"Ms. Daru!" Eleena is on her way to meet the arriving Jose Escriva in the hangar bay when a man's voice calls for her attention. She turns around to recognize the lead member of the strike team that had rescued her off Ziost. This is the guy who had asked all the questions.
"Oh, hello," she smiles. She will be forever grateful to this man and his team.
"They told me you were in the garden with the dogs but I missed you," the man explains sort of apologetically. "We were never formally introduced. Name's Barker. Lieutenant Commander Cliff Barker."
She nods. "Hello again. Nice to see you." There are so few familiar faces to her on this ship of thousands.
The man nods respectfully. "Lord Malgus sent orders. He says you have a new gun and need to practice shooting it for self-defense."
Did he now? Eleena smiles. The Absolute's resident Dark Lord has been gone three days now and she hasn't heard from him. But she's been thinking of him nonstop. Apparently, she must be on his mind too.
"Yes, he gave me a new gun." Eleena lifts the hem of her dress to give Barker a playful peek at the snub blaster strapped to the inside of her left lower leg. "I haven't shot it yet. I don't think anyone has shot it yet."
"I can help with that, Ma'am," the Lieutenant Commander answers. Together they make plans for Eleena to drop by the strike team's next training session later that afternoon. It's something to look forward to after all these boring days spent amusing herself with the dogs. Eleena can hardly wait.
"Have you ever shot a blaster before?" the team leader asks. "Before Ziost, I mean," he corrects himself.
"Er . . . a little," Eleena answers. It's not false modesty in her mind. She's more experienced with a blaster than most civilians, but that probably means little to an experienced fighting man like this, she figures.
"That's fine," he assures her. "My men will give you some pointers and you can spend some time at the firing range. We'll get you comfortable with that new weapon in no time," he promises.
"Thank you," Eleena nods. "I'd like that."
The Lieutenant Commander grins as he refers to their prior adventure, "You never know when you'll run into a Jedi again." The comment makes them both laugh a little. The team leader seems nice. Eleena likes him instantly.
Then, she is off to the hangar bay to meet Jose. Lord Malgus' manservant had sent a message saying he would be in the ship's vicinity today and did she need anything? Eleena had asked him to come. She has some things to discuss that would be best done in person. And, she's anxious for some company.
As she makes her way to the hangar bay, Eleena notes all the surreptitious glances. She still feels very on display. The corridors here on the uppermost deck of the dreadnought are perpetually crowded and as a female alien wearing a fancy dress she very conspicuous. Still, Eleena has been making herself take long walks around the ship every day since Gaius left. She holds her head high, tries to meet people's eyes, and strives to look purposeful even though she is basically wandering aimlessly and often lost. Because if this warship is going to be her home, she's going to have to get comfortable with all the attention. She belongs here, she tells herself. Soon, she hopes, the novelty of seeing the blue Twi'lek woman will wear off. But as she stands waiting in the busy hangar bay watching the supply ships and fighters patrolling the blockade come and go, she feels the weight of many eyes.
The scrutiny increases when Jose Escriva arrives to the Absolute in the stylish luxury cruiser yacht that Eleena remembers being parked at the space station. It's a big, showy transport for just a pilot and Jose, but apparently this is how Lord Malgus' civilian emissaries travel. There is no formal military assembly to receive Jose, just her. But Eleena can feel every eye in the cavernous hangar bay trained on them. No doubt everyone is curious why Lord Malgus' personal head of household is here to meet the alien refugee woman from Ziost.
Self-conscious, fidgeting Eleena smiles sheepishly at Jose as he walks down the ramp. He looks concerned. The manservant's eyes sweep over Eleena and he instantly suggests they talk in private. Only when they are behind the closed doors of Lord Malgus' quarters does Jose speak again.
"You're leaving him." It's a statement not a question. Jose looks let down. He sighs heavily. "I knew he would chase you away."
In the awkwardness of the moment, Eleena hesitates.
Jose jumps in to fill the silence. He's all business now. "Are your things packed? The Master said to make sure you take all of it. He wants you to have it all for your new life."
Jose misunderstands. Eleena starts sputtering, "It's not what you think—"
He holds up a hand to forestall her words. "The Master said no questions asked. You don't owe me an explanation."
"No, I'm staying. Jose, I'm staying," she protests.
"You are?" The senior servant looks like perhaps he has misheard. "You are?" Jose looks relieved. "Really?"
"Yes," Eleena says firmly. "I know he says I should go back to the station for safety, but I'm staying."
"Then why am I here?" Jose looks confused.
"Well, uh . . . I was hoping you could help me make this place a little more comfortable." Her tentative, defensive voice ends on an up note, like a question. Eleena gestures around at the sparse, drab rooms that have very utilitarian furnishings. The durasteel floor is hard and cold on bare feet. The chairs around the small dining table are the same as the office chairs in the small conference room. The couch is basically an elongated version of the chairs. None of it is comfortable, especially for a two-meter Sith who wears chunky armor a lot and likes to manspread when he relaxes. "Do you think there are any extra things at the space station that we can move here?" Eleena asks hopefully. "He spends so much time here. It would be nice if it were a little less impersonal. And more relaxing."
"Yes, of course. We can definitely do better than this." Jose slants some side eye at Eleena now. He's still suspicious that something is up. "So . . . you called me here just to talk to me about redecorating? That's all?"
"Well . . . er . . . yes. Did I do the wrong thing?" she asks nervously. "I did the wrong thing, didn't I?"
"You really aren't leaving, are you?" Again, Jose sounds relieved. He turns back to her from surveying the furnishings and smiles broadly. "Eleena, we can do whatever you want. Shall I hire a decorator to work with you?"
A decorator? "Oh, no! I just want to make it more homey feeling. Let's use what we already have. You know—some stuff from home to make it feel more like home."
Jose nods at this suggestion. "Yes, we can certainly do that. Lady Cassis was by the station last week for a tour. From her reaction, I think she will be making major changes. Well, basically, she's planning to throw most everything out. So how about I pick what's in the best condition from the station and send it here?"
"Good idea." Eleena starts rattling off her thoughts on what to take from the space station as Jose takes copious notes.
"Keep going," Jose tells her as they walk the Master's rooms together. And with this encouragement, Eleena starts moving on to other ways she wants to upgrade their drab surroundings. "Can we get some better towels?" she asks, fingering the military issue linens. "These ones are scratchy and far too small." As the manager of the Sith's two households, Jose knows what his Master likes. And now he too is making suggestions. He and Eleena put their heads together. After an hour or so, the manservant has a lengthy procurement list. It's all intended to make the quarters on the Absolute a smaller version of his private apartment at the space station.
"Give me a few days and I can have all of this here to be changed out. When is the Master coming back?"
"I don't know," Eleena answers. "He didn't say. He's at the battlefront."
"Even when he says a date he'll be back, he's always late," Jose laughs knowingly. "With Lord Malgus, a few days is sometimes weeks. But then again," he looks approvingly over at Eleena, "that was before he had someone to come home to."
This is the first time since the awkward misunderstanding at his arrival that Jose has overtly alluded to her relationship with Darth Malgus. Eleena can't help it. She feels her face flush bright pink.
Jose sees this and is horrified. He hastens to make amends. "I'm not judging you. All of us back at the station were hoping this would happen but then you went to Ziost . . . "
"All of you?" Eleena says weakly. How much had the station staff seen and heard, she wonders.
Jose shrugs. "Yes. You and the Master have a chemistry together. Everyone could see that. When he took an interest in you, we all noticed." She bites her lip and he assures her again, "No one is judging you. The whole staff was relieved to learn that you are alive. And the story of your rescue confirmed what we all were hoping. I, for one, am very happy that he hasn't chased you away. I can certainly tell that he is trying. And . . . for good reason." Jose does not elaborate but just assumes Eleena knows why.
"He tried to send me away. I refused," Eleena reveals softly.
"You are braver than I am, if you will defy a Dark Lord." The longtime family servant leans forward now to urge her, "Make him happy, Eleena. The Master needs that." Jose, like the rest of Lord Malgus' personal staff, is devoted and quite protective of the Master.
Eleena just nods. She's still feeling very uncomfortable. And now, oddly pressured too.
"It's been six . . . no . . . probably eight years now since the Master had a companion," Jose reveals.
"Are they all dead?" Eleena asks bluntly, fearing the worst. Lord Malgus' repeated warnings about the dangers posed by his enemies and the sad story of his dead sister are still very much on her mind.
"Oh, no. The Master dismissed them all over time. Well, I think one or two may have left him. Some lasted a few months. With others, it was off and on over the course of a couple of years. None of them lived with the Master. Those women were . . . er . . . 'kept' on Dromund Kaas in the traditional sense." Jose is trying to phrase it as best he can.
Fascinated, Eleena starts asking questions about her predecessors. "Who were they? Where did he meet them?"
The manservant thinks back. "One was a Mandalorian noblewoman. She was the exception, though. The rest were Sith ladies. Widows who were on their own. Not women from the ruling families, of course. Those women would have been taken care of by their own clans. Plus, the Master made a point to stay distant from any highborn Sith lady after . . . er . . . what happened . . ." Jose slants her a glance. "You know about that, right?"
"He told me."
"That was a bad business," the senior servant shakes his head. "On both sides. It was decades ago now, but the Master can't ever get past it. All the best families closed ranks against him after that. He crossed a line that was unacceptable." Loyal Jose makes a face. "The Master has been a social pariah ever since. And no amount of glory or war prizes will ever open those doors again. And without the goodwill of the most powerful families, the Master will never make it onto the Dark Council. This is as far as his career will probably ever go," Jose sums up glumly. "The Master is the best warrior Lord of recent generations. Everyone knows it, but no one says it."
"So . . . the other women . . . " Eleena wants to know more about them. "They were all fully human? Not humanoid?"
"Oh, yes. They were human. There were quite a few back in the day," Jose recalls matter of fact. "But for many years now, there has been no one. The Master has been alone a long time." And now, Jose continues with his blunt speaking. "Eleena, we all wish you were the new mistress. Lady Cassis is planning to shake things up."
Having met the lady, Eleena is not surprised. "Is everyone worried for their jobs?"
"The cook and the housemaids certainly are."
"But you're okay, right?"
Jose looks grim but he maintains optimism. "I hope so. I suspect she'll be making more changes to the villa since she will be living there full-time. Lady Cassis is planning to replace and supplement the current staff on Dromund Kaas with her own family retainers."
"Oh."
"That's how these things are done," Jose explains. "Lady Cassis wants to be especially certain of the loyalty of her staff. What will all the Master's enemies to consider . . . She'll be taking no chances. You should see the security measures she has demanded in the settlement."
And now that they are dishing on the soon-to-be Lady Malgus, Eleena too speaks her mind. "I met Lady Cassis back at the station. That woman is awful."
But for Jose, apparently, the jury is still out. He gives a little shrug. "She's a Sith aristocrat. They are all like that at least on the surface. But sometimes they surprise you, Eleena. They are not always what they first appear."
"The Master certainly isn't," she agrees, thinking of all the posturing he does in public. It's like when he leaves his quarters to step into public, a blank mask descends on his face and his demeanor becomes habitually cold and gruff. The man behind closed doors is far more personable than anyone onboard the Absolute would ever suspect.
And now, Jose has a warning for her. "You know, the first thing Lady Cassis asked about when she had me alone was you." He gives Eleena a very pointed look. "I was happy to tell her that you had left us for Ziost. I believe she thinks you are still there. And that is very good."
"Would she even care about me and the Master?" Eleena asks. She's not familiar with the Sith culture of arranged marriages so she doesn't really understand what they are like in practice.
"Probably," Jose answers. "The Sith are possessive and controlling. The women are no different than the men." He looks her in the eye. "I suspect it's more the principle of the matter. Lady Cassis might not want to be in Lord Malgus' bed but that doesn't mean she wants you there instead."
"Oh." Eleena blanches. Then she reddens.
"I'm sorry for my plain-speaking." Jose is now as red faced as she is. "I meant no offense. It's just that I know you are from the Republic so you might not realize these things . . . "
"Who am I kidding?" Eleena sighs as she sinks down heavily in a nearby chair. "Everyone knows what's going on." She makes a face. "The fact that I'm an alien slave makes it worse with her, right?"
Jose reluctantly agrees. "You are not who Lady Cassis would expect for her rival for Lord Malgus' affections," he says diplomatically. "But hold your head high. You are a Sith Lord's lady, even if it's unofficial. Make him happy. Make yourself happy as well."
Eleena gives Jose a determined look now. "Yes, that's the plan."
Jose approves. "I'm glad you're here on the ship. You are much safer here than you are back on Dromund Kaas. Now, what do you need? Or should I say want? Need is not the standard here. How can I make things more comfortable for you?"
Eleena thinks a moment before she decides. "Can I get some lip gloss?" she begins.
It turns out that Jose has brought some more additions to her growing wardrobe with him on the cruiser. Finally, Eleena has some casual clothes. She is delighted to discover that among these new purchases are a few things suitable to wear while practicing her shooting. That has Eleena very excited. She can wear some of it later today.
But enough about her. Eleena asks for an update on everyone back at the station. She learns that Cook's grown son just got married and that her housemaid roommate has a not-so-secret budding romance with one of the station's techs. Everyone misses the dogs that they pretended to hate for years. It's quiet and neat now that they are gone, Jose explains. But it's weird not having them around. He promises to send her Cook's recipe for Lord Malgus' favorite cookies. Eleena thinks perhaps she can coax the Absolute's commissary into a batch now and then. Jose endorses this plan with conspiratorial glee.
The homey gossip is fun, but it's about everyone else but Jose. So Eleena asks gently, "How are you these days?"
"Better," the overworked manservant sighs. "I'm no longer the Master's civilian aide-de-camp and we no longer have the station full of bivouacked officers. I was happy to move on from all of that. I've seen enough spies beheaded at dinner to last a lifetime," he exchanges glances with her.
"But . . . ?" Eleena can hear the unspoken qualification in his tone.
"I'm overseeing the marriage settlement negotiations," Jose explains. "That's my big task these days."
"How's that going?" Eleena asks a little too casually. She's not fooling Jose about her curiosity, she knows.
"Slower than the Master had hoped," Jose discloses with a shrug. "It progresses in fits and starts. Getting all those lawyers and accountants on the same page is like herding banthas. There isn't much urgency to the situation from the other side right now. But things will get serious again when the next quarter rolls around and Darth Serevin has bills to pay."
"This is all about credits?"
Jose nods. "Basically. The Master is buying his way back into social circles that closed to him years ago. But his war record helps too. What the Master has accomplished on his own is nothing short of remarkable. And that he has rebounded so fast from the loss of his old ship is very impressive."
"A lot of that is thanks to your help," Eleena credits Jose who she remembers working night and day in those first few months after Lord Malgus' defeat at the hands of the Republic.
Jose nods and alludes to the Sith system of patronage. "What is good for the Master is good for all of us." And this is the crux of the tribal-minded Sith. They pick a team and give all for it.
As Eleena walks Jose back to his ship, he keeps gently haranguing her to bring him more requests. "I can get you whatever you want," he promises. But Eleena demurs. She doesn't need much, she tells him. By comparison to her life at Barrabas Logistics, she lives very luxuriously these days.
A few hours later, mindful of all the dire warnings from Lord Malgus, Eleena begins her sessions with the Ziost strike team who had rescued her weeks ago. She's got her new casual pants and boots on. The tunic blouse that went with them is a bit too girly looking, so Eleena pilfers a black t-shirt from Lord Malgus' closet instead. All in all, it's a functional, casual look that strikes her as far more appropriate than swooping down to C Deck in one of her queenly gowns. It has the added benefit of being all black, and that helps Eleena blend in better amid the mostly grey and black uniforms of the Sith military.
As luck would have it, Eleena ends up walking behind two of the men of the Ziost strike team as she wanders down to the dreadnought's lower deck training facilities. She's not intending to eavesdrop, but it's unavoidable in the circumstance. They are talking loudly and they have no idea that she is behind them.
"So . . . do you think Malgus is banging her?" the taller man asks his companion. Eleena has worked around spacers in freight warehouses for years, so she recognizes the way men talk about women when they are not around to hear. And if this conversation is any indication, then Gaius is right to make their relationship open and notorious to put all of the speculation to rest.
The shorter man walking on the left considers. "If she were human, I might bang her. Have you seen her since she healed up? I saw her yesterday on A Deck and she cleans up okay. Never would have guessed that when we pulled her off Ziost."
"She's too tall for you."
"Lying down she's not." The two men exchange looks and laugh man to man.
"Yeah, he's definitely banging her. You don't sneak behind enemy lines to rescue a woman who's just your former employee. You and I both know that we just happened upon all those other prisoners. And when we were at her apartment, Malgus knew way too much about her."
"I don't know . . . Maybe she really was our agent and she had valuable intel? The Republic thought she had intel. Why else would they interrogate her?"
"Nah, if Malgus thought she had intel to spill he would have had an asset already on-world kill her to silence her. He wouldn't bother rescuing a compromised agent in an invasion situation."
"Yeah, I guess you're right."
"Look, if she were our agent, we wouldn't need to teach her to shoot," the taller man points out the obvious.
"Why are we supposed to teach her?"
"Because Barker said so and we are good soldiers who follow orders. Look, we'll show her the safety lock and let her shoot a little. Maybe go through some basic stances. It's one-hour max."
"Ron said she drilled that Jedi woman twice before she hit the ground. If that's true, this woman can already shoot."
"Then that will make things easier. But I think it was a lucky shot."
"Alright."
"Hey, don't look so glum. How long has it been since you spent an hour with a woman?"
"She's an alien. Trust it to Malgus to be banging an alien."
"Geez, she's a Twi'lek. You're acting like she's Gungan or something freakish like that. I mean—it's like she's almost human."
"She's blue. Not my thing, man."
"She's the only woman on the ship who's a civilian and therefore exempt from the no fraternizing rule. You do realize that means you can actually flirt with her without the risk of court martial, right?"
"Not if Malgus is banging her, I can't," his friend retorts.
Luckily, when minutes later Eleena presents herself for instruction, the two men are completely professional and none the wiser that they have been overheard. They weren't trying to be offensive and they aren't bad guys. "Hello. I'm supposed to meet Lieutenant Commander Barker. Am I in the right place?" she asks.
Where is the team leader? She doesn't see him. Eleena looks around at the training facility and shooting range that looks much larger and more elaborate than what she remembers from the space station. There are uniformed men everywhere practicing their warcraft. Once again, Eleena is very aware that she does not belong.
The taller one politely answers. "Yes, ma'am. You're in the right spot. Barker will be along shortly. He's always late." The two men now introduce themselves. She only vaguely remembers their faces from Ziost. A lot of that day is a blur in retrospect. "It's good to see you recovered, ma'am," she hears.
"What have you got there?" the shorter man is curious about the blaster case she is carrying. Eleena opens it to reveal the gun Lord Malgus gave her to wear secreted under her dress.
"That looks like a Glock," the taller man observes with a knowledgeable eye.
"That is a Glock. But it's smaller than the usual one."
"Is it?" Eleena wouldn't know. "I am supposed to keep it strapped to my leg under my dress."
"That's hot," the shorter man says under his breath and it earns him a reproving glare from his friend. Eleena pretends not to notice. These two are more bumbling than threatening, she decides. But where is that Lieutenant Commander?
The taller man speaks up as he gestures towards the gun. "Look, we know you shot that Jedi and all. But are you sure you can handle this? It may look small, but it's lethal."
"I've never shot it before," Eleena admits.
The men take that to mean that Eleena is inexperienced with guns aside from pumping rounds into the Jedi at close range. "Okay," the taller man takes the lead and lifts the weapon from its case to demonstrate for Eleena. "This is the safety lock. When the safety is on, the gun won't fire. When it's off, it's a live firearm. Got it? Good. This is set to stun. We always practice set to stun. Now, are you lefthanded or righthanded?" The man hands Eleena the gun and starts showing her a basic two-handed pistol grip. When he is satisfied, he explains how to aim. He wants her to fire. "Okay, good. Take a few shots at that target over there. Let's see how you do. Take all the time you need to aim."
It feels good to have a gun in her hand again. Eleena smiles as she drills the target dead center on all eight rapid-fire shots. "Oh," is all her two instructors say as they exchange looks. They are impressed.
But Eleena frowns. "I think this gun kicks a little to the left. There's a lot of movement in this one compared to my old one."
"It's because this weapon is so small," she is told. "Smaller pistols have greater recoil. You have to adjust to that for rapid fire. Try again."
She does. And again, Eleena drills the target dead center every time.
"Well done. Let's try two targets. It will be hard at first, so don't be disappointed if you miss a few. If you miss, keep going on to the other side. Just alternate between the left and the right."
She does. Yet again, Eleena drills the targets dead center. This time, she doesn't bother with the stabilizing two-handed grip. She just raises the weapon in her right hand, aims, and fires.
"Okay, what's next?" she asks her two suddenly quiet instructors.
"Er . . . here's the boss," the tall guy mumbles as Lieutenant Commander Barker walks up late as predicted. "Do those shots again, Ms. Daru, so he can watch."
She obliges. When the three men blink at her a moment, Eleena suggests, "Back at the station, we used droids. Do you have any of those I can try?"
"Battle droids? You're a civilian but you've trained with battle droids?" the taller man asks.
The team leader nods slowly. "Yes, well I guess that's the next step. To simulate live combat action. Let's see what you can do with this new gun, Ms. Daru," he tells her as he walks off to retrieve a droid. It looks just like the ones she and Lord Malgus used on his space station.
Her instructors begin explaining how the droid works. It is set to a basic beginner drill that Eleena has already mastered. She listens patiently to all their advice and then asks, "Just one droid?"
The men take the hint. "Er . . . two. Let's use two."
Two, it is. The beginner level drill with slow timed response fire is easy for Eleena. As she concentrates to take the shots, she observes offhand, "It feels weird to do this without a lightsaber buzzing around."
The men exchange looks again.
"Have you got another gun I can use?" Eleena asks. "I really need to work on my left hand. I'm weak on that side." She is handed another gun and now she herself starts adjusting the droids to a more advanced drill. This time, Eleena doesn't make all of her shots. She misses three on the left side. But she holds her own. So, she tries it again. And now, she is getting the feel of the new guns she is holding. This time, she makes all of her shots. "That's better," she commends herself.
Eleena turns around to grin at her instructors and discovers that Captain Ledbetter is here observing. And that's unexpected. "Hello, Ms. Daru. Still the same crackshot you were at the station, I see," he comments. And that's a meaningful endorsement in front of this crowd. The Captain looks amused as he observes, "Careful men. She might make you look bad." Then the Absolute's leader is off to the next thing. "Carry on," he orders as he departs.
"What was that about?" the short man of the trio asks to his team leader in the Captain's wake. And Eleena is curious, too.
"He relayed Lord Malgus' orders," the Lieutenant Commander explains. "I guess he wanted to be sure I followed through."
Her trio of instructors are now past their initial surprise at her skill. Seeing that they have an apt student who really wants to learn has them enthusiastic to teach. They promptly make plans for shooting drills with Eleena several times a week. Eleena thinks they are done, but apparently not. The team leader wants to show her some basics of hand to hand combat. There are training droids for this skill too, only they project holographic opponents. They lunge and swipe at you, but there is no actual impact from a hit. Eleena soon finds herself standing on a mat, bobbing, and weaving away from a virtual opponent. After the two-minute assessment drill, Eleena is panting but proud that the droid hasn't landed a punch.
"You're good at avoiding hits," the team leader approves.
His tall colleague nods. "Yeah. This isn't the first time someone has taken a swing at you. Am I right?"
"I've had some practice," Eleena admits with deliberate vagueness, looking away.
The men must sense her discomfort because they don't pursue the point. They probably think she's referring to the interrogator on Ziost. So, they move on. "How are you at landing a hit?" the Lieutenant Commander asks.
"I've never really hit anyone," Eleena admits softly. Slaves don't get to fight back. Her skills are only at defense, not offense.
"Well, now is your chance." She is handed a pair of boxing gloves to protect her hands. And now, the virtual attacker droid is replaced with a padded dummy of a human man. "Pretend this is someone you really don't like."
"Yeah, pretend this is one of those Republic interrogators on Ziost who beat you up," the short guy suggests.
"Where do I hit him?" Eleena asks. She's not sure how to do this.
"Give him a right punch to the face and then a kick." The team leader demonstrates. "You're tall and you've got some mass on you. So put your weight behind it, Ms. Daru. Let him have it."
"Okay. And please, call me Eleena." Here goes nothing, she thinks as she screws up her face and remembers her ugly time on Ziost. Thinking of how much she hates the Republic, Eleena throws the first real punch of her life.
"That will work. Now, give him a kick."
Eleena does. But she doesn't kick the dummy in the chest like her instructors had. She kicks him hard in the groin. The heavy dummy keels over backwards to clatter to the floor as her instructors wince.
"Er . . . right. Good. That got him."
The planned one hour of introductory basics turns into two hours. As they are wrapping up, the team leader commends Eleena. "You're a real fast learner. Hey, come back tomorrow, will you? The rest of the guys will be here then. This is a good refresher for us to revisit the basics ourselves."
"Yeah, this is fun for us," his colleague seconds his opinion.
It's fun for Eleena too. She immediately agrees. And that is how she comes to spend most every morning learning from these men and the rest of the Absolute's best team of ground fighters. It's not long before Eleena is running combat drills and learning sniper techniques. It's very hard work, and it's frustrating at times. She can't compete with the physical strength, speed, and stamina of these veteran fighting men, but she does her best. Her instructors are patient and encouraging for the most part. They clearly enjoy the novelty of teaching Eleena. And, when it comes to the shooting drills, she could teach a few of them a thing or two.
"It's too bad you can't come with us on our next mission," Lieutenant Commander Barker tells her offhand one day as he stands at her shoulder observing her target practice. "You're very good with a gun." That's a sentiment she hears more than once. A few days later when Eleena is finishing up a training drill with four other men against the droids, she is praised again: "You could be a mercenary. For real. I'd fight at your side, Eleena."
"Maybe I should enlist?" Eleena jokes in response. That's not an option, of course. The Sith army does not recruit alien women into its military.
"If it were up to me, I'd make an exception for you," the team leader smiles magnanimously upon her. And then he invites Eleena to sit in on the briefing for the team's upcoming mission. The operation is to plant bombs to remotely detonate a key Republic supply depot on Ziost. The team is on standby for the mission currently. It keeps being pushed back as the Sith army on Ziost fails to make the progress necessary to provide the proper air and ground support for the raid. So as the men wait for the larger war objectives to be attained, they hang out on the Absolute training with Eleena to pass the time. A lot of being a soldier is waiting around for orders, she learns. In the meantime, you train and train and train.
Training with the strike team earns Eleena some friends on the ship. But more importantly, it earns her respect. Before long, she is much more comfortable marching the Absolute's hallways, especially when she's going to and from practice with a pair of blasters holstered on her swinging hips. And more and more, instead of covert looks in the hallway, she gets nods and even some smiles. Slowly, Eleena is starting to belong.
She is certain that everyone is still speculating about who she is and why she is here. People are curious that way. How will the crew react when Lord Malgus returns and she is there to greet him? Only time will tell. But little by little, Eleena is coming around to the idea of being open and notorious. At first, the very thought had filled her with dread. But now, part of her is excited to see how it will turn out. And . . . she can't wait to be back in Lord Malgus' arms.