3646-Coruscant
Shemric knew it was going to be one of those days when he woke and realized that Juju was on Coruscant. She must have arrived while he was sleeping or he would have noted the proximity earlier. Or she had just masked her presence from him until she wanted him to know she was there. He decided he was not going to go to work as usual. The senator would just annoy him and well … with Julienne there, he did not really care.
When he looked in the mirror, though, he was not overwhelmed. His scraggily beard and un-kept hair would not impress her and—he had to admit to himself-he wanted to impress her. He went off to his local barber and had it cut to 'fighting length' as he thought of it and had the man shave him with the laser razor while he was at it. He could feel her even closer now but she did not seem to be moving. Well, he would just have to go to her. Public transportation took him in the direction he sensed her and then a short taxi ride took him to the block.
She abruptly disappeared in the Force and Shem stopped dead in surprise. A man, or rather a Rodian who smelled of drink, bumped into him and cursed him before moving along. He started walking again and became slowly aware that someone had fallen in step with him. He glanced sideways and nearly stopped again.
"Keep moving," said Juju in a low voice. She was dressed like a 3-D starlet or a fashion model and it was all he could do to keep his eyes off her. The black dress ended abruptly mid-thigh and her long legs seemed to go on forever until they reached her black stiletto heels. The jacket she wore might have made her look like a businesswoman if her dress was just a bit longer. Her hair was fashionably coifed and she was wearing makeup that made her eyes and lips stand out. "Well, are you going to say something?" she asked, and raised an eyebrow at him. "Years apart and now you stand there like a bantha chewing its cud when your yum-yum shows up."
"My yum-yum?" he said. He had never heard that one before though the meaning was fairly clear.
"Never mind," she said, shaking her head. She lifted her arms and pirouetted in a very un-Julienne-like fashion. "Now would be the time for compliments."
It was yet another example of her ability to keep him off-balance. All he could do was laugh, which was very likely what she intended.
"Should I be worried that you are here on Coruscant?" he asked idly as they continued walking side by side. She was still hard to sense as if she was keeping her thoughts, feelings and emotions to herself.
"I don't know; I come here all the time," she said, smiling. He did stare at her for a few moments until she turned away. "When have I ever popped into your life and not caused you trouble?"
"True enough," he said. "What trouble are you going to cause this me this time?"
"Oh, a little here, a little there," she said. "I was thinking we might take a little trip into the Unknown Regions."
"Really?" he said. "Can I ask why? You hardly look dressed for an expedition." She was moving in a deliberate direction and so he kept pace with her.
I am dressed to impress, you idiot, she said. It was not hard at all for her to slip into his head. And to blend in here. A man's yum-yum should always look the part, even in the sophisticated areas of Coruscant.
What does that mean, he asked?
Oh, nothing, she said. And to answer your question, Darth Malgus is causing some consternation to the Dark Council and Master Acina wants me to go and cause him some trouble in return.
"And why would I help you do that?" he asked, out loud.
"Because Malgus is invading and subjugating numerous worlds there and killing a lot of beings?" she replied. "And would you not like a chance to destroy the man who wrecked your Temple and caused so much ill will to the Jedi Order?"
He snorted. "Sometimes I have ill will towards the Jedi Order," he mumbled.
She said nothing. She knew he would think about it and decide where his interests lay. The mere fact that she was here surprised him. The Jedi no longer had a base on the capital planet and she would have known that. He wondered if she could sense his discontent with his present assignment from half-way across the galaxy and come looking for him.
She smiled that knowing smile and he wanted to kick her. Or kiss her. More than two years had passed since he had left her unconscious on a ship orbiting Kashyyyk with burns and bruises all over her body. She had been so angry at him then and he had never understood it. Now she acted like all that was behind them.
Because it is, dear, she said in his mind. I have no sore feelings over the way things ended, do you?
Yeah! I do, he returned back. You ruined our battle plan and I had to beat you into submission to keep you from killing me.
There was more going on there than you understand, she said. It almost sounded like a plea. And I would never have killed you any more than you would have killed me.
He just grunted. It was silly arguing with her. He knew why it had been necessary in ways that she did not. He also knew he was going to go wherever she led until she saw fit to leave him again. It was like a hypermetro wreck you knew was going to happen but you still boarded the car anyway.
Then why fight it, she asked?
Would you get out of my head! he said angrily.
Her carriage stiffened visibly.
"Fine, stay here in your miserable little job," she said. "Go stop a few muggings every night and let the holonets call you a hero. I will be on my way." She turned and walked away from him and he wondered if she was bluffing. That self-assured walk was so familiar, but it was distracting considering what she was wearing.
Stop staring at my ass, she said.
If there was a mental equivalent to a snort, he made one then and he thought she smiled in return.
What are you wearing, he asked?
It is my yum-yum suit, she said and he could sense the humor in her reply. I bought it just for you.
What does that even mean, he asked again testily?
Follow me and find out!
Her rapidly retreating, highly attractive backside was about to turn a corner and he shook his head. It was starting again. The head shaking and the assumptions that he would just follow.
Do I need to come back and persuade you, she asked?
Oh, please, you persuaded me the moment you stepped on this planet, he said.
So why not just follow and stop complaining, she asked?
She took him to a booth in a swank diner for which he felt underdressed and she looked right at home. He leaned over and she accepted a kiss on the cheek but then grabbed his hair for a much more intimate exchange that heated his face and sent his heart to racing. Shemric decided to sit on the opposite side of the booth.
"Nice to see you, too, honey," he began.
The waitress approached and eyed Shemric and Julienne skeptically. Likely she thought Shemric was not appropriately dressed and Juju's outfit was borderline scandalous.
She thinks you are a call girl since I am so clearly not in your league, pointed out Shemric.
And do I not come when you call, she asked, smiling?
I think you have that backwards.
Besides, she said, I think we decided the term is yum-yum.
Shemric snorted and the waitress looked at him oddly. They ordered an appetizer and water all the while continuing to speak to each other. Julienne appeared to do it effortlessly but Shemric really had to concentrate.
I came to you on Balmorra, she said.
You were sent to kill me, he said.
Oh, yeah, well, that worked out well for both of us, she said. My master was quite pleased and you are a Knight now.
You may be forgetting a few details along the way, he said.
Oh? You mean our little spat. I barely remember it.
Shemric was not sure if he was irritated or amused that she brushed it off.
You came looking for me the moment you sensed me here on Coruscant, she pointed out.
The moment you let me sense you, he sulked.
Yes, well, I had business to finish and you were the last of it, she said. I told you I was glad to see you.
Oh, sure, you spent all kinds of time confessing your undying love to me, he said. Sometimes he would have just like to have a normal relationship.
And you feel like that shows that I am not committed to this relationship? You do not really believe that all of this is coincidence, do you? The look she gave him said that the wrong answer here would set off a firestorm.
Well, no, you have mentioned how you have seen Force-visions that have shaped some of what you do, he said. He sensed that there was more to this than he was seeing and just because they were in a public place would not prevent her from dealing out a mental tongue lashing. Apparently she was less than satisfied with his lukewarm response.
I HAVE SPENT MOST OF THE LAST FEW YEARS WORKING WITH THE SOLE PURPOSE THAT YOU AND I HAVE A FUTURE TOGETHER! Shemric actually recoiled at the fury of her sending. I SPEND HOURS MEDITATING, SURFING THE FORCE TIMESTREAM TRYING TO GLEAN OUT A FEW CLUES TO GUIDE US; YOU HAVE NO IDEA! Shemric's mouth worked up and down but he could not think of anything to say. She had never really talked about it. BECAUSE I CANNOT TELL YOU WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN OR IT WILL AFFECT THE TIMESTREAM!
Shemric reached across the table to take her hand. When she tried to pull it back, he held it in an iron grip until she relaxed again.
"Can we stop shouting and discuss it?" he asked calmly.
I WANT TO SHOUT! YOU MAKE DUMBASS COMMENTS LIKE YOU JUST DID AND YOU SOMEHOW ASSUME THAT BECAUSE I DO NOT SPEND MY TIME SPOUTING MY ETERNAL DEVOTION TO YOU THAT I AM NOT COMMITTED TO US. WELL, YOU ARE WRONG!
"I get it; I apologize, and you are correct," he said. "I have made incorrect assumptions in the past. Please explain it to me." He sent his most subtle, calming feelings toward her along their link.
Stop that! I am not some pet animal you can soothe with a few gentle sendings. Shem stopped immediately and she glared at him while he tried to put on his most contrite expression. Her glare softened and she shook her head. Well, it hardly matters now. We are in the middle of the game and the pieces are falling into place. I will try to explain this in a way you can understand. My mentors in the Academy did not fully comprehend what I was doing so do not expect to come out of this anything but confused.
She looked at him, but he knew speaking was out of the question, so he simply nodded. He felt a sense of foreboding that something was about to be explained that he would find discomfiting.
You have no idea. Well, here goes. When I was about 14 or 15, I started to see visions while I was sleeping. It took a certain state of consciousness to achieve and I could not do it on my own in the beginning. They just came to me and I remembered some things. Future possibilities are too great for any mortal mind to comprehend, so you cannot imagine how confused I was in those years. My teachers grilled me incessantly on the visions until they were satisfied that I was of no use to them and then they left me to my own devices.
They had concluded, you see, that my visions were very personal and not useful on the broader stage of Sith politics. When that became apparent they sent me back to normal training. So I tried to ignore them. And then I met you. A lot of things that happened on Taris had been presaged in my visions, so that when the moment came I was able to act quickly. The visions have kept me alive and guided me down through the years to be here and now.
Wow, how do you live knowing so much of what is going to happen? he asked, curious.
I do not see everything, she said. Only glimpses of this and that which come back to me when I need them. Knowing your future in every aspect and great detail would be maddening. And there is one other rather important detail; I have never seen you in any vision at any time.
He blinked, watching her in surprise.
You see the difficulty? I try to make decisions to help us and yet, you are always transparent to me. Oh, certainly now, we are so closely connected that even when you are not in my vision, I sense your proximity, but that was not obvious in the beginning. It was not until Balmorra that I made the connection. I saw visions of Taris when you saved me, when we fought the alchemist dogs, even when we fought my master, but they did make any sense because the parts I saw were only times when you were not in my field of sight. After Taris I gave them little thought because again, I did not ever see you in my future. When I went to Balmorra, I thought that I would take a lover but not until I saw you sitting behind the desk did it all come crashing down on my awareness.
She stopped and stared off over his shoulder for a moment. Her mind was very closed to him at these times. She did not allow snooping around in her memories.
It was like looking at a puzzle where you only saw half the pieces and you are trying to figure out the picture. On Balmorra, I began to understand that you were the other, unseen half of the puzzle that I had to fill in on my own. The better I came to know you, the better I could fill in the gaps. She stopped again for a while. It has not been a perfect system. Things happened on Balmorra that I did not see or expect and our last fight especially was very confusing. I saw myself entering that building. I knew I would fight someone but I never thought it would be you.
Before that fight on Balmorra was the only time I have ever seen a Force-vision, he said.
She looked at him very sharply and spoke out loud, such was her surprise. "Tell me what you saw!"
He reached and took her hand again. Let me see if I can show you. Shem pulled her gently into his consciousness and took her back to the briefing and the realization that Julienne was sabotaging the plan and his anger and frustration and how that had quickened his Force-awareness enough to prompt the vision. The actual vision was exactly the same blur that the first had been. Events, places, decisions came and went faster than the human mind could resolve them but the specifics were still there; the future that he wanted to happen. When it was over Julienne sat back, eyes wide with a stunned expression on her face.
She was so surprised that she spoke out loud again. "That was nothing like I have ever seen. Did you actually pick out one specific thread and follow it all the way back to the present?"
"I think that is what I did," he said.
She shook her head. "How useful would that be… ? I tried something similar, once I had gained a little control and it never worked. I saw what I was shown and I could not direct or refine it in any way. How many of these have you seen?" Shemric was not sure, but there seemed to be a little envy in her voice.
"Just that one," he admitted and her eyes widened.
Well, is that not interesting? she said, back in his head again. Your vision and mine directly contradicted each other. I saw myself, defeating you there. Well, not you specifically, but whomever I was fighting. She stopped and her eyes went glassy as if she was digesting all the possible meanings that knowledge might provide. The stare went on so long he wondered if she was seeing something right then. When she came back, she blinked several times and then looked at him with surprise. I think you may have just provided me with another piece in the puzzle. It seems to me that my wishes can color some of the visions to look the way I want them to look. I think I wanted to defeat you so much that I was skewing the things I saw in that direction.
Again she stopped and appeared to be lost in thought. This time her inactivity went on so long that Shemric decided to scoot around to her side in the booth and act like he was whispering into her ear when the waitress came back with their food. Shem was not sure that the woman was entirely convinced, but she did not ask any more questions. It was another five minutes before Julienne started and looked around in surprise.
That was so weird, she said. I do not think that has ever happened before.
What did happen? he asked.
Well, the first time I was comparing how your vision and mine differed and were similar. When I had the thought that maybe my wishes were coloring my visions, I started to rehash many old things that I have seen and try to analyze them without personal bias. It changes a lot. Wow. She shook her head again and met his eyes. "You were not trying to take advantage of my person when I was not paying attention, were you?"
"I was trying to keep the waitress from thinking you were a kook as you stared into space," he mumbled.
"What is a kook?"
"Crazy," he said and made a motion with his finger around his head. That drew a blank stare as well. "Never mind," he said, shaking his head. Please go back and explain something. You said you had been trying to work out a future for us. What does that mean?
It seems that you affect my visions in some way that I cannot foresee, she said. On Balmorra, as we became close, the things I saw began to change. That is not uncommon but they were changing in substantial ways. There were things that I very clearly had to do and they became more and more clear.
Like what? Shem asked.
For one thing, had we left Balmorra together, we would have had a few relatively happy years and then been gone, she said.
Gone how? he asked.
I do not know; just gone, she said. There were no more futures that led to more life. None. We had to part there in order to make it here. At the time it was a mystery, but now I believe there is something else going on. I need to become a Sith Lord; Darth Monikas. You needed to go to the new Jedi Temple on Tython.
"Let us leave. All these new revelations are giving me a headache."
"Yes, let us …" he said, but before he got up, he tipped her chin up to meet his eyes. Thank you. For working so hard for us. I will not take it lightly again.
Well, do not thank me yet, she said. We have a lot of work to do. At least, I do not see a lot of possible futures that lead to happiness for the two of us.
Well, maybe I distort things too much for you to see clearly, he suggested.
Her expression brightened. That is true! It has probably always been true. Well, there is nothing for it but to keep on. They stood after leaving credit chips on the table. You need to go and gather anything you need. Come find me when you are ready. She leaned in and kissed him rather thoroughly and then disappeared into the crowd outside the restaurant.
It took Shemric more than an hour to return home and the first thing he did was pack his things in a satchel. He did not have many belongings and it did not take long. He next sent a message to Grand Master Shan to let her know something had come up and he would be away from Coruscant indefinitely. If they needed a representative they would need to send a new Jedi. He was not sure if she would be disappointed in him or amused. She had supported him two years earlier when he had returned from his nearly five year absence, though reports of his exploits on Balmorra had become known as Republic soldiers who had left the world filtered back into the Republic. In the end, she had been the deciding vote as to whether or not to admit him back into the Order and what his status might be. They had made him a Knight and then promptly sent him to the capital. For most of two years he had been a glorified messenger boy, and made numerous voyages back and forth from Tython to the capital carrying word.
Most of the Jedi Council members thought it was a punishment, but Shan had confided in him before leaving that she trusted him to stay free of politics and hoped he would be able to give her good advice about what was going on in Galactic Center. Despite not having any duties that kept him remotely busy, he would definitely miss Captain Greggson and helping out the local police. Greggson had told him if he were one of his people, he would have been decorated many times over for his exploits.
A quick message to the captain tied up one loose end and then he informed Senator Meacher that he had been called away with an indefinite return date. Meacher would be furious, but the two of them had never gotten along well, so he really did not care. In truth, the two years he had spent here had confirmed to him that his future did not include the Order. Julienne was simply helping him make the decision. As such, he did not pack his Jedi robes or anything that connected him to the order. He used his funds from Senator Meacher to pay the rent for the rest of his lease, but he doubted it would matter. He was not coming back.
As he walked out of his apartment, he cast his sense of Julienne wider until he had a direction. From there it was just a matter of following until he caught up with her in a crowded shopping area.
She took his hand without comment and they went strolling along as if they were in no rush, occasionally glancing with glazed looks into each other's eyes. Shemric was not sure if she was leading him somewhere or if she was just wandering, hoping to throw any followers off their trail.
She suddenly steered him down a side street and they dodged into an alley a few moments later. Up, she said, motioning with her head and she leaped for a balcony above and then onto the roof. He followed, impressed that she could maneuver so well in a dress and heals.
I wear many disguises lover-mine, she said, breaking into his thoughts. Mastering the art of walking in high heels was not as hard as learning to fight you with a lightsaber. Plus, you sort of emit this low hum of pleasure around me whenever I wear them with a dress. I like it. You once compared it to warming your hands over a fire. She was now walking briskly across the roof to a service entrance. When she tried the door and it was locked, she scowled. She walked to each edge of the roof and then went back to the one that was closest. She looked to be judging the distance and then reached into her purse, a beaded thing that looked expensive. She brought out a small device that looked like a cross between brass knuckles and a grapple.
Julienne looked quickly back and forth on the street and then took aim and a small compressed air charge shot out and arced across the street to wrap around a railing. She stepped up on the railing and pulled hard. When the line held, she held out a hand to him. Hold on tight.
To you or the line? he asked, and stepped up next to her.
Me. I am going to have to play out the line so we swing down to that balcony there. Do not worry. I have done this before. Shem wrapped his arms around her neck and jumped with her when she moved. It was altogether unsettling to be hurtling towards the side of a building and have no control over your trajectory. His stomach lurched several times as she played out the line, but true to her word, she put them comfortably on a balcony and they landed adeptly with only a small use of the Force to cushion their impact.
Julienne put the grapple back in her beaded bag, peered in through the sliding door and then keyed it open with another device. The family of four that was sitting at the table eating dinner looked at her with wide eyes as she walked through their apartment with a finger to her lips. Shemric mouthed "Sorry," quietly and then they were out the front door into a hallway.
Over the course of the next fifteen minutes, they followed a meandering course through the city that circled back onto itself once and required one more swing from building to building. This last was to a brightly lit building with hot tubs on the balconies. Here is our hotel, she said, smiling. We will not be taking the elevator. Shemric saw goggling partiers eyeballing them as they swung the short distance from what was one hotel to the other and then they were calmly dropping onto yet another balcony. The very drunk man in the hot tub lifted his drink in salute and the two women with him giggled.
Once into the hallway, Julienne checked her hair and make-up in a mirror, gave him a radiant smile and then took his hand to stroll down the hallway casually. They went up and down three elevators until she led him to a door with the number 5687 on it.
She did not pull out a room key card, but inserted her device that opened the door nonetheless. The room is registered to someone else. They are not supposed to check in until tomorrow but their reservation includes tonight, so they will be surprised when they show up and find out someone already checked in for them. But, I did pay for the rest of their days, so they should not complain too much. She swung open the door with a huge smile and Shemric understood why when he stepped inside. It was a honeymoon suite full of flowers, tasteful pink and red furnishings, a large hot tub and an enormous bed.
You just wanted a large bed so we did not fall out in the middle of wrestling, he accused.
Her eyes twinkled and she went straight to the bed and flopped down on her back. I think it is time for you to work some of your healing magic on me. Wearing heels is hard on your legs and feet.
"I am sure I can help with that," he said. He removed both her shoes but took her right leg first and started to work his thumb down her arch. She moaned in pleasure as he continued to work on her feet. His heightened affinity for healing made the process even more effective, so that when he had finished with both feet she gave him such an expression of gratitude that he could not help but laugh.
"Why is that so funny?" she asked. "I am telling you, you could make a fortune at any expensive hotel just by giving foot massages."
"Well, at least I know I have a paying future," he said.
"Indeed," she nodded and then rose off the bed and reinserted her feet in her heels. With them she was looking at him eye level. "Were you a proper Devaronian, you would know what to do with your yum-yum, but as you are not, I will show you."