Chapter 2

Compassion

Disclaimer: They're still not mine

Summary: Bao-Dur and Visas discuss the Exile.

The low hum of the lightsaber sounded ominous. "Stance low. Stay focused. Try to anticipate my moves."

"You want me to read your thoughts?"

"No, I want you to read me. Reach out with the Force. It will warn you when I am ready to attack."

"Well, that's a relief. I'm kind of attached to my limbs, you know."

The General laughed, not in mockery, but with genuine good humor.

Sound carried well on the Ebon Hawk. From his workbench in the garage, Bao-Dur could hear the lightsaber lesson without even trying. They were in the cargo hold, the only space big enough on the ship to accommodate a mock battle.

"The old woman is right."

He turned around in surprise. She had come up behind him so silently he had not heard her approach. "He is a fool, dancing for her favor," she said.

"Do you think so?" he asked. It was only yesterday that he and Visas had first spoken together, and yet already that conversation seemed like something that had happened a long time ago. They stood here now, as if they always spoke with such familiarity, with such ease.

Visas nodded. "They are both fools."

Bao-Dur considered this. Earlier in the morning the General had taught the Disciple this very same lesson. And Visas was right. In the General's presence, the Disciple lost his aloof mannerisms and became little more than a boy anxious to please.

"I am not sure I would call them fools," he said carefully, not wanting to insult anyone. "Atton and the Disciple are both Jedi now."

In truth, he was jealous of them, although he would never have admitted it out loud. They knew something now he did not. They knew the Force, and all its power. All its peace.

"Knowledge of the Force does not necessarily impart wisdom," Visas said. Her voice softened. "Yet it should. They should know their actions are useless."

Bao-Dur looked speculatively toward the wall separating the garage from the cargo hold. He had never really thought about it before. Even when Atton had come straight out and asked him, he had found a way to avoid talking about it. The General's personal life was none of his business. But now that the seer had made him think about it, he supposed she was right yet again.

"They may offer their affections, but she cannot accept," Visas said. "And their actions reveal themselves to be fools, that they do not see this truth about her."

"You mean because of the Jedi Code," Bao-Dur said. He remembered the stories that had circulated among the barracks, how the other techs had whispered about the cold Jedi, how they were never allowed to fall in love or even lay with another in bed. It felt almost like blasphemy to think of the General in such terms, but she was a thinking, feeling sentient, after all. Why should she not want to be with others of her kind?

"That is not the reason why," Visas said, dismissing the Jedi Code with six simple words. "She cannot accept their affections because in the acceptance, she must make a choice." She turned toward him. "And she will not choose between them. She will not hurt them that way."

Bao-Dur did not know what to say to this. He knew of course how Atton and the Disciple felt, but he knew nothing of what the General thought about either of them. Even had he known her innermost thoughts, it was not his place to share them with anyone.

"Compassion is her greatest strength," Visas said. "But it is also her greatest weakness."

"I do not consider compassion, or love, to be a weakness," Bao-Dur said. "Nor would the General, if you were to ask her."

"I do not need to ask her," said Visas. "I see the truth in her actions. She spared my life. That is all I need to know."

She walked away slowly. In the entryway, she stopped. With her back still to Bao-Dur she said, "Tomorrow the Exile will return to the surface of Nar Shaddaa. She must deal with the bounty hunters who chase her, and the Exchange that wants to kill her. Yet she will show them mercy if she can. I believe, however, that she will not be given that chance. She will need strength, and a quick blade. If she will have me, I will go with her. But first I need to center myself. I must meditate."

He wondered why she was telling him this. "So you can purge any compassion from yourself?"

"No," Visas said quietly. "So I might understand it." She walked from the garage.

Bao-Dur remained where he was for a long moment. Then he looked up at his remote, which had silently hovered nearby during all this. "Not a word from you," he warned.

The remote flashed its lights at him, but made no sound.

He walked quickly through the halls of the ship, moving fast so he would not change his mind. He found her in her quarters, kneeling down, her head bowed. She looked up when he entered her room.

"If you want to understand the General, and her compassion," he said, "I think I can help you."

Visas said nothing. The silence stretched out until Bao-Dur began to think she was never going to reply.

At last she said, "I would like that."

Bao-Dur smiled.

Author's Notes: Thank you so much to everyone who left a review! I appreciate that you take the time to write feedback and let me know what you're thinking. I was a bit worried that people would laugh when I said this might be a romance, but so far response seems to be positive. I hope the story doesn't disappoint.