"Well, buddy. I'm sure that one was not pleasant to hang! Were you leering at your Commander?"
I sat on one of the benches in the common room and huffed with exasperation at the mocking comment of my comrade sitting next to me.
"Of course. And this little humiliation right afterwards: a delight." I ironically said.
"Now, you have to admit that she's more pleasant to look at than old Tavhir." He continued, slumping a little more on the bench, pretending not to have heard me.
"Shut up, Harden." Another of my comrades coldly cut in, seated at a table opposite us. She put down the datapad she was consulting before interfering in our exchange, then continued: "That woman has no regard for us. She barely looked at us! We're just cannon fodder for her, entirely devoted to the protection of her holy person! For gods' sake, guys, put your brains into action for once!"
"You're being unfair, Hannah." Harden replied suddenly and gravely. "You're taking us for rutting monkeys, simply for some little jokes." He added with some sternness in his voice. I saw him get up and walk over to the table where Hannah was sitting.
He paused for a moment, staring with disappointment at his colleague, then, with a teasing smile on his lips, he whispered in her ear: "With the bure she was wearing, getting a glimpse of the lady's bottom was an impossible task."
"You're pathetic." Hannah replied with detachment. Harden laughed, and ran in the direction of the refectory.
I got up to join the woman, who was struggling to resume her reading after this low-level exchange. After settling into a chair, I spoke:
"I'm sorry for embarrassing us." I confessed. "It was weird to see that woman. We've been hearing so much about her. I got distracted by her presence. It's like having a character from a novel in front of you: everyone talks about her, but you can't imagine that you'll ever really cross paths with her."
Hannah looked up from her datapad and looked at me with some intensity.
"I felt weird too." The young woman admitted in turn. "I don't like being under her command. I find her obnoxious. But I can't help looking at her with envy." I looked at my friend with understanding. "I think I'm a little jealous. I'm certainly older than her, and what do I have to say? She's the brightest student in the Order. We all owe her our lives, even though we don't know her. And besides, the little we've just experienced doesn't even make us want to know more. It's infuriating."
"You're a member of a unique group of elite soldiers, Hannah. You've proven yourself at least as valuable as that harpy in this war... And you have a wonderful little family waiting for you, may I remind you. Don't forget them. She would never be able to claim as much."
The kind words I had spoken seemed to have an almost euphoric effect on my companion. The young woman smiled tenderly at the mention of her family: her husband, her two daughters, the reason for her existence. It's true that Bastila Shan couldn't compete on that ground.
"Anyway, even if she were allowed, who would ever want her?" Hannah said softly, giving a nervous laugh, to which I replied, amused.
"Thank you Corem." The young woman added with sincere gratitude. "This will be a rough time to spend. We'll certainly laugh about it, when it's over."
"I'm sure we will." I said with a smile.
Another soldier from the garrison burst in briskly, and announced:
"Don't stay here any longer, or you'll be denied tonight's meal!"
"We're coming, Lieutenant Ulgo." The young woman reassured.
I then stood up, put a hand on Hannah's shoulder:
"Let's go." I said simply.
Hannah nodded, put down the report she still held in her hands, and accompanied me to the dining hall, where the rest of the garrison was gathered.
The dining hall was huge. It must have housed several hundred soldiers, all seated by unit. I had been sitting with my colleagues for about twenty minutes. I was not particularly involved in their discussions. The ambient hubbub didn't really help me to concentrate on what everyone was saying, and I was much more attentive to what was happening at the command table, which was a few metres from ours. I saw Lieutenant Carth Onasi, Commander Bastila Shan and the two other Jedi with her seated.
I stopped again at the famous woman, and took advantage of this calmer moment to observe her. She had visibly switched the Jedi's robes for the dark, slim-fitting uniform of the Republic's general officers, which I readily admitted gave the young woman a convincing depth. Nevertheless, I did not know if this choice of clothing was a proof of respect on her part for her rank and for the men in her charge, or if it was another attempt at provocation.
We couldn't blame a Commander for dressing like a Commander anyway.
Then I concentrated on the Jedi's face. Harden, even if his primitive male demeanour did a great disservice to the quality of his arguments, was not wrong: Bastila Shan was a very beautiful woman. She had her dark brown hair firmly tied in a single bun at the back of her head, which gave me plenty of time to examine her face. She had fine features, drawn with the greatest care and delicacy. But what was most remarkable was without a doubt her eyes. Two large, almost opaline grey eyes topped by finely drawn dark eyebrows. Nothing to do with mine, which were such a boringly common brown. I was fascinated. Not only by the woman's eyes themselves, but by the intelligence that her gaze gave off. Admittedly, Bastila Shan had shown herself in an unflattering light to that point, but it could not be denied that, despite her coldness, she had a particularly serious presence.
I was suddenly brought out of my observation by the woman herself, who rose from the table and, after politely greeting Carth, left the dining hall accompanied by the other two Jedi.
"Pretty little thing, that's what I was saying." Harden pushed, nudging me. It took me a few seconds to be sure of what I had just heard.
"That's not how I see her." I replied with a certain absence. "I think she has elegance that I've rarely seen in anyone else."
"Mmm." Harden replied, unconvinced.
About ten seconds passed.
"It's true that she rehabilitated you with elegance earlier on." He finally added, holding back a weak laugh.
I turned my eyes towards my comrade and shook my head in disapproval. I took a deep breath and decided to leave the table and go to my quarters, while Harden looked on in confusion.
