Maarani was too tired, and intoxicated, to stay longer by the end of the night. Izan was accustomed to drinking far more than whatever had been served, and Dana had her own Jedi metabolism to keep her going without a flinch.
Her stomach was in a poor state, and by morning her head would be worse.
Worst of all was her sudden inability to actually sleep. A hour long nap between getting chased off by droids and arriving at the station had been so easy in comparison.
A few random thoughts began to enter her mind as she laid herself out across the bed with a sickly groan. Most of which involved punching Izan for 'encouraging' her to drink far more than she really should have. Some were about getting to meet Yuthura, and explaining why she had identical tattoos in a very drunken manner.
At some point she actually drifted off into sleep. Buried memories from the past few years began to resurface, prompted by the long conversations just earlier. The green bloodbath that had been her peacekeeping mission on Mirial. Three long weeks of constant assault by the Sith on the Mandalorian border. Her ground deployment during the first Battle of Sarka, where she began making notches on her belt for every kill…
"Maarani…"
Every one of her recollections were torn away in an instant, leaving a cold feeling that lingered on her senses. It was a sensation she felt had been experienced before, very recently. And yet she couldn't recall such an event.
Her dream vision finally returned, taking on the appearance of a desolate brown world. It appeared as if great winds were sweeping across the surface. Sapping the very form of every dead plant and barren rock in its path.
In a plume of grey smoke, what looked to be a copy of herself appeared right before her. The defining difference were the three tone markings on her face and lekku. Black, grey and white.
"She is not for you, Maarani. Your mate has been chosen. Do not pursue Zariba."
Of all things she could feel at that moment, Maarani was quite offended by the blunt statement. "Aside from being pretty presumptuous, you've got a lot of nerve… Whatever you are… Vision thing, me?" It didn't seem to faze her 'other' self in the slightest, which only annoyed her more. "What is it with everyone getting in my head and spouting random crap at me? I don't give a shit about destiny!"
That did get a reaction from the apparition, if only a minor one. "I have given you my warning, Maarani. Pursue Zariba and you will meet your end. You must wait until the time is right to save your mate from the darkness. Balance demands this occur."
"Yeah, well Balance can stuff it!"
The dark look on the Lady of Balance's face deepened further. For a moment, the black markings glowed. "If you choose that path, good people will begin to die at the hands of bad ones until you return to Balance. Maybe after the first, you will be more receptive…"
Maarani was ready to make an obscene gesture at her departure when a different thought prompted her to speak out instead. "Who is my 'mate' then? If you really are some all-powerful thing-"
"Azera Vass is her name."
It was the kind of directness that she actually wanted, instead of all the cryptic crap that had been thrown around so far. But at the same time, it was an imaginary version of herself talking through a alcohol-induced dream about destiny and other mystical things she had no belief in.
"Great, I'll look her up next time I'm on Coruscant. For now, I'm going to spend however much time I want with Zariba, because this is just some sort of subconscious bullshit telling me-"
It was torn away again with the same level of abruptness. This time, the result was waking up in a literal cold sweat, chilling beads running down her face and lekku while she sat there, taking deep breaths. Her stomach had settled by then, and there was a faint pain at the back of her head. A quick glance at the nearest clock showed several hours had passed.
"Again…?"
Her head fell back to the pillow with another sick groan. Half of what had happened in the vision-dream she had already blanked on, and the rest quickly seemed more and more incomprehensible by the minute.
Being restricted to sonic showering did little to alleviate her confusion or headache. Something she already missed from Coruscant and other planet-based accommodation.
The artificial night cycle did present its own advantage when she left her quarters. Back to her normal outfit, she had plenty of freedom to wander around the quiet corridors and onto the main promenade without the noise of bustling crowds to further aggravate her headache.
Now that she had time to appreciate the surroundings, it actually began to remind her quite a bit of the larger cities on Ryloth. Open air gardens and nurseries for plants and fungi, a notable amount of game parlours and clubs, with a very wide variety of native and alien restaurants.
A tea shop that occupied one of the corner spots was open at that very early hour. More surprisingly, there was already a customer sitting just outside. Aiyek of all people.
With a wave to Maarani, Aiyek herself tilted her head back to the shop owner, who brought a second cup out for the new arrival. "Fun night I take it?"
Maarani was slow to sit in case the extra movement alone would set off her headache. Lifting the teacup was equally slow, but once at her lips it was rather easy to drink. Whatever it contained seemed to ease the pain initially at least, which was enough for her to be content with.
"Don't sit next to a heavy drinker. Ever." She took a good few more sips before placing it down at last. The headace was definitely going to come back later and kick her ass to oblivion, but that was still a problem for later. "Tats went over well by the way, I think. Really do love how they came out."
Aiyek shrugged in a very nonchalant way as she took a few sips from her own cup. "It's way more reliable than paint and canvas, at least as far as freelance income goes. Never liked the idea of working solely for one Alderaan House or whatever."
"Don't blame you. Found a pretty nice place to settle on as well." Maarani took a longer sip now that the tea had cooled a bit. Definitely a brew of native origin. "I might just try and come back this way sometime, when I'm done with the contract."
There wasn't anything that could really stop her from coming back as a Jedi, unless of course the station itself ended up in Sith hands.
Silence set in for a while after. Maarani's headache had waned significantly in that time, enough for her to sit up comfortably at last. "Good stuff this. So much better than the human style they always have at mess halls."
A shrug followed from Aiyek, who by then had finished hers. "I got used to it after a while, colony-hopper upbringing. Wouldn't judge human tea by whatever the military get in dried bricks." She nodded her head to one of the gardens across the promenade. "Supplied right from in there, or the colony itself. Not too hard to notice the difference between them."
She leaned to her right upon noticing some familiar faces walking out onto the promenade. "Huh, Mission's up early."
Yet again, Maarani couldn't help tensing up, this time for entirely different reasons. The first thought in her head was obviously that Aiyek was referring to Mission Vao of all people. Even when considering that it was a Twi'lek station, it was so hard to believe that it really was the case.
With a lick of her lips, she twisted her head around in the least subtle of ways. A blue Twi'lek woman in her forties was indeed making her way down towards the business sector of the station, accompanied by a towering Wookiee.
Before the pair noticed, she twisted back around and stared into her cup. "The one time I'll get to meet her, and I'm stuck as just another hired gun. Two months ago I was still a hotshot pilot…" She tightened her lips and sat back up with a sigh before she actually became emotional about the realization. "Life sucks sometimes."
Aiyek reached her hand out across the table to offer reassurance, putting on her best smile. "Sweetie, I've talked with her, she's not going to care about your line of work. Just find a good moment to go say hello."
"Oh yeah, it'll be a great conversation while Zaraban stares down at me, the little Twi'lek shivering in fear."
"Zaalbar."
Maarani had to pause and think about what she had just said before it occurred to her. "Why did I say Zaraban?" By the time she took another look around, they had gone out of sight completely. "Bad idea to bother them at this hour anyway. Wonder what they're doing here though."
"Oh, they're the main suppliers for the colony. Wouldn't be nearly as far along or have a space station without them. Cuts down on the bad faces in my parlour as well." She twisted her head around as the initial wave of lights flickered on. "Waking cycle is starting, gotta get the place ready." She lifted a few credit coins out of her pocket onto the table, shrugging as they scattered across the surface.
With little else to do at that moment, Maarani began pushing them all back into a neat pile for the shop owner to collect. "Thanks for the chat, and tea. I might just go back to sleep."
She went through the rest of the cup more readily since it had cooled down in the meantime, and was about to leave when someone else decided to sit at her table.
"You following me Zariba?" A smile cracked as she noted her confusion. Even in the dim light, she was hopelessly adorable to look at. "Anything I can do before I pass out again?"
Zariba glanced around rather nervously before leaning forward, hands tightly clasped together. "You didn't look well last night. Papa was worried when you left early." The concern was quite plain in her eyes as she reached across the table a bit more, slowly unclasping her hands.
It took a bit for Maarani to notice. Of course, she would simply blame it on her fading ability to concentrate, when the answer was clear enough. "I'll be fine when I sleep this off. Just been a long while since I last attended any sort of proper dinner. Sarkans parties are actually a bit rubbish."
A chuckle from herself followed, though the humour of it seemed to be lost on Zariba. Trying to explain anything about the Sarkans would only make it even more awkward.
"Will you be okay alone?"
Maarani cracked a small smile at that, her eyes falling to the table briefly. "Yes, I've been through a lot worse before. Appreciate the concern though." She slid her tongue along her lips almost unknowingly as she pictured it for a few moments. The reality of what would happen caught up shortly after. "Not sure you'd want to see me throwing up. So, maybe we should wait until I'm in real good shape before thinking about any of that."
Again, the attempts at being lighthearted didn't quite seem to get through to her. But then on the surface, they were almost polar opposites. Withdrawn and a little too open.
She noticed activity at the counter. A fresh cup had been placed there by the tea maker himself, apparently for Zariba. A good opportunity to do something that wouldn't lead to more awkwardness. "I'll bring it over, don't you worry." Right as she was about to get up, the other Twi'lek shook her head.
"No need." Without even turning her head, Zariba reached her hand out to the cup. It lifted off the counter and floated over to her, settling perfectly into her fingertips for her to set on the table. Not even the tiniest spill had been made.
It took a few good seconds for Maarani to realize what she had just seen. "You can use the Force?"
Zariba nodded while taking a small sip from her cup, placing it down again to let it settle a while longer. "Papa came here to hide me from the child snatchers. He said I should explore my gift at my own pace. That I shouldn't be another kind of slave because the universe made me special."
"I don't know if I'd call the Jedi slavers…" It had suddenly become a very tricky situation for Maarani to discuss. Of course she had heard of all the stories about how the Jedi filled their ranks before the civil war, when the Order followed very strict traditions and questionable methods. But it had been widely circulated that the Jedi would no longer use such methods of recruitment…
Once again, Zariba shook her head. "Not the Jedi, the Sesk'nabsilai."
That really threw Maarani off for a while. It was a name she had only heard once in her life. Back on Ryloth, by some strangers who were almost arguing with her mother. There had also been several mentions of 'Jedi' thrown back at them by her. Even with all that in mind, her understanding was flimsy at best.
"I grew up in a Jedi family, so I don't really know about whatever religious crap goes on back home. But I can't argue with wanting freedom of choice."
"You don't have the gift then?"
Maarani let out a long sigh and took a deep sip from her cup. The looming headache was starting to seep back in. And there was now a significant discovery to share with Dana before she passed out. And worst of all, she had no idea on what the correct answer was to her question. There was at least a good answer to use.
"No, odd one out I guess. But who really needs fancy powers?" She did her best to force a smile, her teeth starting to grate from the faint throbs of pain seeping up through her lekku. "I'm kidding, if you didn't catch on. Maybe you can show me some more Force stuff when I wake up?"
This time she actually did leave her chair, circling around to lightly kiss Zariba's cheek before finishing off the rest of the tea. The soft smile it brought on at last was heart melting to see. "Should smile more, really do have a special feeling about you." As soon as the cup was placed back down, she hurried back in the direction of her room to catch Dana before passing out.
Zariba watched her leave, remaining rather motionless in her seat. When no-one else was around, she slowly turned to one of the small cameras observing the shop, again using the tips of her lekku to communicate.
She's hiding something big, just as you said. What next?
After a pause, the micro-communicator concealed underneath her headdress quietly flickered into activity.
"Continue to court her, avoid using your persuasion powers. Stay away from the Jedi and the Zeltron. And please, above all else, be careful."
Of course father. She won't discover anything.
"Yes I know it's really suspicious, but that's why I keep you around Z."
"Raaargh!"
Mission shook her head at his failure to appreciate the joke. "We've known each other for close to forty years. Of course you're more than a bodyguard." She felt a lot safer with him around all the same. An anonymous message sent right to her room with the request of a secret meeting away from station surveillance felt just as ominous as it sounded when she described it to him.
The room chosen by their mysterious contact appeared deserted when they first arrived. It had apparently been used as storage in recent years for whatever furniture that the resident Twi'lek didn't want to ship back to the planet. Something neither of them really cared for as far as neatness went.
After a quick sniff of the stale air, he motioned his head towards one of the passageways to their left. His hand moved to take hold of his sword while he snarled at whomever was waiting in the darkness for them.
"Stay your blade, Chieftain Zaalbar."
Dana slowly approached the two, holding her suit open to reveal the lightsaber carried to them only. "I would have asked one of your old friends to arrange this meeting, but there aren't many left amongst the Jedi."
With a wave of her hand, she lifted three chairs off a dusty table and set them down, removing the dust on them with a small gust of wind. It was only after she sat down herself that they seemed willing to let their guard down just a little.
"Funny, you guys haven't checked in much. Revan had a pretty good reason from what I hear." Mission looked to Zaalbar briefly before taking a seat, her twin blasters sitting in an easy draw position. "Problem being that it wasn't another Jedi who told me that. What ended the silence?"
"Believe it or not, a fan of yours, Miss Vao." Dana bit on her lip right after that. The businesswoman mannerisms were starting to overtake her natural ones. "We're travelling incognito to hide from HK-50's and the Sith. To maintain the disguise, I would appreciate your help with engaging in fake negotiations. Just for the next five to eight days."
Her eyes moved between both, lingering longer on the Wookiee. It was a lot harder to get a good read on the species as a whole, and he in particular had quite the stern look.
Mission's right hand moved from her blaster to the side of her head as she gave the proposal some thought. Rather underwhelming as far as requests from the Jedi went.
"Deal fell through last night, and we were going to head back to HQ tomorrow…" She glanced up at Zaalbar briefly, who shrugged in response. The decision was going to be hers as it usually was. "I suppose eight days isn't too bad. But, what's this about a fan again?"
A shuddering sigh went through Dana's lips. There had never been a promise to help with fulfilling Maarani's aspirations, and thus no legitimate reason for guilt about interfering with that. It was just a really bad time to be a gushing young girl when she was meant to have some semblance of actually being a trained fighter.
"Tegama'Arani, a rather unpredictable Twi'lek. Apparently she looks up to you because of your 'fun' adventures with Revan and company. I'm afraid she's been through a lot of hardship as of late, which hasn't helped her eccentricities. Might be better to avoid a meeting for now."
"Why? I've had half the Twi'lek population of the galaxy say how much they've wanted to meet me at this point. Maybe she could use some tips on fighting Sith and droids."
"We don't want her fighting them, Mission." Dana's next breath was rather more tense. The web of conspiracy was being stretched to encompass those completely outside the Jedi now. She still hated having to do it, even for Maarani's sake.
With another cautionary glance, she pulled her chair closer and leaned forward. "You know what fallen Jedi are like. Maarani would be ten times worse if she ends up that way. If you do meet her, please do not encourage her to fight the Sith in any way."
"Fine, fine." Mission's hand went back to her side as she prepared to get up. "Some tag-along who may ask me for an autograph while we blabber on for a week about nothing." Once on her feet, she adjusted her vest again, taking a moment to dust that off as well. "Don't suppose there's any potential for payment in this? Already taken a loss with that failed deal."
Dana rolled her eyes.
"Hey, I'm the actual businesswoman here y'know. Also that get-up is pretty silly. Has to be said. Right Z?"
Zaalbar nodded with a small gruff.
With a sigh of her own, Mission waved away the pad Dana was removing from her pocket. "For old times sake. Just let us know whenever you want to start the chit-chat and we'll be there. Same for Tegama."
This time, Dana was able to smile. At least something positive had come from the otherwise dry meeting. "Everything else I said aside, it really would mean a lot to her. In the meantime, I'll try and get the Council to catch you up when this is over."
"We appreciate that. Been a long time since we heard from anyone other than Carth." She outstretched her hand to Dana at that. "See you tomorrow then, uh…"
"Dana Lauran." Dana took hold of her hand warmly. It was rather like shaking Maarani's hand, save for the fact that Mission's wasn't quite as smooth. And the expression accompanying it was natural, rather than some ridiculous grin or begrudging frown.
When the hold broke, she looked up to Zaalbar and nodded her head as a further show of respect. "Honored to meet you both."
"Raaargh."
"Quite. I suggest heading back the way you came, chat about waiting around for a no-show. I've got my own secret Jedi tunnel to crawl through." Dana nodded her head back to the entryway she had emerged from. "Nice to meet you two."
The panel in her room that covered the tunnel in question clammered onto the floor when kicked out. In frustration at the cramped environment, she had forgotten to ease it down in case the noise attracted unwanted attention.
"What the hell?"
While clambering out, Dana looked around in a spot of panic before realizing Maarani was in the room already. The sound of a loud thud mixed in with some items being knocked off a shelf confirmed as much.
"Easy, just me Teegs." Once free of the tunnel, she gripped onto the nearby armchair to push herself back up. From there, she could see Maarani rolling around amongst some of the objects she had collided with while leaving the lounge. None had left any urgent bruises or cuts at least.
"Has Izan gotten on your nerves already? You could have simply asked for a room swap."
Maarani picked herself back up from the mess after a few attempts. Having to wait for Dana had given her too much time to think. And her head was spinning from the ever-growing headache that was taking root. A few incoherent mumbles escaped until she sat herself back down on the lounge.
"Dana… I think my people are beyond help."
Having just met with a very nice Twi'lek, Dana was completely confused by the sudden turnaround. "What are you talking about Teegs? Just yesterday you were saying they're all nice people."
It was a long minute before Maarani worked up the strength to actually respond. So many little details she had just dismissed before, all now thrust together into a big mess of all-around bad.
"The Hutts have enslaved us for so long, we've started doing it to each other. It's become a cultural thing…" She twisted her head around to look at the Jedi directly. There was a very small tear starting to well up in her left eye. "Zariba is a Force user. And Seradan brought her here so she wouldn't be taken away. By other Twi'leks. Just like your lot used to do with the whole galaxy."
Dana felt her heart thud heavily. Very distant memories were being stirred. Buried anger, hatred, distrust. "Teegs, what your people do on your homeworld is their business. The Jedi have always had bigger issues than the Hutts to deal with, whatever effect they might be having..."
Maarani leapt up from her seat. "Stop with the bullshit!"
In a tense moment she immediately came to regret, Dana reached for her lightsaber. "Tegama, I don't make policies of the Republic, or the Jedi. I completely agree that slavery and suppression of the right to choose is wrong-"
"Don't you dare give me that! I know for a fact that if I told the Jedi Council that I wanted to slaughter every last Hutt I came across, they'd shut me down immediately! They wouldn't care if it was to free my people from a life of slavery that they've already started imposing on themselves!"
Dana took a shuddering breath. Even with the mental barriers in place, she could feel the anger growing within Maarani. If she didn't act immediately…
"Sleep it off Tegama. That's the last of the alcohol talking. I'm going to have a talk with Izan."
Maarani took a threatening step forward, lifting her hands up to physically shove Dana back. "Is it the alcohol? Or is it something to do with being an empath so dangerous I have to be kept away from the other Jedi?" Hints of a smile tugged at her mouth as she saw the shock on Dana's face. One secret was out now.
"Teegs… Didn't your father tell you?"
"Tell me what? In the five or six times during my life that he was around before getting butchered, what didn't he tell me?"
Another sigh came from Dana. She only knew part of the whole matter, just enough to be aware of what had to be kept secret for a while longer. Having one less point to hide would ease the tension at the very least.
"From what I've been told, he had empathic abilities, and we think you inherited that from him. That's why you go through wild mood swings, like this." When Maarani finally began to lower her arms, she reached across to try and calm her down further. "Would you really prefer having to learn how to use the Force and keep your emotions in check at the same time? They didn't make you learn space and atmospheric combat at the same time back in your pilot days surely."
Maarani's jaw began to relax at last. Her teeth were sore from how tightly she had been biting down, throbbing just as hard as the pain in the rest of her head. Further down towards her heart, the icy feeling that had formed without her initially noticing faded as well. Another tear emerged, this time from her right eye.
Weakness spread throughout her body as she threw herself at Dana, trying to hold her as closely as possible. "I want it to stop. It's all screwed up."
Dana slipped her arms around the Twi'lek in turn. When she spoke, it was with a subtle soothing effect that would help her rest. "I know Teegs. We can't fix your emotional instability in a day, or the slavery in a week. Or the Sith in a month." When Maarani began to drift off, she carried her back over to the lounge and gently laid her down.
For a moment, Dana looked at the hand she had held over the chest. Her fingertips were definitely colder than normal.
The Council had told her to abort the whole exercise immediately if anything like that happened…
"Tegama, I promise that I will do whatever it takes to see you become a Jedi Knight. I promise to look for a way to save Masaka from the Sith, to help you find Yuthura, and to get you to Felucia sometime." She moved over to Maarani's side as her eyes fluttered shut, slowly resting on one knee while she leaned closer. "Tomorrow, we begin your training, for real. After you get to meet Mission Vao."
She gently stroked her hand across the fevered head. Until that moment, she hadn't actually taken much notice of her tattoos. They had a certain decorative appeal in the patterning certainly, and not being in any particular image meant they didn't draw attention.
Up close, they stirred a sense of familiarity. Something the other Jedi would probably recognize. Something she was missing.
"Remember the Jedi Code, Tegama. Hold to it, and you will find the peace you seek."
She brought her other knee down, settling into her meditative posture so that she could properly focus on the meaning behind the words. Hopefully enough to cleanse herself of the darkness that had touched her.
"I am a Jedi, defender of the Republic.
A guardian of peace, executor of justice.
My mind remains free of burdens, and of darkness.
My lightsaber is my life, my badge, my legacy.
I am one with the Force, now and beyond death.
The wail of the innocent shall never again fall on deaf ears…"
