As the reports came in over the next few days and the scouts reported the Imperial activity around the destroyed mine, Shemric became more and more convinced that they would need to move operations to another location; the Imps were abandoning this mine for good.
The process of moving their headquarters would take them the better part of two months as they slowly shifted the command some ninety kilometers to the location they had determined would provide their next best target.
During that time, Julienne reported to him daily and they went on patrol together once or twice a week. Julienne was very proper about how she acted in public; never did she address him as anything other than "sir," or "commander" when others were around.
In contrast, her behavior in private was very much the impertinent, headstrong girl he remembered; if anything, she was even surer of herself now and often gave him plenty of advice about his staff officers that the said officers would not have liked to hear.
His officers clearly wondered what went on during their private chats, but none pressed the issue after he told them to drop it. By the end of the second week since the attack, his office had been emptied of supplies and other equipment and he decided to move it all out of the center so he could practice some lightsaber forms. A few days of forms had him wishing for an opponent and so he left a message for Julienne to report to him.
With the desk and other furniture pushed up against the walls, Shemric considered that his 'office' was really quite large. He had picked it hoping to be able to practice his forms here, but inevitably, it had filled up with equipment for storage. Now it would provide plenty of space for what he had in mind. He sat down in the exact middle of the floor, barefoot, wearing only light pants and a loose shirt. Deep in meditation, he heard the slight click of the door and the nearly silent pad of Julienne's feet as if he was standing right next to her. He set the bar in the door using the Force, flicked on the sound suppressor and only opened his eyes when she stopped two paces away.
Her smile was infectious and he returned it gladly. There was a definite sense of anticipation in her expression as if she knew why she was there. He held out a simple lightsaber that floated through the air until she put out a hand to hold and ignite it at the same moment. She did not even grimace at the green blade that emerged.
"The crystal is a special one that will sting and shock but not cut or penetrate," he explained. "I find it quite useful in training." He stood quietly and ignited his own blade.
"Are you not worried that someone will find out what I am?" she asked.
"Oh, my lovely Juju, I find myself worrying less and less with you around," he said. "I am not sure if that is good, but I have missed sparring with a real partner."
Her smile was back and she clipped the lightsaber to her belt before shrugging out of her uniform and then kicking her boots off. "You only get to give me a nickname if you defeat me," she said. She rushed him immediately and Force-leaped at him with tremendous speed, sword coming down hard. He did not even move until she was right on him and he repelled her as violently as he was capable. Her eyes widened in surprise as she was hurled abruptly back. Shemric wondered if he had overdone it but she simply turned the attack into a graceful flip and landed on her feet. She stood without moving for a moment and if anything, her expression seemed even more pleased than before.
When she started toward him the second time, it was a more measured pace and it was his turn to rush her. The swirling maelstrom of blades would have made a spectacular light show had there been anyone else there to witness it.
In the Force, he did not need to think about his movement or reactions and so his detached mind observed that she did not so much wield the Dark Side or the Light as the Force at large—some mixture of the essence of the galaxy that combined both into a powerful engine of movement. It was how he fought as well and why he had sometimes so bothered his Jedi instructors. She was quick and strong and well balanced and he did not have to hold back.
As was his habit, he had begun in Sorensu and her Djem So crashed on his defenses without getting through to touch him. Her expression lost its smile and gained a measure of determination as her attacks continued without effect.
Suddenly, he met her attack solidly and pushed her away before shifting instantly into Makashi and attacking her in return. She gave ground slowly, not as comfortable in defense, and now she was frowning as he pushed her back toward the wall. She snarled when her back bumped into the rough cave surface and she pushed violently with the Force to move him back. He rode the blast and flipped easily until she caught him mid-air with a blast of Force lightning that he was not expecting.
His smooth back flip became a flailing, shock-filled flight that ended with him sliding along the smooth floor to bump hard against the opposite wall. She Force-leaped across the room and met him as he came to his feet. The shock ran down his arms, but he held his ground and kicked out to catch her in the stomach. To his surprise, he was a bit pleased to see the sharp pain in her expression as she staggered back, gasping for breath. He counterattacked and she was barely able to put up a defense as she moved across the room.
He ended it with a sharp flick and her saber flew away to the side. He struck her across the neck and shoulder with a stinging blow. Now shock infused her posture and face as she looked back at him.
"You have changed," she said. It was the first time she had spoken to him without teasing since she had come. Instead of dislike though, that laugh was back, and this time he felt a powerful desire for her. She looked down at her hard, toned stomach. "That may leave a bruise."
"Is my hair smoking?" he asked.
Her smile was inviting. "Maybe a little. I have learned a few tricks myself."
"Indeed," he said and her lightsaber flew across the room to her hand.
"Well, then," she said. "First blood goes to you. Let us see how the next bout goes."
She held the unlit saber for a moment and he sensed her doing something and a moment later a box flew across the room toward him. At the same moment she leaped toward him with her now burning lightsaber. Again, the Force held him without moving until the box and her lightsaber were both about to intersect with his head. He dropped like a stone and rolled into her feet, tripping her. She flailed as the box hit her shoulder and sent her sprawling. Before she had recovered he leaped back at her and kicked the saber out of her hand. She kept rolling and tried to pull it to her but he was quicker and slashed at her exposed hand that was reaching for the weapon.
She hissed and came at him like a cat, scratching and clawing. It was all fury backed by Force-driven speed and strength. He backed quickly and scored a hit on her neck that made her howl, but she stopped.
"I guess I am dead," she said. There was still fire in her eyes, but now there was respect, too and maybe a little admiration. "You have changed."
"So you seem to keep saying," he nodded.
"Well, I like it," she said and her practice blade flew to her hand. "Best three of five?"
"Try to keep up," he said and this time he did not wait, but flew at her in Makashi, engaging her blade with short, quick strikes to keep her off balance. Halfway across the hall, she stopped backing and tried to kick him in the knee. He moved his leg to the inside and hooked her foot to pull her off balance. Instead of fighting the fall, she rolled and slashed at his ankles as she fell, forcing him to leap over her blade.
Instead of leaping away, he Force-pushed himself in the direction of her roll so that he came down on top of her. She tried to push him away, but he still landed on her with an expelling of air from her lungs. He rolled away and let her recover. She was mumbling under her breath and it did not sound complementary. When she stood again, he could feel her anger pulsing and beating opposite it was a cloud of Dark Side power she was summoning.
Shemric closed his eyes and slipped deeper into his Force awareness. When she unleashed a blast of Force-lightning, he reached out a hand and accepted it into him. For just a fraction of a moment he felt like a river of pure power. He thought he could have blasted the walls down or sent a bolt back towards Julienne that would have fried her like an overcooked Nerf-steak. Instead he brought his hands together in a great clap of air that blew Julienne off her feet and sent her flying uncontrollably toward the far wall. Shemric desperately reached out and threw his mattress through the air to absorb the impact. It worked, barely, and she bounced off and fell back to the floor, looking dazed.
He rushed across the room and arrived just as she pushed herself to her hands and knees. Now the look she gave him was unreadable.
"I have never … " she shook her head. "What did you do?"
"Lightning is simply a manifestation of Force-power converted to light energy," he said. "I took it in and converted it to something else."
She crouched there watching him for a few moments. "You are not really a Jedi anymore, are you?" she asked.
He shrugged. "I am not really sure. I mean, the Jedi exist to protect the people of the Republic, and I do that, but I just do not really do it in a way that will make other Jedi very comfortable. They are very regimented."
Julienne snorted loudly. "Regimented … hmmph." She came to her feet a little unsteadily and he reached out a hand to touch her shoulder. He Force-probed her and felt a number of bruises, but fortunately no concussion or other head injuries. Apparently she understood what he was doing and asked, "Well, am I all right?"
"You are going to have a few bruises, Juju," he said.
"I am sure," she said, scowling at him. She had said he could nickname her if he defeated her. "But nothing else?"
"Not that I can tell," he said.
"Good," she said and reached up to pin his hand against her shoulder while pulling and falling backwards. Her move surprised him and they both fell in a tangle from which she quickly gained the upper hand. Shemric had spent a lot of effort on hand-to-hand combat during his time on Balmorra, but this was more wrestling and grappling. He ended up face down on the bed mattress that had hit the wall and fallen to the floor. His left arm was pinned underneath him and his right was twisted painfully to his back as he lay on his side with Julienne on top controlling him by bending his wrist to the point of breaking.
Her breath was very warm in his ear as she leaned down to whisper. "I was beginning to wonder if I was going to beat you at anything," she said. He turned his head to the left so that he could just see her with his peripheral vision. "I should very much like to train with you, Shemric Norm."
"I am too young to take on a Padawan," he said. "Well, actually, I'm not anymore, but I am not even a Knight and you would not make a very good Jedi, anyway."
"Probably not," she said and let go of his arm. He moved awkwardly underneath her until he had turned to meet her eyes. She was still straddling his waist. The expression she was giving him appeared to be one of indecision for a moment. Then her face hardened and she leaned down, pinned his hands, and kissed him. It was an awkward but hungry kiss on her part, not asking permission. His Force-awareness made him hypersensitive to the feel of her skin touching him, the sweaty-salt taste of her lips and the hard muscle pressing against his body. He returned the kiss with enthusiasm. The wrestling that followed did not leave any bruises and was altogether more enjoyable than their first bout.
"We started this last time, too," he said, "and then changed our minds."
"Well, that was a long time ago and neither of us is a child anymore," she whispered and then kissed him again.
What followed was entirely unlike anything Shemric had ever expected to experience. Heightened by his Force-sensitivity of her, every touch prickled things he had never felt before. Neither spoke for some time as they lay together exhausted and when Julienne shivered, Shemric closed his eyes and brought his blanket to drop around her shoulders.
"You are a very nice boy," she said. He looked up in surprise. Tears were flowing down her cheeks. "I am not a nice girl, you know. This will end badly."
"I assumed it would," he said, "from the first moment you walked in here. That only bothers me a little bit right now."
Julienne chuckled mirthlessly and lay her head down on his chest. He put his arms around her and she did not protest.
