Part 36- The Scholar and the Pilot
With her favorite pop music blaring, Kionee jammed around her apartment with a dust rag, half-sweeping, half-dancing the dust off of all of her furniture as she sang along, not caring how ridiculous she sounded.
It had been far too long since she last gave her apartment a good cleaning. There was still the hamper of recently washed clothes in the corner that she had to fold and the clutter unceremoniously shoved under her bed to be dealt with later. But a good cleaning day was what the Orange Nova Girls were best for. They were always best enjoyed when singing along at the top of your longs while not paying too close attention to the lyrics.
When, in the midst of all this, there came a rapping sound at her door, it took her a moment to realize that it was not an extra drum fill, but that she had a visitor. Kionee dashed over to her speakers and turned down the dial and then rushed over to the door. Her visitor was knocking again. Without inquiring through the visitor comm first, Kionee punched the release button and the door shot upward in its tracks.
Mical stood patiently outside, waiting for her.
"Mical," Kionee blurted, a bit stunned, "Hi. Good to see you." I did give him my module address with my contact info, didn't I?
"Hello Kionee. I hope I'm not interrupting anything," Mical said apologetically with a cautious glance into the apartment over Kionee's shoulder.
"Oh, no," Kionee shook her head quickly, "Not at all. I was just cleaning my place up a bit." She paused, trying to think of something clever to say, but nothing came. "Come on in," she invited finally and stepped back out of the doorway to give him space.
With a nod, Mical came inside, and Kionee let the door shut behind him.
"You have a nice apartment here," Mical complimented.
"Thanks," Kionee replied. "Considering it was one of the first residential modules on the station." They stood across from each other in the apartment's entry, not really making eye contact. After a pause, she added dumbly, "I guess I forgot that I told you my module number."
"I'm sorry I did not contact you before dropping by," Mical apologized.
"No, don't be," Kionee protested, "I wasn't doing anything important. I'm always glad to have visitors."
"I stopped by," Mical started while pulling something out of his back pocket with his left hand, "Because I found an article I thought you might find interesting." He held out a small datadisk for her.
Taking it, Kionee replied, "Thanks."
"It's about an experimental chef on Coruscant who has invented a line of cuisines of gelatinized fruit and vegetable juices, in beads," Mical explained, "while keeping it completely organic."
"That sounds pretty cool," replied, brightening up at the gift and the thought rather than the topic of the article. "Do you want to sit down?" she asked, gesturing to the small sofa on the opposite wall, a recent addition to her furniture.
"Oh, thank you," Mical said and moved over to the sofa.
Meanwhile, Kionee strode over to her desk and placed the holodisk on top for later reading before returning to her small plush chair near where Mical sat. "Thanks for coming by," she started, "Where did you find that article?"
"In a chemistry publication I subscribe to, oddly enough," Mical admitted with a laugh, "The chemistry needed to produce such beads without additional chemicals is really quite fascinating."
"I bet," Kionee replied, trying to sound as excited, "I'll have to ask Dad about it next time he calls. I'd be willing to bet he's already had his sample of those fruit beads, or will very soon. He always keeps on top of stuff like that." She paused then added, "But really, I thought you studied history. Chemistry too now? What don't you study?"
Mical laughed, "There is very little that I don't dabble in from time to time. I really am a student of the galaxy, and whatever it has to offer."
"Man, I wish I could live like that," Kionee said wistfully, "Always seeing new places and learning new things."
Mical laughed. "Correct me if I am wrong, Kionee," he started, "But I think you already do just that, only I study with my nose in a book, and your studies are studies of experience and interaction. I would hazard to say that you are one of the most knowledgeable people on Citadel Station when it comes to the galaxy at large."
Kionee blushed. "It's not because I try at it," she protested.
"And that is precisely why your knowledge base is so broad," Mical insisted, "I am sure you have been to perhaps a hundred times as many systems as I have in my lifetime."
"I'm a pilot, it's what I do," Kionee replied.
"There are days I wish I had learned to pilot, myself, when I got the chance," Mical admitted.
"I could teach you the basics sometime," Kionee offered before she was aware the words were coming out of her mouth.
"Always generosity," Mical chuckled. "But no, I have enough on my plate at the moment. As always, I appreciate the offer." Glancing around the apartment, he commented, "You have some lovely photos on your wall here."
"Thanks," Kionee said, "I kind of collect them. I didn't take them myself though. I'm no photographer."
"I see Ahto City there, and is that Telos before the Jedi Civil War?" Mical asked. Kionee nodded affirmatively and he continued, "What of these three? I don't recognize those places."
"Places I've lived as a kid," Kionee answered. "The first one is the Western Plains of Nubia, where I was born."
"It looks pristine, a lovely place," Mical commented, "I think I would like to visit there one day. When one hears of Nubia, the first thing to come to mind is the shipyards. The Nubian natural world is not often spoken of."
"It really is nice," Kionee nodded. "But maybe I'm biased, because that's where my family came from. The next one there is Drall, the first place Dad moved us to when he started Rinnh Imports, and the third one is Rodia, where we lived after that."
"All much more beautiful places than told by the geography texts," Mical praised.
"Those were all great photographers too," Kionee insisted, "It's amazing what a good camera, lighting, and perspective can do to make a place look beautiful. Get one of these guys down on the surface of Telos and I'm sure they could make it look like a dream too."
Mical laughed, "You might be right. All the same, they all seem to be beautiful places."
"I won't argue with that," Kionee replied.
"Kionee, I wanted to ask you," Mical started again, "Could you take me Dantooine? Not immediately, of course, but whenever it's next convenient for you. I have more research on the Jedi that I would like to do there."
"Sure, of course," Kionee replied. She could never turn him down. "I can't really this week or next week. Dantooine is a bit farther and would take more than my usual two-day break. I would need to arrange for a longer break between runs in order to take you out there."
"As I said, there isn't any rush," he insisted, "I have plenty to keep me busy here yet. I appreciate you taking me whenever you are able, amid your already busy schedule."
"It's no trouble at all," Kionee excited, "I sometimes get kind of bored just running back and forth between two planets all the time. Your little research trips puts some interest back into my routes. I enjoy it."
"I'm glad it isn't any trouble for you," Mical sounded relieved.
"I'll have to get back to you on this, though," Kionee said. "I can let you know after my next run and back when would work for me. It's hard to know when the busy periods are going to be down on the surface. Sometimes the Ithorians realize they suddenly need something in large quantities to balance off the ecosystem in one of the sectors down there."
"Of course, I understand," Mical said, "Your work with the Telos Restoration Project should always take precedence over the research whims of a friend."
"Thanks for understanding," Kionee replied, struggling for something to say.
"Well, I should not keep you from your cleaning any longer," Mical said, standing up.
"It's alright," Kionee assured him, standing up as well, "I could make you some tea."
"No, I really should be going," Mical protested, "But thank you."
"Well, I'll get back to you about going to Dantooine as soon as I have a better handle on my schedule of shipments," Kionee promised as she saw him to the door. "Thanks for the article and for dropping by. It was good to see you."
"If need be, you can find me in Residential Module 171 B-2," Mical said. It was the first time he had trusted Kionee with personal contact information beyond a temporary number for the comm that he carried. "It was good to see you too, Kionee."
With that, he let himself out of the apartment and headed out into the main corridor. Kionee's heart beat fast as she watched him go. She did not close the door again until he had turned the corner and walked out of sight.
As she turned her music back on and resumed her cleaning, Kionee could not wipe the silly grin off of her face. She doubted she would even be able to frown at all for several days to come. Mical came to visit with a gift and even called her his friend.
Starting into her pile of unfolded laundry, Kionee turned her music back on and began to sing again at the top of her lungs.
Two weeks later, with the Viridian safely in hyperspace headed for Dantooine, Kionee could relax, that is, if didn't feel quite so compelled to be on her absolutely best behavior with Mical around. Emtee seemed to find the whole situation amusing, but respectfully kept his opinions to himself while Mical was on board.
There was not much social space for relaxing in the Viridian, only the cockpit, the two small bunk rooms, and the large hold. Kionee and Mical pulled a couple of crates together in the hold for chairs and a small table where Kionee brushed up on her crib-cage game against Mical. The game of counting cards to fifteen and thirty-one was not one she had played since her youth, but Mical was endlessly patient, as always.
"It's your cage," Mical reminded her, pointing to the extra hand of cards lying on the crate between them, "You get the extra cards this round. You dealt."
"Right," Kionee said, snatching up the cards and counting their points quickly then added them to her total. "It really has been a while. This was one of grandpa's favorite games. Dad used to play it with me a lot on long hyperspace voyages, before I had my own ship."
"You certainly have had a rich life," Mical commented as he dealt out the cards, "And I don't mean your father's corporate fortune."
"What do you mean, then?" Kionee asked. Sure, she had a lot of money coming to her one day, and already had earned plenty that she never spent, but she never lived like a wealthy heiress. The wealth had come gradually, and her family had never really stopped living like entrepreneurs, even as the company grew.
"You have had the blessings of a warm, and supportive family that is always in your life," Mical explained, "You have had fulfilling work, seen the galaxy, saved lives, and followed after your dreams. You seemed to always know what your place was in the galaxy. You have always had the support you needed to chase those dreams, all along the way." He paused then added, "Please forgive me if I'm being presumptuous."
"Uh, no, not at all," Kionee stammered, the cards in her hand almost forgotten, "I really have been lucky. My family has always been awesome and there for me, letting me do whatever crazy things I get into my head to do. I've also been pretty lucky that none of those crazy things have gotten me killed. Not yet anyway." Kionee let out a forced laugh. One day her recklessness would catch up with her. In that moment, she met Mical's eyes and held his gaze, having self-consciously avoided eye contact throughout the game. In those light blue eyes was a look of longing, regret, or resignation. Kionee could not quite place it, but she could see that Mical's life had been less than perfect. "The way you say that," she started slowly, looking down at her cards, "You make it sound like you haven't had that kind of life."
"Not many people do, Kionee," Mical replied. Hazarding a glance up at him again, Kionee saw that he too was staring vaguely down at his own cards. "Perhaps I travel the galaxy, chasing history because I do not yet know my own place in it, and perhaps history can shed light on the present."
"Don't you have dreams?" Kionee asked.
"Dreams and goals do give one a sense of purpose," Mical replied enigmatically, then reminded, "You play first."
"Right," Kionee said and selected her first card to lie down on the crate.
"Do you ever look back at your career with Rinnh Imports from Telos and regret leaving that life behind?" Mical asked as he played is own card off of hers.
"Fifteen," Kionee said triumphantly as her second card went down, "Two points for me."
"Well played," Mical nodded and added his own card to the stack, "Twenty two."
"And nine makes thirty-one," Kionee slapped down her third card enthusiastically.
"And two more points for you," Mical smiled, then started over the count from the bottom with his next card. He laid his palm on the table and looked expectantly at her. "Do you regret it ever?" he reminded her.
"Sometimes, yeah," Kionee replied with a shrug, "I miss seeing more of the galaxy all the time. Just Telos and Onderon all the time gets kind of boring, but maybe I'm spoiled. I bet that's more than most people in the galaxy get to see week to week. Though, there's a whole lot of folks I'm not really seeing any more now that my travels and my business is confined to two systems."
"Yes, I imagine you would have plenty of friends all over the galaxy," Mical commented, nodding.
"More like lots of acquaintances," Kionee replied, "When you travel around as much as I did, as quickly as I did, you wind up with lots of great acquaintances and not a lot of close friends."
"I have found myself often in a similar situation," Mical admitted. "But I am not tied to two planets these days as you are."
"But you don't have a ship of your own," Kionee teased, "And trust me, I'll gladly take you wherever you want to go from Citadel. It's like a vacation for me. I miss hopping around the galaxy."
Mical laughed. "I will try not to hold you to that," he promised.
"I'm serious," Kionee protested. They counted their points and the game continued into the next round.
"What is going on on Telos really is encouraging," Mical said, "Amidst all of the other dysfunction in the Republic."
"Yeah," Kionee agreed, "It's amazing to see people actually cooperating and that cooperation actually going someplace. Telos was a gamble, and people say it still is, but it's working so far. So far, so good."
"And with people like you, Carth, and Jerol dedicated to the cause, I do not think it can fail, barring detrimental outside interference," Mical asserted.
"I really hope so," Kionee agreed, "Keep those sticky fingers of the doubters out of our project."
"I really am glad for having a chance to go to the surface and see for myself how it is progressing," Mical admitted, "And even help with my own two hands, however small it may have been. Thank you for that, again."
"I should be thanking you," Kionee replied brightly, "It was you that the cannok bit, not me. Not this time anyway."
Mical laughed.
"Your leg is doing better now?" she asked. He had not been limping at all lately.
"Yes, fine, thank you," he chuckled, "Just surface bruising. Nothing I could not treat myself. I am completely recovered."
"Good to hear," Kionee replied, and played one of her cards down.
"It was enjoyable to see your work," Mical said, "Even if I had that close encounter with a hungry cannok. You and your droid really do an admirable job keeping those creatures from killing each other all over your hold."
"Most of the time," Kionee said humorously.
"Although Telos is being planted with the seeds and the creatures of Onderon, it still remains its own distinct planet," Mical said, "I admit that I had feared, at first, that Telos would look like another Onderon, without its own personality and signature on the galaxy, but I now see that it will always remain Telos."
"Had you ever been there before the war?" Kionee asked.
Mical shook his head, "But I came shortly after the attack, a volunteer medic. It was still possible then to see what Telos had been underneath all the death and dying. Not long after, it withered into what much of the surface still is today."
"We might have been there at the same time," Kionee realized, "I joined the volunteer supply caravans myself as soon as I could. Dad was thrilled, but he did use some of his fund-raising clout to finance a whole hold or two full of supplies for the war victims before people realized that they had to get everyone off the planet anyway."
"The day the first settlement on the surface of Telos is opened up to Telosians will be a glorious day indeed," Mical said with a smile.
Dantooine's gold-green sphere filled the entire front viewport of the Viridian. The ship hummed as it slid into the atmosphere, glowing around the edges. Keeping a steady, practiced hand on the steering yoke, Kionee said, "I assume you're wanting to be put down near the old Jedi Enclave, right?"
"How do you know of the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine?" Mical asked, a little startled. "I do not believe I had mentioned it before, and it was a secret Jedi enclave, not meant to be known of by the galaxy at large."
"You forget how much I get around," Kionee laughed, "I've had contacts in that part of the continent since I was twenty. Dantooine is a fantastic agricultural world, and Rinnh Imports wasn't going to stay away from something like that."
Mical laughed. "Fine, you really have gotten around the galaxy," he admitted, "Sometimes it is easy to underestimate the breadth of your travels."
"Malak got the enclave near the end of the last war, didn't he?" Kionee asked.
Mical nodded, "I hate to think of how many younglings died in that attack, but Darth Malak was ruthless. In a way, I do not look forward to my first sight of the Jedi Enclave, after so many—" he caught himself and cut short.
"I guess that was just another step along the way to all of the Jedi disappearing on us," Kionee said quietly, "More deaths. What do you hope to find there?"
"Any history or artifacts the Jedi left behind," Mical replied, "Things that can teach us about the Jedi and preserve their knowledge for a day when they rise again."
"Do you think any Jedi might still be hanging around there?" Kionee asked.
"Doubtful," Mical admitted, "But I do hope that I will find some sign up them, still living. I cannot bring myself to believe that they are all dead."
"Me neither, I guess," Kionee replied, lessening the slope of the Viridian's descent as they neared the settlement around the ruins of the enclave. Again, her thoughts went to Ev, Juhani, Jolee, and Bastila, wanting to believe that they were all still alive, but with time, she was beginning to doubt. "The Jedi always seemed so powerful, so invincible. It was like no one could touch them. Except for the Sith."
"Jedi are bound by the same laws of life and death as all the other sentients in the galaxy," Mical sighed, "And in the Sith, their weaknesses were exposed to the bare bones. Had they acted more responsibly in action against the threats of these last wars, perhaps we would not now be facing an uncertain future without them. But it is useless speculating on what could have been. We have only to focus on what can be done now not to fail without them."
"I really hope they come back," Kionee said.
Soon, the Viridian touched down on the single wide landing strip that sufficed as the only 'spaceport' in that remote region of Dantooine. At most, four freighters could park side-by-side, and that was only with some very carefully maneuvered landing. Thankfully, there was only one other, smaller ship landed when they arrived.
Kionee and Mical disembarked. Kionee breathed in the warm, crisp air of the first temperate climate she had experienced in months. "Ah, it feels good to be back here again," she murmured as she stared up at the light, fluffy clouds.
Mical patted his satchel to make sure everything was secure then turned to Kionee, "Thank you again for your services, Kionee, and your company."
"Any time," Kionee insisted. "Just let me know when you're ready to leave this planet and I'll come and pick you up again. You know how to get a hold of me."
"That I do," Mical nodded. "Will you be returning to Telos immediately."
"No, I don't think so," Kionee replied, feeling momentarily lazy, "It's been a long time since I've been to Dantooine, and I haven't seen my friends here in a while. I think I'm going to drop in on the Sandrals, and see how they're doing after all this mess."
Mical smiled and nodded, "Then I will not keep you."
"You can come along if you want," Kionee offered, "I can introduce you. You might find it handy to know some folks around here with a couple spare bedrooms in their estate."
Mical started to protest, then laughed, "I think you may be right. Thank you, I would be glad to meet your friends."
"Then let's get going," she insisted. Turning back to the open loading ramp, she hollered, "Emtee, get down here! Do you want to go see the Sandrals or not?"
"Coming, coming," Emtee's voice accompanied the clattering of his metal feet on the metal flooring, "I am coming, Mistress Kionee."
Mical laughed again.
Kionee could not keep from grinning.