Disclaimer: The Following is a non-profit fanfiction. "Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic" is copyrighted to George Lucas, LucasArts, Bioware and Obsidian respectively. Please support the official release.
A/N: All facts, details and accounts were taken from the source Wookieepedia. Any disputes, corrections or claims about the continuity should be addressed in Private Messages.
Sentences in Italics refer to flashbacks.
Dialogue in "(Italics and parentheses)" refer to alien text translated to Galactic basic.
Mira's Last Job Chapter 3
She continued to stalk him for some time. Once again, she felt the fool for not confronting him, but excused herself by saying she wasn't ready yet. Of course, as she watched him go into the cockpit, one of her more outspoken critics confronted her.
"Statement: Might I say, that if you are planning an assassination, you are doing a fairly poor job at it."
"Get out of here!" Mira said, fearing that the droid's vocabulator would alert him.
"Request: I may also ask, that if you are going to plan an assassination, you must use a proper stealth field, not the standard, and thus mediocre, one you simply purchased from the markets. Silly meatbags and their toys…"
"I'm not planning to kill him, now go away!" She shushed loudly, finding Atton come from the Security room to the cockpit.
"Hey, you've been busy, haven't you?" Atton said. "I was wondering if I could interest you in a friendly game of Pazaak."
"Depends. Nar Shaddaa rules?"
The pilot smirked. "Not 'that' friendly. C'mon, for old times sake."
"Sure." The Exile said, waiting for his hand to be dealt. Some time passed as the two were enraptured in their game. As if watching a game of mental strategy, the two continued to play for some time, saying nothing between them. Mira wondered if he was fond of awkward silences, because he had surely mastered them. Finally, the final card was played as Atton smirked.
"That's no good. If you can't even beat me in Pazaak, how are you going to fend off a Sith Lord's mind attack?"
"Because the Sith Lord wasn't cutting the deck…" The Exile smiled brefily before it disappeared.
"Have you thought about what you're going to do, after all this is done?"
Atton looked up, "Actually wanted to ask you about that. I'm not actually an official Jedi, so I wanted your recommendation. You know, besides cleaning the Pazaak Den out and getting all the free Juma Juice I wanted."
He looked at the pilot, sternfaced as before. "Atton, if I told you that this road of charity and general goodwill yielded no redemption, would you still do it?"
The pilot paused, unsure what to say. "You're saying it's not…?"
"I wouldn't lie to you, Atton. For people like you, like me, there are thousands of lives we've claimed and all the good we do possibly won't change the fact that those lives are dead. Now, if I told you there was no redemption, no reward, no ease of conscience at the end of the road, would you do it?"
The pilot sat still for a while, thinking of his answer. Mira, originally simply wanting to talk to the Exile, was caught up in his teachings. Atton paused for a while and looked up.
"Yeah, because I still owe it to them. I've got a debt to pay, and I intend to pay it back."
"Then, you have your answer…" The Exile said, leaving. Mira paused for a moment, and left, still unsure what to say.
She sat at the starport, waiting for a next flight. Ever cautious and wary, she stayed close to the turrets. That way, if a strange man tried to 'take advantage of her', she's just scream and her hunter just be'd spaced. Of course, probable of a threat as it was, it was the least on her mind right now.
It'd been no secret that she was no friend of Hanharr. Meeting his species was just damn near intimidating. And to add to that, they were asking for her help? No chance. She wasn't interested. Not one bit. For one thing, several of them bore an almost scary resemblance to the beast at hand, and she wasn't going to get involved in anything that made Hanharr go crazy. However, she did realize that Hanharr wasn't exactly the best representative of his species, but still. She was determined to get involved.
Some of the natives, in chains, passed her by. Mira avoided eye contact, unwilling to budge. While it was true Mira did once believe in healing the galaxy, trying to fix it piece by piece, things changed when he left. He promised to help her, to be there when she needed it. But he didn't. He left. Off to fight an unknown enemy while she was left with echoes in her head. She wanted someone there, someone to help her. But he wasn't; just up and left like everybody else.
He was smart enough to figure out she needed a family, but too dense to realize she had one. The idiot brother, the bickering sisters, the droid that never shut up. Even Kreia as the wise grandmother. Manipulative, yes, but had something to her character. But like all families, like all clans, they needed a leader to guide them. He lead them, he abandoned them. Some leader. She should've noted he had a bad habit of separating things: separating planets, separating families and separating himself from everyone that cared for him. She could've helped people, but what was the point if she just ended up alone again? Feel good for a moment while live the rest in loneliness? Not her idea of life…
She continued to stare, watching the furry beasts be marched to individual cages, unable to change anything. Separated, and broken apart. Like the Mandalorians, like Malachor, like her. Broken. She then watched as some reached out of their metal bars and held claws. Pieces trying to connect together. She scoffed, seeing as it was all pointless. She had wanted to be whole, wanted the galaxy to be whole. Could she still do it? Could she still fix anything, even considering what she'd been through? She sighed, and shook her head.
"I'm gonna regret this, aren't I?" She said, finally standing up and going over to the cages.
"Umm… hey. How much for the merchandise?" She said. She had enough credits left over. She could purchase some and 'accidentally' let them free.
"I'm sorry, but all sales on native species are final. If you are interested, please see the Czerka representative inside to discuss payment options." The guard said, paying no attention.
She sighed. Again, not one for conflict or killing things, she tried another approach, hesitantly.
"You will release the prisoners." She said, waving her hand.
The guard looked up, confused. "Excuse me?"
"I said, 'you will release the prisoners."
"Look, lady! I don't know who you think you are but these animals are-"
"She's a Jedi!" The guard said, aiming his blaster rifle.
"She's trying to free the slaves! Get her!"
With no less than 2 shots and an unsheathing of her lightsaber, she kissed good-bye to diplomatic relations. She stunned the two guards by reflecting the shots, only to realize that she would catch the others attention. Soon, the whole camp watched as a Jedi incapacitated two guards. She shrugged and cut open the cages, freeing the natives.
"Don't just look at me! Run!" She cried, seeing the other guards chase after her and arm the turrets. She guarded her party's escape by quickly deflecting several shots back to the turrets and the guards. Seeing no pursuing party against her, she ran with the freed slaves, unsure what she was doing. She checked back to ensure there were no parties following her. Fortunately, they had been running across the Great Walkway, seeing no sign of resistance. That was before the spotlight shone on them.
"This is the Czerka Corporation! Get back to your cages or we will be forced to put you down! I repeat, get back to your cages or you will be vaporized!" The Gunships were not kidding around. However, several of the slaves spread out, hopped on the trees and attempted to swat down the ships. Seeing the animals in danger, she quickly tossed her saber as it clumsily but quickly head towards its wing. It cut it down, sending in a tailspin and crashing, while she picked up her saber.
"Gotta work on that…" She commented, only to see a trail of fire follow her. She quickly out-ran it, and taking a note from her supposed victims, she hopped on one of the trees and climbed upwards. The spotlight looked thoroughly in the ground, unable to find her. Not one for original kills, she decided what was best and hopped on one of the ships and held on for dear life. Of course, when the ship did stabilize, she cut a hole through the roof and disposed of the guards very handily. After knocking them all unconscious and tossing them out on the walkway floor, she landed the ship and whistled.
"Yo! You guys want a lift?"
"(Who are you?)" One of the Natives said, skeptical.
"Name's Mira. Your Chieftain hired me to get your furry butts out of this mess. Now, are you gonna get in the ship or am I gonna have to drag you there?"
She continued to linger about in the halls, waiting for the right opportunity to say her farewells. However, lately she could not even catch one hint of the prey in question. Some bounty hunter, letting the bounty escape, she thought to herself. As she quit the search for another day, she ran across a familiar noise. Not the low tones of the Exile, but rather the mechanical noises coming from an Astromech droid. Mira searched for the source, finding T3 communicating with the suited up Mandalorian leader.
"Huh, that explains a lot…" The aged veteran said to the machine. "Could've fooled me."
"Breet-deet-deet. Dwoo-reet."
"It's good to know he's safe. I'd be a fool to swear my allegiance to someone who'd die easily."
"Dwooo?"
"No thanks. As long as I know he's okay, I can do my duty. You just tell him that Canderous has his army waiting."
Mira was tempted to question the metal shell even more, but heard sounds of a struggle from the cargo hold. She went to investigate, only to find the Handmaiden sparring with herself, per usual. The redhead stared at the girl, continuing to fight air and not pay the slightest bit of attention to her. It was a good minute before Mira decided to break the silence and confront the Echani about it.
"Frustrated, I take it?" She said.
"It is none of your concern." The other replied, practicing blocks and kicks.
"Well, I can't think with all that grunting you make, what are we going to do?" The redhead said, defiantly.
The Handmaiden paused and resumed her normal position. She stared at the bounty hunter for the longest time, her frustration felt through each exhale. She waited for a few moments and then replied.
"My frustration is not something that can be expressed in simply words. It is primal, thick, something only my training can express."
"Then… let me train with you." She said, shrugging her shoulders.
"Echani sparring is not something that is taken casually. If you are to train with me, you must abide to all of its customs."
"Okay, hun? You're talking to the wrong person; I was a Mandalorian slave for a good portion with my life. At least with their prisioners, they train them for combat. So, let's spar already!"
"…Take off your clothes."
Mira leaped back, at least in her mind, a good deal. "I'm sorry, what?"
"Echani sparring requires one to strip free of their essentials, their shell in order to learn the basics of combat."
"Is this some sort of cheap come-on?"
The Handmaiden was not pleased by this statement. "If you do not wish to partake, then simply say so and I will spar with by my-"
"Alright, alright! Don't get your arms in a twist. But if I see you handing me a drink, I'm leaving faster than a refugee owing money to the Hutts."
Mira slowly and uncomfortably stripped down to her undergarments. She had to ensure that no one was looking. Never knew when Atton got ideas concerning two females in their underwear sparring. She stripped down to her black undergarments. Normally, she wasn't one to compare physique with another woman but couldn't help but notice that her skin was much darker than the perfectly pale skin of her opponent. She also took a small sense of pride that she was at least a cup larger than the Handmaiden.
"Are you ready?" She said.
Mira nodded, but failed to put up a guard. The Handmaiden quickly leapt and followed with several hard swings. Unsure what to expect, Mira blocked the shots and countered with a few quick jabs of her own, none of which made contact. They circled a good distance from each other before resuming contact. The Echani sister leapt into the air for a hard strike which Mira barely dodged. She did a leg sweep, only to have the Echani do a handstand out of the way. When her opponent knocked her on the ground with a palm, Mira quickly did a leg clamp and took her opponent down with her.
The two panted heavily, sweating even what was considered a short sparring match. After an exchange, the Handmaiden released her battle stance, or at the very least, returned to her casual form.
"I think that's enough for today…" She said, walking away.
"Wait, you're not gonna talk about this?" Mira said, skeptical of the situation.
The Echani scoffed. "Weren't you paying attention? We 'were' talking, with our fists. If you cannot understand what I am feeling now, then you never shall."
The white-haired girl began to walk away as Mira picked herself up. As she thought to herself, she did feel a slight amount of restraint in their duel. At first, the redhead believed it was merely for sparring purposes, but when she delved into the subject more, she understood that her opponent had to reason to hesitate.
"You were holding back." She said quickly, causing a tiny bit of shock in her sparring partner.
"Hmm. Perhaps there is still hope for you, after all."
Mira continued, "You were holding back because a part of you isn't as angry at him as you show."
The Handmaiden gave no response, answering Mira's question at the same time. Having only chatted with her a few times, she suspected the Echani was not an admirer of The Exile and Visas' budding relationship. However, when time came, the Echani accepted the Exile's training of the force. Mira wasn't sure what her sparring partner was feeling at the moment, outside of fearsome anger.
"I would've protected him if he wanted me to." She replied stepping away. "That way, I could at least show my gratitude."
Mira landed the ship on the ground. At first, she was afraid of hostile resistance, but somehow the natives realized that the ship carried allies, not more Czerka troops. She would've wondered how they knew, but now wasn't the time. If this was a race against time, Mira just put the villiage into much more danger than she intended to. She quickly made her way to the Chieftain, somehow looking unsurprised.
"(So, you are not as… 'retired' as you say you are.)" The Chieftain said, with something that could be distinctly recognized as a chuckle.
"Well… don't think too much into it. After all this, you owe me. But right now, we need to prepare. Luckily, Czerka likes to supply their troops a great deal. I've got enough mines to make another Paragus and blasters for you all. You've got medpacs and the gunship doesn't hurt either. Can you take care of yourselves from here on out?" Mira said. She may have unintentionally aided the furry people back to their leader, but if they could help themselves, she knew her work was done.
"(Unfortunately, I still doubt our numbers could match Czer-ka's despite your great assistance. They have advanced weaponry and their troops greatly out-number us. If you would be so kind…)"
"Got it; say no more." She said, walking away. "I'll prepare for battle. In the meantime, I suggest you get my payment in handy. Because when I'm involved, the only thing that's not sure is your end of the deal."
She walked away, carrying the gravity inducing power that was doubt. Her confidence aside, she wasn't sure she could keep everyone safe when Czerka did arrive. Her Jedi training, if it could even be called that, did not go past her basic skills and medicine, but she was determined to see it through. She still wasn't ready to accept the role of savior, but she was a bounty hunter, and a damn good one at that. She'd use those skills in order to get the drop tomorrow. She, however, heard a giant pair of footsteps behind her. She whipped around, only to see the protestor so eager to kill her and send a message to Czerka.
"Oh, it's you…" She said with a sigh. "Look, if you still think I'm a spy for Czerka, lemme walk in their camp. When they start shooting me on sight, that should be proof enough I'm not working for them."
The protestor stood silent for the longest time before letting out a wary growl.
"(You are a hypocrite… You say you are not a Jedi, yet you still carry the blade with you. You say you will not aid us, only to return with supplies and family. For someone so confidient, you certainly contradict yourself a number of times…)"
"Hey, don't complain so much about a good thing…" She said, hauling supplies from the ship. "Now, are you gonna help me pass these supplies or not?"
The rest of the day was spent preparing for the battle. She had distributed, and sometimes taught, the natives how to fire their weapons. She never was one for directing troops on the battlefield, but she did know how to set up an ambush. Sharing that knowledge didn't hurt, as well as where to specifically place mines. Having no sun, she had to mentally keep track of time, ensuring that there were no or as few defensive holes as possible. Most of the fighting would take place on the walkway. Unlike the more cleaner parts, the chieftain claimed that Czerka would infiltrate through the branches, where the trees had become wild and overgrown.
Mira was just about done, when she found her rolled-up sack again. She sighed and took a gander at it. After revealing it, she looked at the dirty, raggy, and just plain unfashionable robes for the longest time, recalling the last time she swore never to wear them. And just as before, her mind began to drift to a daydream…
She snuck around, looking where he went. Nowhere to be found, she thought. The redhead had just about given up when she notied a prescence behind her. She nearly caught her opponent with a forearm when he caught it and whipped said bounty hunter around. For a moment, she breathed a sigh of relief, seeing only the Exile. Then, she recalled her anger towards him and demanded her arm back.
"You know, for a bounty hunter, you could be sneakier." He said, stern-faced.
"Shut up." She said, grabbing a seat near the Star Map.
"I hear you've been trying to talk to me all week. Perhaps I should stay hidden, keep you around longer."
Mira sat in silence, trying to ignore his attempts at humor.
"Please, Mira. We have to face this one way or another."
She glared at her leader, or rather ex-leader. Part of her held on to the fury that he would charm her with a wink and a smile and be gone the next moment. Another part was more forgiving, willing to listen to reason. Hell, one part of her wanted to punch him outright. However, his teachings taught her to be calm, to think about things rather than act on action. She turned around and faced him.
"I just don't understand what the big deal is. This isn't your problem; it's Revan's. I… need you to explain to me why you're doing this, all of this!"
He sat silent for a moment. Mira took the time to observe his features: the black midnight hair that suited him, the beard the complimented him and gave him sort of an older look, the brown eyes that seemed alone. She sat there, waiting for his answer. He smiled back, and began to respond.
"When I was growing up in the Enclave-"
"Spare the story, I want answers." She said.
"And I can only give those answers when you have something called 'context'. Now, as I was saying, when I was growing up in the Enclave, I was mostly in charge of watching over the Younglings. At this point, many of them, including some of the older ones sort of… looked up to me. Most days, they were hard to control, running around, getting into fights with one another, misusing the Force; most of the new recruits came from families, you see. But, one day, I found them doing none of that. It was terribly silent, and I went to observe. One of them had smuggled a hologram, showing the Mandalorians take a system. All of them, hushed in a circle, completely silent, watching a tape of the outside world reacting and changing.
"It didn't sit right with me; watching younglings and children stare at holovids, scared rather than just being themselves. Instead of being scolded, they were facing reality, wasting their youth on something they couldn't control...
"That's when the questions came. Why don't we do something about it? Aren't Jedi supposed to do the right thing? Why do the Masters say no? And they were good questions, none which satisfied us. We were taught not to be cloistered order, but what were we doing? That's when I left. Because, one way or another, the galaxy moves with or without us. But those gifted with the Force knew that we could make a difference. I was a leader; I might as well have joined the fight."
Mira sat, almost hypnotized by the story. She wasn't completely convinced; her inner cynic wouldn't allow such a thing. However, when he looked in her eyes, he sought out the human part in her.
"Mira, it's time to stop observing and do something. Kreia was wrong; we do need the Force, both dark and light. The Force is life, it connects and joins us all together in one massive flow. Be a part of the Force and preserve life. The Force left me for 10 years."
He took her hand and clasped it together.
"Don't let it leave you…"
She breathed a sigh, and rolled her eyes. As if accepting, begrudgingly but noble nonetheless, she adorned the robes and tied them around her waist. She always knew the robes were far too big, what with how they dragged on the ground even as she walked. However, the natives had a look in their eye, as if a sudden burst of confidence came rushing in. Most curious were the children, almost excited that the folklores they were told were finally coming true. Mira sighed, allowing the stares to pass her by. Admitingly, she wasn't ashamed of the thing as she expected to be. After a quick stroll, Mira, fully dressed as one of the Order, turned to the leader.
"Admit it; this makes me look fat, doesn't it?"