Chapter 14
Interlude: Days in the blue
The Ebon Hawk blew up another cloud of dust as it slowly lifted of from the planet surface. There had been some resistance to lifting as the struts have sunk slightly into the ground following the heavy rains the previous week turning the landing field into a mud pit.
Carth tuned on the comlink as a notification light started flashing in front of him on the console.
"Ebon Hawk, Arkaxis tower, please respond."
"Arkaxis tower, Ebon Hawk standing by." Carth responded
"Hawk, tower. You are cleared for departure. Please observe port speed and have a good flight."
"Tower, Hawk. Message copied, port speed confirmed."
Their departure had been delayed by another ten days by having to wait for the construction of new fuel and coaxium tanks before fuel could become available.
Not that the previous days had been spent lazing about. The crew, barring one, had taken part in the inauguration of the still unnamed town's magistrates court. Not as guests in good standing but as the first persons convicted by said court for misdemeanours, their names recorded for posterity or infamy depending on one's view.
Ten days prior.
Bastilla looked at the marshal in confusion.
"I am sorry, marshal Silver, could you explain the context of this phrase "full moon". And could you elucidate on the events leading to the current incarceration of my crew?"
Doreen stepped slightly forward
"Knight Shen, as the current magistrate I believe I am in the best position to explain the charges against your crew." She stated sounding irritated
"Please continue." Bastilla invited
"At approximately zero one hundred, marshal Silver became aware of a disturbance at the landing field. On arriving on the scene of incident found the crews of the Ebon Hawk and the fuel and constructor craft the Bridger engaged in a violent altercation. Marshal Silver neutralised the combatants by dispatching two concussion grenades into the group in an attempt to prevent the altercation from escalating further, after calling on them to cease and desist"
Zaalbar growled, rubbing his ears furiously. Doreen delivered onto him a quelling glare. Zaalbar looked at the ground cowed.
"The marshal proceeded to separate the groups and ascertained the cause of the incident. This incident was sparked by the crew of the Bridger inviting themselves to a private function, after having exhausted the alcohol supply on their ship. They were declined participation and the situation escalated after a remark by detainee Ordo, to whit "Coopani mirshmure'cye,vod?" when detainee identified as Gand had attempted to serve himself despite being requested to depart."
The insectile creature showed no remorse. Though to be truthful standing stock still made reading intention problematic, the rebreather mask on its face exasperating the process as well
"The phrase has since been explained by detainee Carpenter to have been a warning statement. The crew of the Bridger believing their colleague to have been insulted and/ or threatened escalated to a physical confrontation."
Bastilla pressed two fingers between her eyes and sighed deeply.
"Thank you for the explanation. Now if you would be so kind, could you explain the further charges against miss Vao?"
"Having been outside the effective range of the deployed concussion grenades, detainee Vao had been the last combatant standing. She had promptly turned her back on marshal Silver. She stated and I quote; " Kriff the law, you will never take me alive." End quote; She proceed to pull down her trousers and bend over. She would have been charged for evading arrest had she not then stumbled over her trouser legs and incapacitating herself by falling onto the remnants of a dining table."
Bastilla sent a glare at the clearly unrepentant five seated in their square. She turned to magistrate and marshal
"I will not be paying an admission of guilt fine and wish to have them processed to the full extent of the relevant laws."
The trail had occurred three days later. The delay having been caused by the need to elect a town council before the laws could be codified and a formal charge sheet presented to the accused. The accused having been confined to ship and their compliance secured by the parole of knight Shen.
Being a mandatory company rest day the trail had been as well attended as the court structure had been underwhelming. The accused being arraigned before the bench, a single desk and chair, seated on a line of cargo crates behind a desk. Prosecuter Reader, the wife of the company accountant, had been granted a desk and chair from which she prosecuted her case. The accused had decided to plead guilty to all charges presented and was swiftly sentenced to community service for a period of five days consisting of starting construction on the marshals office, two being minors were sentenced to the care and cleaning of the small Tauntaun herd, maintained by Galactocorp as surface transportation, for one and the other to maintenance work on the landing field tower. The option of a fine having been waived by the only member of their crew; who had not been arrested.
History was made as the first trail had been recorded, the town having made it marks by being one of the first to have had a criminal proceeding before the first elected officials had a municipal meeting or being named for that matter. The five also being the first added to the fledgling database of the marshals office.
The town residents had then promptly celebrated this historic event with a large celebration that lasted till early morning.
Half a parsec from the gravity well the Hawke jumped into hyperspace. Carth sat back, releasing the controls. He toggled the switch for the internal communications.
"We are currently in hyperspace en route to Dantoine, estimated time of arrival one hundred and twenty hours. We will be dropping out of hyperspace four times to allow the engines to cool down."
Bastilla was lying back on the mattress of her allocated bed, looking up at the base of the bed above her. The space between the beds being insufficient to sit up and assume a proper meditation position. She could of course sit in the spaces between the set of bunks; but that would mean she would be blocking the access to the refresher. It would not do to be inconsiderate in that way. She cannot afford to have the tone of her social interactions between herself and the crew deteriorate any further.
She sighed, the last few days had seen a definite distancing by the others towards her. Even Carth , normaly the most approachable, had been more distant and formal. She felt as if she had broken some social norm that no one would explain to her. She would be the first to admit that she was unaccustomed to interacting with beings in a social manner, without them being part of the Order. She would also admit that she had lived a sheltered life inside the halls of the temple and as such were unused to life outside its halls, but surely it could not be that different.
Rolling onto her side she tried to get more comfortable, despite knowing that most of the discomfort was being caused by her mental state. She felt discomfort from failing to get guidance from the force on this matter when she meditated on it
Her inner turmoil was aggravated by a matter that demanded action, she was certain that any actions have a good probability of further alienating her from the crew. She had already rejected one action as ultimately dishonest and thus unworthy. Added to that was what she felt was a growing force bond.
She sighed and sat up. She had no choice but to ask for the opinion of others to resolve the issue. She left the female dormitory and walked to the lounge area, where she found the two she was looking for engaged in a game of dejarik.
"Carth, Terri, if I might have a moment of your time?"
Terri deactivated the holograms of the game and pointed to an empty seat.
"Go ahead." Her tone neutral.
Bastilla placed two items down on the surface of the holotable before seating herself. The two looked at the items before turning their attention to her.
"I am assuming the lightsaber and whatever that pyramid thing is, it is going to be relevant to the conversation." Carth stated.
"I retrieved these items from Melissa's effects when we rescued her in the woods. As to where she located them; I have no knowledge." Bastilla responded
"You can ask her when you give it back then." Terri replied.
"That is going to be problematic as I cannot return the items to her, ever." Bastilla said, reluctantly.
The two sat forward immediately
"Care to run that by me again, with the help files enabled this time. You are saying you are not returning the property you picked up to the person who found them?" Terri said incredulously
"That is correct. Both of the items are heavily regulated by use by the Jedi council. The holocron more so than the lightsaber. To add to my misgivings the holocron is of very unusual make."
"So as a Jedi you just make a unilateral decision and everyone else has to fall in with your decisions." A coldly angered voice came from the doorway
Melissa was standing in the doorway. Her arms were crossed across her chest,she looked beyond angry.
"It is not as simple as you state. I simply have to decide on the best course of actions" Bastilla defended herself
"By what right do you get to decide as to what is the right course of action? When have the Jedi become the lords and masters of us all?"
"You are talking of things you have no knowledge of. If you would stop being childish and sit down; I will explain." Bastilla snapped
"Screw you, bitch."
Carth jumped to his feet. He turned to Melissa
"Despite the informal relations we have maintained, she is your superior. Apologise."
Melissa's hand twitched and the lightsaber swung end over end in the air before slapping into her hand. Bastilla extended her hand and grabbed the holocron in a force grip as it twitched.
"Cadet, stand down." Carth ordered.
The twitching stopped and the holocron flew to Bastilla. Carth extended his hand to Bastilla.
"I will be taking both that and the lightsaber till we can get the matter mediated when we get to Dantoine." He said firmly
"By a bunch of Jedi of course. I am certain of the impartiality that would be displayed, sir." Melissa scoffed, handing over the lightsaber.
"We will be addressing your insubordination shortly, return to your dorm till you are called for."
"With all due respect, sir. Permission to speak" The tone implied none.
Carth nodded his consent.
"I request reassignment to another dorm space as I believe my personal effects to be in danger from theft." Melissa stated formally
"Return to quarters cadet, that is all." Carth snapped, harshly
Melissa snapped to attention, and saluted. She spun with parade ground precision marching from the lounge. Terri looked at them, anger etched on her face
"The both of you just can not help being grade A assholes, can you?"
Carth spun around and walked to the cockpit. Bastilla opened her mouth to speak. Terri held up a hand, stopping her
"Stow it. I don't want to hear it."
Terri climbed into the seat of the top turret and looked out the cupola to the blue light swirling around the ship. She sighed as she started to process the scene down below. The improvement in crew morale and unity had been torn apart in seconds. Bastilla would believe herself to be in the right no matter what. Carth had defaulted to officer mode and would stay in it his pride having been stung. She had no illusions as to the position Mission and Zaalbar would take. Canderous would be indifferent leaning to Melissa's side. T3 would not care. As for herself? She was not sure
She heard the sound of the small fabricator being operated followed by the clanging of tools and the whine of a power tool coming from the cargo hold. She sat quietly thinking for a while longer. Eventually she slid from the seat and stepped down the access ladder.
Bastilla was still seated in the lounge. A scowl was set on her face, her lips firmly set together as she was glaring at the holotable as if it had offended her somehow. Cart was seated in the pilot chair fixedly staring ahead. Terri slid into the co pilots seat and they sat in silence for several minutes
"You here to tell me I screwed up again?" He spoke .
"I owe you an apology for calling you an asshole. I spoke out without considering the position you were put in, and I am sincerely sorry."
"Apology accepted."
"As for you screwing up? No, you did the procedurally correct thing in trying to stop the situation. And you were correct in maintaining discipline." Terrie replied
"Yet somehow I feel I did the wrong thing." Carth staed
"I believe that your conflict rises from between having to be the only officer and trying to maintain naval standards, despite having only one naval crew member, and wanting to be a friend and someone to look up to, a mentor, maybe even a father figure." Terri mused
"I screwed up being a father, long ago already, so being a father figure is off the table." Carth scoffed
"Why do you say that?"
"I was never around. And when Clarissa and Dustil needed me the most I was not around to protect them."
"Your wife and son I take it?
"She died on Telos when Karath betrayed everything he stood for, Dustil is still unaccounted for. I would rather not talk about it, if you don't mind."
Terri nodded in acceptance and Carth returned to staring out the window.
"You are right though, I am conflicted as to how to handle this. The kid was wrong on how she reacted and I will have to act on it as much as I don't want to, but discipline has to be maintained. A side of me wants to give her some slack, she has been through so much recently and nearly died recently as well. That would mess with any ones mind. I guess I was harsh because I believed for a moment that she should have acted with more poise like any promising officer should. But she is not an officer is she? "
"Doing what is right is not always pleasant." Terri stated mildly
Carth snorted.
"Tell me about it, what is your take on all this?"
"I wish I had more information to make a rational decision. Bastilla never had a chance to explain her reasoning. I get why Melissa was pissed off as well. As much as Bastilla would quote there is no emotion, both acted out of it. Melissa was pissed and Bastilla had her pride stung."
Teri stood up from her seat
"Can I give you some advice?"
"Go ahead."
"Whatever; you decide to do. Do it quickly. She may be military, but she is also a very insecure teenage girl. Having been one myself, if I can one day remember that, I would like to think that letting a teenage girl stew in her emotions, will not end well. Two as much as it is against traditions, explain your decision, not just to her. She will most likely understand already. But Mission and Zaalbar won't, especially if you consider that Mission has been on her own for years without any guidance."
"I will think on it. What do you make of the lightsaber going to her?"
"Damned if I know. The longer we go; the more things pile up."
Melissa was not in the female dorm when she entered the room. The bed had been made with military precision and left for the next occupant. She turned around and moved to the cargo hold, the noise from the cargo hold making more sense now.
Melissa was busy stringing up a new hammock between new clips installed in the walls. Her footlocker secured by freshly fitted brackets
"I assume, Commander Onassi is looking for me?" She said stiffly and formaly
Terri wanted to slam her head against an object in frustration, obviously Melissa was still angry.
"Not yet, but he will be soon. You do know moving out when he told you to stay put is going to hack him off again." Terri stated dryly
"Technically I did nothing wrong. He never responded to my request and this is now my quarters, so I am complying with my orders." Melissa responded defensively
"That is a spirit off versus word of argument, not a good idea for an argument with someone about to chew you out."
"So I need to stay in there and look into her mug? It is better for one of us to leave, less tension for everyone to deal with"
"Why not simply throw Bastilla's stuff out then?"
"And give the commander another reason to chew my ass out? No, thank you, sir. If anything happens between me and her, it is always going to be me that loses out, so I am simply being pre emptive."
Terri sat down on the footlocker
"Don't you think you are being a bit harsh on him?"
"Really? An officer not supporting a nominal superior against someone of lower rank? No, I did not see that coming."
The sarcasm could not be thicker even if it was applied by a permacrete mixer, Terri thought
"You did call your technical superior a bitch in his presence. You know he had to step in."
"Why is everyone defending that stuck up cow?!" Melissa shouted
Melissa pushed her face into her pillow and screamed in frustration.
"She is always walking about giving orders as if it was her divine right! Always looking at others as if they are not worthy to be in her presence! Always judging and criticising! Always looking at me if I offended her in some way and she wish I was dead!" Melissa ranted, then softly," I bet she was told to come with you to get me. I bet she did not volunteer"
Terri's silence was her answer. Melissa sighed despondently
"See, she would rather I be dead. I get it, she does not like me, why I don't know. I never did anything to her. I don't even know why I let this bother me. Giants don't care for what they step on. Jedi don't care for the people beneath them."
"I believe it is that you care because you wanted to believe in something better and now reality is falling short of your perception."
Melissa sat down on her hammock and started swinging slightly, holding tight onto her stuffed Ewok. Terri hoped she had at least removed the blaster first.
"Maybe you are right. But you know what really pisses me off? It is the sense superiority that all Jedi have. Sure they may have an extra ability none of us have, how does that make them so superior? How does that give her the right to treat me like I do not matter? You know; if she came and talked to me; I would have listened. Maybe not agree, but I would have listened. But no, once again queen bitch knew better and the peons must obey her holy decree."
Terri held up her hands.
"I am not defending her but try to see it from her side. Think of how you would be if you grew up in a jungle tribe. All your life; all you knew was the tribes way of thinking and doing things. Then one day you walk out of the jungle into a spaceport and you have no idea how to interact with the beings there. That is your average Jedi, that is Bastilla"
Terri stood up and walked to the hatch and the door slid open
"There is something you don't know. When you fell into the water, she tried to pull you out. When we were looking for you she did not sleep as she was looking for you through the force for two days"
"Then she conveniently failed. If the force is as powerful as she is constantly claiming, why did she fail?"
"You have to ask her the reason."
"As if I have any reason to believe her. The day she willingly tells me the truth; is the day cannoks fly. Tell her to stay the hell away from me."
Bastilla was sitting against the wall outside the cargo bay, looking pensive
"I assume you heard all that then?" Terri asked
"Yes, the door is rather thin."
Bastilla pointed to the door.
"Thank you for trying to defend me in there. Can I ask you a question?"
"Yes."
"That allegory you used. Is that how you and the rest of the galaxy see the Jedi?"
"It is a sliding scale of perception to either side, but yes. For the most part the average person sees a group of people with superiority issues who does not give a damn about the common people, a group who has too much power and influence vested in them for no discernable reason."
"The Jedi look after the greater good of all." Bastilla defended meekly
"The problems with the concept of the greater good can be summed up in two questions. By whose definition is the greater good determined and who benefits from it."
Bastilla looked down, not knowing how to respond, and Terri started to walk away.
"She is wrong you know, I do not wish for her death." Bastilla said softly
"You are telling that to the wrong person."
"Hearing what I did now, I do not believe the relationship can be saved."
"So you are just going to leave it like this? With a teenage girl who idolised you or more accurately the idea of what a Jedi should be, feeling like you hate her, that you would have left her for dead if given a choice"
"I cannot be held accountable for her emotions. That is why Jedi do not act with emotion, it interferes with rational thought and taints the perception of a person. Leading to flawed results
Terri spun around
"Bantha Crap! Every being feels emotion, denying it is denying sentience. How can you say you serve people when you know nothing about them. To understand people you need empathy. That is an emotion.
Having no emotion just makes you an organic droid. You have emotions, you just choose not to act on it."
"Jedi not act on their emotions because the more emotional attachment we have the greater the risk we have of falling to the dark side." Bastilla snapped, irritated
"Again you are using emotion without recognising that you are doing it. All this talk of the dark side is just because of a bunch of overpowered people not knowing how to healthily use their emotions and having tantrums that kills millions in its wake."
"Do not make light of the dark side. You do not know what you are talking about."
"Then explain it to the ignorant savage non force user in simple words."
Bastilla was silent
"You can not describe it can you? Is it because it is a nebulous concept with no clear definition or is it because it is a perception that does not align with your own?"
Terri snorted in false amusement
"The funny thing is for the average person there is no difference between Jedi and Sith , just a bunch of people destroying their lives because of a difference in opinion."
Terri pointed to the cargo hold.
"Having heard all that you still don't get it, do you? You pushed a girl away because of your discomfort, an emotion, to the point where she feels threatened and you want to act surprised when she wants nothing to do with you? You want to interact with people; learn to act like one first."
Terri walked to the galley desperate for a cup of fresh caf. One thing was for certain, this will be a long five days. Maybe she should check with Canderous if Davik had stored alcohol somewhere she sure could use a drink right about now
Mandalorian to English.
Coopani mirshmure'cye,vod? : Are you looking for a smack to the face?