted one of his blasters with his free hand. "I'm good with these, probably one of the best in the whole galaxy, but even I'm not stupid enough to try to take on a jedi or a sith. I've seen Dorak, Daneel, and even Kai block blaster bolts with their sabers and sometimes right back at the shooter. And Zufa…when she got her saberstaff twirling…you could stand an entire army behind that woman and not a single shot would get through her defenses. They have abilities that most of us will never possess, and to try and understand it sometimes can make one's head hurt…a lot. Their kind is special…and to have even one of them as a friend means a great deal…and worse if you have one as an enemy." He took another sip from his drink. "So I concentrate on what I can see, and this morning what I see are two beautiful women who are jedi."
Illiana looked back towards the two masters to see them smiling and bowing to each other. Their bout was over, and she had missed most of it. Suddenly it dawned on her…he admired the jedi. She looked back at him to see him staring at her. "What?" she asked.
"Just wondering about my question," he stated nonchalantly. "You, your master, Kai, Zufa, all of you are amongst the most beautiful women I have ever met and all of you are jedi. Why is that I wonder?"
"Are you trying to seduce me?" she bluntly asked, but he didn't seem to react to her outburst. "Kai warned me that you were quite the charmer."
"Wouldn't work so I never try on jedi," he answered looking back towards the two masters. He pointed to his head and said, "You jedi can sense all of my charms a parsec away."
She followed his gaze as Celeste replaced Daneel facing off against Dorak. "I don't think I'll be like they are," she said quietly changing the subject again. "I'm good with using the Force, but not in lightsaber combat."
"I wouldn't say that," he said. She looked at him to see if he was joking with her, but he still watched the jedi in the arena looking completely serious. "You have to remember we grew up in another place. Those two have been training to become jedi since they were children."
"So was I, and yet I cannot best my master and even she is no match for them," Illiana replied.
"But you were trained by an old sith," Olivaw said finally looking at her. "That's what Daneel told me last night, anyway. I bet the only Force user you faced while training was him…right?" She nodded. "Those guys were training with others like them to face sith. Sith are trained by weaning out the weakest from the strongest. Those that are too weak die, and the sith don't care because what is left are only the strongest. Jedi do something along the same lines, but those not powerful enough are made scholars, farmers, administrative people. They don't kill the weak but place them in areas that suit their strongest attributes." He looked back at the three jedi sparring. "Daneel is a good teacher…that I have complete faith in…and I imagine he's been training you and the others to face those forces that exist on this world not the sith. Like that couple last night…the big green one and the blue woman with horns and the strange feet. Shamans I think they were called. Nothing like Force users, but just as powerful in other ways. Daneel has been training you in how to face them…I mean not them specifically…but others like them with similar powers if the need ever arose. Dorak and Kai, I imagine, would have a more difficult time fighting that couple than you or your master. It's all a matter of where you live and what powers exist and are used in the world around you. Your training has just been focused in another direction than theirs…your abilities applied differently."
"Is that what happened to you?" she asked him thinking to what he said about failed jedi. "Were you too weak to become a jedi?"
The smuggler chuckled. "No…I don't have those abilities. I'm just a plain old zabrak…no Force in me, sweet thing."
"Then how did you come to be amongst them?" she asked still looking at him. He turned to face her, and she matched his movement. "How did you meet them if you were never trained to be a jedi?"
"That's a long story."
"I'd still like to hear it," she answered.
"Ok," he replied gesturing with his hand towards the mountainside nearby. "Want to go for a walk? It might help pass the time while you listen to my boring story." She nodded yes and, after placing their glasses in a nook of the tree root, they started walking towards the mountain side by side. "Where to begin…I know…when I was a soldier."
"You were a soldier?" she asked with wide eyes. She never imagined he was a warrior…not after some of the stories the jedi shared the previous night. By their accounts she thought he might be some kind of outlaw.
He nodded. "Back during the last war. Joined up with the Republic military about a year before the imps sacked Coruscant. I wanted to be a hero. I was good too…was being trained to join up with Special Forces. But near the end of the war the ship I was stationed aboard was shot down. My squadmates and I jettisoned aboard three escape pods and landed on this hunk of rock near the edge of Hutt space. We signaled the fleet for help, but they left us behind. Didn't even try to sugarcoat it, just told us things were too dangerous and too close to Hutt space and that we were on our own. That admiral even had the gall to wish us luck and that if we survived to remember to make it back to the military to debrief on the battle. Sanctimonious bastard." He looked down to see that she had wrapped her arms around his left arm as they walked. He raised his eyebrow, but she only smiled. It felt…nice. "Ok," he said with a smile. "We did survive, if just barely. We found this abandoned compound and holed up in the entry level for about two weeks before some slug and his entourage arrived. Seems that the compound was where they hid their illegal stockpiles, and when they saw us they came in guns blazing. Shot four of us down in the first volley. That left me and two other guys. We took cover, but in the next round the other two were killed. So there I was…all by my lonesome against about a hundred cartel thugs and their worm of a leader. But I still had these," he said patting one of his blasters. "They came in again, but I had better cover this time. I held them off for the next three days before Fa'athra, the Hutt that was leading them, decided he'd lost too many men." He leaned over towards Illiana and smiled. "I shot over sixty of them in those three days."
"Incredible," she said smiling warmly. Was that a twinkle in those deep blue eyes? Olivaw felt a tightness in his chest, and then shook it off.
"That's what Fa'athra said," Olivaw answered with a chuckle. "He shouted in this booming voice that he wanted to meet the man that was worth sixty of his face to face. He called a truce, but I wouldn't leave my cover. Damned Hutt actually came out into the open himself to meet with me." He looked down at Illiana and noticed she was watching the ground as they walked, but on her face was still this warm smile. Smiling himself he continued. "That was the day I became a gun-for-hire. Worked for Fa'athra for the next four years as his enforcer."
"You didn't return to the military?" she asked looking into his eyes. He shook his head. "Why? You survived…why not return?"
"Because they left us to die on that rock," the smuggler replied. "I was the last of my squad. In war you don't fight for the side you belong to or the officers who give the orders…you fight for the man or woman standing beside you. When Fa'athra offered me that job as his hired gun…I had no more of those men or women that I fought with left. So I took the job and fought for myself…a lone gun…a lone survivor."
"But how did you meet the jedi? Were they with this Fa'athra too?" she asked.
Olivaw chuckled. "No…they weren't with that slug." She furrowed her brow at him and they stopped walking. "Hutts are…or I should say most of them are…gangsters and criminals. If a jedi had any dealings with Hutts it was usually to stop their illegal activities or free some of the slaves the Hutts traded with the sith."
"You were an outlaw?" Illiana suddenly felt uncertain…the stories from the previous night must be true if he was admitting this part of his history to her now. Did that make him less than before? Or was he like her…controlled against his will and redeemed. She wanted to hear more about this strange man.
"Still am…but not with the Hutts any more," he answered with a grin. Her brow remained furrowed. "Ok…so I bend the law on occasion…but nothing that harms innocents." Illiana lowered her head. "My last job for Fa'athra was as an escort for one of his smuggling runs near imperial space. I found out that Fa'athra's goons were running spice to settler worlds. Now…I don't care what drugs some people do…don't understand why they do drugs…but that's their choice. But this shipment was foodstuffs that were laced with spice. The settlers would never know they were getting hooked on the shit until it was too late…so I spaced the cargo and the crew…and stole the ship. That was the last time I worked for any Hutt."
Illiana looked back up at him, but with a stern expression. "But you said you are still an outlaw."
"Yeah…smuggling medical supplies and foodstuffs…the clean kind and not laced with narcotics…and some guns to worlds where the fighting is the worst. Imps and Reps fight against each other and more often than not the little people are the ones made to suffer the most. Their homes are destroyed, their places of business or farms are burned or blown up, and their lives forever changed. Reps have laws against supplying arms and supplies to worlds behind enemy lines and Imps don't take kindly to smugglers helping out those they mean to squash and rule. So I break the laws to help those folks that are basically helpless. And on occasion I'll also do a high paying job or two that happens to be on those same worlds…for the extra credits." He smiled at her, but her expression didn't change. "Look…at heart I'm still that soldier that joined the military all those years ago, but I'm more able to help those that need it most by being a smuggler and outlaw than as another lackey with a blaster shooting at the enemy. And I no longer care about being a hero…heroes are the ones that get killed in action. The jedi feel the same way…I met Dorak on my first trip to Ord Mantel, and I've been helping the order ever since. That was about eight years ago."
"I suppose breaking laws to help those in need is a noble thing," she said quietly and somewhat confused. "It just seems so odd that you would have to live like that. From what I have learned I thought the Republic worked to help those in need while the sith just warred for power and revenge against the jedi. The benevolence of the righteous against the tyranny of the evil. Yet what you are telling me is that war in your galaxy is not so different than war here on Azeroth…just on a bigger scale."
"The Republic and the Sith Empire are still just two big governments fighting over a difference of ideals and control over territory. From what that big green guy told me…Zharn I think his name is…your Alliance and Horde aren't really any different. Fighting over ideals and territory…just another war with different people and different governments but the result is still the same…the little people are the ones who suffer the most. In times of war things get cloudy and doing what's right sometimes means breaking a law or two," he replied looking up at towards the mountaintop. "Like that admiral that left us to die. He was just following the orders he was given from his superiors because it was in the bounds of military law. Was it right? For him and the countless others he saved that day it was…but for me? The law sucked. So I feel just fine being an outlaw for those in the minority that are left behind like I was…left behind to die. No one deserves that fate." He looked back down into her face. Her expression had softened and that tightness in his chest returned…and this time he couldn't shake it off. "Ah…this talk of war is depressing. What about you? Why don't you tell me more about your life…where you grew up and trained under that sith…how you met Daneel and the others…I want to hear your story."
Illiana looked down at the ground. "You'd probably find it boring."
"Not on your life, sweet thing," he said lifting her chin with his finger until their eyes met. "Come on…tell me about…you." He smiled as her eyes lit up.
Daneel stood with his back to Dorak and Celeste as he watched Olivaw and Illiana walking together near the mountain close to the temple. He had first personally met the smuggler on the world of Voss. He was there to try and convince the Voss to side with the Republic in the war against the Sith Empire, and Olivaw was there on a top secret mission for a Republic senator. Coincidentally their goals crossed, and Daneel was surprised to learn the zabrak had once been a member of the military and was even considered a prime candidate for Havoc Squad…an elite unit of the Special Forces branch of the military. Though they did not meet up again until the conflict exploded into full-out war on Corellia, Daneel had learned from Dorak that he worked with the smuggler on several occasions as had Zufa and Kai'moira. It was on Corellia they were all reunited and had formed a bond that helped them greatly during that struggle. A tension did grow between Kai and Ollie after their time on Corellia, and Daneel still was not certain the source of that conflict…only that from that point on in their friendship the zabrak was always teasing the chiss about where she was not blue. Daneel grinned as he knew there was not a single place on her body where she was not blue.
Behind him he heard the footsteps of Dorak and Celeste as they faced each other. The hum of their lightsabers filled the air around him. His lips curled into a smile as he decided now was the time for his former padawan to teach his old friend a new trick…one that he and Celeste had devised together over the past few months. He turned around and looked at the two combatants.
"Celeste," he said with mirth. "Show Dorak the new form we have been practicing."
Dorak cast a glance at his old friend. "The new form, master?" Celeste asked.
"The new one," he answered.
"But master…it's not really a…" she started.
"No…no…just…show this old weaponmaster what we've come up with," Daneel said with a wide grin.
Dorak tilted his head at Daneel, but then looked back at the small human who had changed her stance. "Developed some new tricks, Daneel?" he asked.
"I'll let Celeste answer that in her own fashion," came the response.
Dorak faced Celeste assuming the opening stance of his favored Juyo form, but she stood nonchalantly before him holding her saberstaff extinguished and to her left. Suddenly the small woman moved as if to jump, and then rolled towards him. He brought his blade down just in time to block her single active blade she activated in mid-roll. But as he moved to counter, she spun and the blade extinguished only to have the other blade ignite. Caught off-guard, Dorak bounded back a step, but she responded by lunging towards him with both blades active and spinning in her hands. Dorak switched to the Soresu form, but again she entered his defenses switching blades off and on as she moved towards him. He switched to Ataru but still she kept him on the defensive. Her form was not like any other he had experienced and repeatedly he was forced to back away from her. Even trying to circle around her or jump over her proved futile as she was able to move around him with ease and still strike at any second from any position. He could not enter her defenses as time and again she switched active blades as she wished, or kept both active, or extinguished both causing him to block empty air instead of her weapon's blade. He found it difficult to believe this was the same opponent he was sparring with earlier and held at bay with ease. What was her secret to this new form? A cough from his old friend stopped their bout, and as she stood proudly before him and breathing normally, Dorak realized that this time he was out of breath. He looked over at his old friend who was grinning widely.
"That is impressive," Dorak said with a smile to the small human. "I have never faced a form like that. What do you call it?"
Celeste looked over at Daneel who responded with a slight nod, and then back over at Dorak. "Like I was trying to say before…it's not really a form at all."
Daneel walked over to stand next to the two humans and placed his hand on Dorak's shoulder. "In our galaxy where lightsaber combat is…for lack of a better phrase…commonplace…here it's not. So to adapt to what we face on this world with the likes of mages, shamans, paladins, warlocks, druids, and other disciplines we developed this new type of fighting," he said.
"The form without form," Celeste added drawing Dorak's gaze. "None of the traditional lightsaber forms exist on this world, so we came up with the idea of fighting with no form and almost purely instinctual letting the Force guide us in combat."
"No fixed positions or movements," Daneel commented. "It was actually Zharn's suggestion once when I was teaching him various forms for use with weapons that are common on this world like swords, axes, hammers, and others. No two warriors use the same techniques and in battle sticking to a strict form can get one killed. So the fluidity of this new style…of having no style…can prove effective on the battlefield should we find ourselves in one."
Dorak bowed to Celeste and smiled. "Then it is time I learned this as well since returning home seems like an impossibility. And I look forward to our lessons as you teach me this new form…without form."
"Only if you continue to teach me the normal forms," Celeste answered gleefully. "I still have much to learn in using Juyo, Soresu, Ataru, and Shien."
"Agreed," Dorak replied. He looked around them and then spotted Olivaw and Illiana in the distance. They were facing each other and talking. "Looks like Ollie found himself a new girlfriend already," he said while pointing with his chin.
Celeste turned to see her padawan and the smuggler just as the two reached out and held hands. She smiled and looked at Daneel. "Is this something I should be worried about, master?"
The jedi grand master only nodded as he spoke. "No, Celeste, it's not something to worry about. I sense that for both of them this is a good thing. Each has a past they have been struggling to reconcile with…perhaps together they can succeed where alone they have failed."