Disclaimer: Don't own SW. Belongs to Disney and Lucasfilm.
"The starboard is hit! Starboard is-"
The words were cut off by fire and metal entering the hull. Srad turned away from the shouting pirate, a Zabrak whose body went aflame. The fires were quickly sucked away, and so was the air, right into the vacuum of space.
Srad fisted his hand atop the control panel on the wall. A metal barrier slammed over the gaping hole in the Bel Brain's hull, cutting the adjacent room from the rest of the ship. Air filled the corridor and Srad's lungs, and the human's face turned back to its original pink color.
As he gasped, Srad looked to the captain of the Bel Brain. She was barely visible in the smoke. Only the orange of her armor made her stand out. "Jorgi, how many are us left?" she asked, her voice modified by her helmet.
"Six... that last hit just took Redal and Kee'aw..." the Twi'lek answered sadly with his words as blue as his complexion.
Srad heard the captain let out a Mandalorian curse, and through the Force, he felt the woman's stress levels reach their peak. Her crew had went down from a couple dozen to a mere handful, not including Srad himself. And what was left of the crew felt the same as their captain.
As sorrowful as the crew's situation was, Srad had other thoughts on the matter… As in trying to stay alive. His gravelly voice cut through the moody atmosphere. "No point in mourning the dead, captain. How far away we now?"
All eyes fell on the human, who stood out more than enough with his fine, gray uniform. The captain paused, her round helm meeting Srad, before she said, "Not far… We just need to get to the cargo hold..."
Srad eyed her warily, then nodded, as if allowing her to lead on. He would listen to her… for now.
And so, the only thing Srad, the captain, and everyone else heard were their own footsteps and the blaring klaxons. Everything blurred, from unlit mess hall to the scorched remains of crew quarters. Of course, since Srad boarded the once-austere vessel many planetary rotations ago, he kept one room to himself, and it was perhaps the only one that had not been damaged. The captain was accommodating to her guest, too accommodating for Srad's liking. Of course, everyone on board learned the consequences of harboring their new passenger.
It did not matter, Srad told himself. He paid them for travel, no questions asked. He would get to his destination one way or another.
Srad's ambitions were cut short when the floor rumbled under his feet. Everyone felt it too and stopped right where they were, in the small corner of the corridor. In the loud klaxons, the captain's quiet "Oh no..." was heard, especially by Srad.
An electronic beep followed, from behind Srad. It was the droid, another of the crew. "Mistress?" it said with its heavy steps following behind.
"What is it, V9?" came from the captain.
Towering over everyone, the mechanical's red eyes flashed with every syllable. "I am detecting several life signs."
"Let me guess; coming through the airlock?" The droid nodded, and the captain cursed in Mandalorian again. "Blasters out! We're going to have a fight on our hands!"
"Hey, can the Jedi help too?" spoke up one Bothan, almost jokingly.
There was a chuckle or two, a little something to lighten the mood, but Srad quickly cut it down with his glare. The impertinent fool who spoke up averted his gaze and quietly mumbled. "... uh, well, you know… so we can make this out alive?"
"Don't worry, Krawr. We can make it out of here, with or without this Jetii," the captain assured before unholstering a blaster from her hip.
Srad ignored it. He drowned out the chatter of his oh-so gracious hosts, and as he had been taught in the Jedi Praxeum, focused on his surroundings. He sensed for the lifeforms and machinery spread throughout the Bel Brain. When he opened his eyes, a grim look had taken set in his eyes as his hand neared the lightsaber on his belt.
"They're here," Srad announced, turning to whence they came.
Blasters clicked in frantic succession of one another, and barrels aimed towards the direction Srad was looking at. "Steady! Steady!" the captain warned her crew.
The air was palpable with fear. Srad did not need the power of the Jedi to know that. For hardened pirates, they trembled in their boots, and their aim wavered by the tiniest of fractions, save for the captain. The silence met them, only adding to their anxiety.
At last, there was something. A loud creak, as if someone had taken their first step aboard.
Then, from the far end arose a loud hum as a beam of yellow illuminated the air.
"Fire!" the captain ordered.
A number of colorful lasers, blue, red, and green, lit up the smoke-filled corridor. None of them hit their mark or went past it. The yellow beam moved in a whirlwind, batting away the shots off to the side or back at the small remains of the Bel Brain's crew.
A cry wrangled out as from the pirate who fell right next to Srad. When the Bothan Krawr fell from a redirected blast to his leg, Srad slowly kept himself behind the crowd of meat shields. The captain, still firing, shouted, "Jetii, get over here! Use your laser sword!"
Srad did nothing but step back while the yellow beam came closer. He could sense it. Compared to his own level, the power wielding the beam bellowed with every step, quaking the floor under its boots.
"We have to get out of here!" Srad yelled over the blasters.
"Turning tail, Jetii! Not on my watch!" the captain shouted.
"Then, come with me! You can't win this!"
The captain dared to glance back and meet Srad's eyes. It costed her as a red bolt struck her in the shoulder. She fell, and those left standing, some five or so men, put themselves right between their captain and the approaching yellow beam.
"Mistress, run! We will-" yelled the droid, but the beam impaled through its durasteel chassis.
"V9!" the captain shouted as the droid fell and its eyes went dark.
Srad kept his eyes on the being standing over the droid. A dark cloak billowed softly behind, and bits of light gleamed off the golden plates, revealing a jagged pattern like it was carved from rocks. From under the hood came out a voice that was methodical as it was deep.
"You're coming with me, Srad." The demon pointed his lightsaber at the human. "There's no escape for you… or your allies."
Srad cursed himself and wished he had used his lightsaber earlier. It was too late for that now. Worse, Srad could sense more lifeforms coming aboard, and none of them felt friendly.
With nothing else left, Srad unleashed a wave of telekinetic power at the demon. Metallic boots skidded back on the floor-only for a second, though, and the stalled demon snorted at the attempt, "Was that supposed to do something?"
"Yes," Srad replied. "Get him!"
A laser scratched the demon's shoulder. The Bel Brain's crew, those still standing, rushed their assailant. They used whatever weapons they had on them; blasters, knives, even clubs against the demon who boarded their ship.
While so well armed, Srad knew they never stood a chance.
A second later, a body impacted the far wall with a sickening crunch of bones. "Krawr!" the captain, alive and almost well, called over to the Bothan.
"Cap… tain…" the Bothan wrangled out, then he went limp in front of his captain, still staring at his now crumpled form.
Srad, not wanting to waste anymore time, grabbed the captain by her arm. He held onto it tight, so she would not do something crazy and actually join in the fighting. "We have to leave."
"No!" the captain told him. "My crew-"
Both of them ducked under a stray blaster bolt. In spite of the situation, Srad looked with the captain, whose shock grew watching the rest of her crew the vainly attempt to buy time. Screams rang out with blaster shots and banging against the hull as more bodies were struck by powerful blows or flung around.
One such body was slammed onto the floor. It swung its arms around around the legs of the golden monster, who turned his attention back to Srad. While hugging tightly, the blue lekku twitched uncontrollably as their owner shouted, "Captain! Run!"
An invisible hold flung the Twi'lek from the demon's leg to the wall. "Jorgi, no!" the captain yelled again.
Srad wordlessly yanked the captain down the corridor, causing her to yell something. Whatever she said, Srad did not hear nor did he care. He just ran for his life.
When Srad reached the door, he and the captain bothered to look back. The Twi'lek who stayed behind sat there, his back up the wall, surrounded by more bodies. The monster drew closer to the Twi'lek, saber raised overhead as he said, "A failed and rash attempt."
Srad closed the door before he saw the blade fall on the Twi'lek, but he grimaced from what he felt in the Force. It was not because of the Twi'lek-that was just some thieving scum. It was the wave of power from whom the Twi'lek tried and failed to hold back. Srad had not expected him to arrive, and more of his kind would surely follow. Together, they would be too powerful for one Jedi… one former Jedi to beat.
That left only one thing: escape.
Once the door was far away, Srad let go of the captain's wrist. "Get me to the escape pods, now!" he demanded.
The captain's black visor sparked in anger. "You don't tell me what to do, Jetii! I've already lost twelve men because of you! If you think I'm going to-"
Srad, losing his patience, held out his hand. His eyes glinted yellow as the captain choked on her words like the worm she was. "We don't have time to waste," Srad snarled at the gagging woman. "You can either help me, or I steal the information from your mind and leave you to die with your crew."
That last bit was a lie-he could not rip the information from anyone's mind-but the bluff worked. "Alright, alright," the captain conceded with a constricting windpipe. "I'll take you!"
After Srad let go his invisible chokehold, and the woman caught her breath, the two ran further down the battered ship. The journey down felt longer than it really was. Srad made it, however, to the scorched-covered escape pod bay. The captain rushed to terminal, then punched it when there was no response. "Blast! Controls are jammed! I have to override it manually!"
The captain went over to open the hatch. Srad stood by the pod, and his blue eyes darted between the captain and bay's entrance. "Hurry!" he told her.
"I'm going as fast as I can!" the captain hissed back.
Srad doubted the woman was working fast enough. He was nearing, getting closer by the second. He and his allies. They would be coming through that door, lightsabers blazing and ready to cut anyone to pieces. Srad would not have none of that, and he was sure neither would the captain.
Speaking of which, she had finally opened the escape pod. "It's open! Let's go!"
Enough time had been wasted. Srad was glad to enter the pod and even gladder when the hatch had closed. The pod shuddered upon being jettisoned, and the wreckage of the Bel Brain was clear to both its captain and guest. The ashy remains of smuggling ship was shrouded by the sheer size of the New Republic Star Destroyer looming overhead.
Srad saw the captain by the small window. She watched her ship burn, even as the pod distanced itself from the Bel Brain and was caught in the nearby planet's gravity. Srad, on the other hand, sat where he was, the yellow blade imprinted into the dark recesses of his mind.
"In… an' out… in… an' out…"
The breaths came and left Nira slowly as she sat atop the large and cracked head of a toppled statue. The head was of an ancient alien, littered with several holes and dots, like the freckles on Nira's own face. Nira had been tempted to count how many there were, and the thought continued to linger in the back of her mind.
"In… an' out… in… an' out…" Nira whispered to herself, putting some effort to keep herself busy.
Nira remained where she was, legs dangling over the fallen statue and hands resting on her lap. It was far from a perfect meditation position, but it was enough in her mind. Moments passed since Nira started, and in that time, she tried to find her center.
Nira's ears perked hearing the distant trees rustled in a soft wind. She pushed it aside. It did not matter. Nothing was supposed to matter. She was relaxed, focused, and most important of all she, unmoving.
Chirp, chirp, chirp of a nearby critter went into her ear.
She was unmoving.
An eye threatened to peek at the tiny insects crawling by her leg.
She was unmoving…
A wind blew some dust onto her fiery hair.
She was… she was…
… bored.
Absolutely bored.
Slumping forward, Nira opened her eyes and sighed at her defeat. "This ain't gonna work," she murmured to herself.
For all her training, Nira never caught on with the whole Jedi patience, as her mentor constantly pointed out on several occasions. As a consequence, breathing exercises were the one of the few things Nira had trouble with, even if she successfully passed her physical test. Other students at the Jedi Praxeum on Yavin IV managed to both breathe and fight with little-to-no effort whatsoever, which made them more prized in the eyes of their instructors.
Not that Nira was jealous or anything.
"Nira," a voice said from behind.
The young woman leaped off the fallen statue and looked up to face her teacher, Jedi Knight Kirana Ti. The lizard hide of Ti's red and green armor made her look fierce, especially with the helmet completing the warrior woman's look. That fierceness, and the lightsaber flashing from Kirana Ti's belt, made Nira dust off her baggy pants and ask, "Yes… Master Ti?"
Kirana stared down with those piercing green eyes of hers. "We're heading off," was all she said before she left across the dusty old ruins.
"Uh, wait!" Nira called, almost tripping over the statue she had been sitting on.
Nira soon caught up with Kirana. The two walked out of the quiet and ancient courtyard of other fallen statues and monuments, and into the outlying rocks. Nothing was said between Jedi and student, the latter glancing every now and then at the former and the wooden staff on her back.
"So…" Nira spoke up as she tried to keep up, "how far's it?"
"Not far." Kirana Ti walked a few steps ahead. "We'll be meeting with Tionne soon enough. She said she'll be waiting at the library until we arrive."
Nira silently groaned. A library? That was where they were heading? Then again, Tionne was the Jedi's historian, so it was not strange for her to go on excavations, or so Nira heard. This one apparently required some assistance, as Nira and her teacher had been called to this strange world of Ossus. As riveting as searching through old scrolls would be, Nira wondered what good a dull and boring library would be for her training to become a Jedi Knight.
"Don't worry," Kirana assured with a hint of amusement, "I'm sure there's something you can learn here."
Now, Nira wished she listened in her classes of protecting her thoughts.
The walk had been quiet from thereon. As annoying as it was to Nira, she tried not say a word. Wind kicked up a layer of dust that danced around the pair, who continued through the barren plain. Their path led them through the giant crevices of the nearby canyon and through the rocky regions littered with ancient star cruisers Nira spotted every now and then.
At long last, they had arrived. What greeted the pair was a small mountain of rubble that blended with the hill it rested atop of. Seeing how they were not moving past or away from it, Nira raised her eyebrows. "That's a library?" she asked.
Kirana Ti did not answer her and continued onward. Upon closer inspection, Nira saw the rubble was old. Ancient. Like the courtyard of statues she visited minutes ago. The foundation of some long-gone civilization still remained, if Nira could only tell from the bases of columns and walls scattered across the area. There was also a presence, but she could not see it.
Following the Jedi's lead, Nira soon stopped at their new destination. By the broadside of a mountain, a boulder, as heavy as it was big, rested. By that boulder rested a large hole in the mountain's base. A whistle of wind bellowed from the dark belly of the cave that looked like it could swallow a person whole.
As she stared down at the entrance, something crept up in Nira's body. "Is… she in there?" The slight hesitation betrayed the strength in her voice.
"Yes, Tionne is waiting inside." Off to the side, Kirana Ti's eyes softened at Nira. "… You know, you don't have to come if you don't-"
"No!" Nira insisted, louder than she intended. "I mean, no… I'll be fine… Just lead on."
The Jedi Knight nodded, then entered the cave. When beckoned to enter the cave, Nira stepped forward, then stopped. She wanted to follow. She wanted to join Kirana Ti and explore what was inside that cave.
With eyes shut, Nira did that. Her footsteps echoed all over, and from how loud they were, the walls were no doubt close, compact. Nira pushed off the sense of dread, and the further she went, the more distant her footsteps became and the smoother the jagged ground grew until it felt like… like a floor.
"We there yet?" Nira called out, eyes still shut.
"Wait a second," Kirana Ti spoke, her voice was loud and near.
A snap-hiss stopped Nira in her tracks and had open her eyes. The white and yellow blade of a lightsaber shone on the unblemished face of its wielder. In front, Kirana Ti kept a slender hand on her saber's dark hilt as the Jedi rose it over her head, and a tempted Nira followed her master's gaze.
What she saw more than surprised her. All around the two was not a small cave. It was a chamber filled with everything. Tall decorative columns, a widespread ceiling covered in ancient plasts, wall-mounted mosaics of warriors and heroes long gone-even a case of rusted armor remained in a corner of the chamber.
"Woah," was all Nira could say in awe.
The lightsaber's glow revealed a small smile on Kirana Ti's face. "I suppose this is more to your liking?"
Nira nodded as she unknowingly went down a step. The "dull and boring" library turned into a chamber of secret wonders. Plus, the sheer size of the place felt comfortable to her. Cozy, even.
Kirana Ti, stepping onto the floor beside her student, said,"Tionne is probably somewhere around. I'll go ahead and look for you. Will you be alright waiting here?"
Nira answered that by confidently pulling out a glowrod from her tunic and waving it in front. Kirana Ti nodded, and her lightsaber's glow faded the further she went into the long, dark halls. Left alone at the entrance of the chamber, Nira murmured, "Well... might as well look around…"
A quick shake of her glowrod did the trick. A bright circle of light fell on the cracked floor as Nira made her way. To her left, there was a pile of old scrolls. On her right was a tapestry set on a table, and placed next to it was a datapad, Tionne's probably. A little off to the side sat the main prize: the giant set of armor Nira had set her eyes on earlier.
Stepping closer to the case, Nira studied the armor underneath. The thing was centuries, millennia old. That was obvious from the tattered edges of the robe and rust on what could only be described as armor. If Nira was a scavenger, she would have taken it. After all, the older something was, the more expensive, and this thing looked like it could be worth hundreds of credits.
The glowrod reflected off and refracted through the ancient glass, letting her see more of the detailed designs on the armor. It was surprising how intact it was. Even the glass was well-preserved, since Nira clearly saw her face and that blue mask looming behind-
Alarmed, Nira whirled around and lashed out with her left foot, just like she learned from Kirana Ti. Her feet collided with a body, and while it skidded back, Nira faced her would-be opponent. He-Nira assumed 'he'-stood, the brown cloak flapping about as a pair of eyes stared from a blue mask.
"Nice try! Now, what're you doin' here? " Nira said with clenched fists in a ready position.
The mask, clearly of some insectoid creature, was plain, and so was the demanding voice. "I should be asking you that. Are you some robber?"
"Says the guy wearin' a cloak an' a mask! Cliche much?" Nira jabbed. Another lesson from her teacher.
A huff left the bug man. His human hand went into the folds of his cloak…
Nira did not give him the chance. She tossed her glowrod to the intruder. He held out another hand, keeping the shining object in place, and Nira rushed him while he was distracted. So close, the eyes widened before Nira's fist collided with the bug man's stoic mask. He hit the ground with the glowrod, and shortly afterward, his mask clattered off to the side. Nira, standing victoriously, smirked down at him. "That showed you."
"Nira!" an all too familiar voice cried.
She turned down to the long hall, now illuminated by a familiar lightsaber held in the arm of a familiar woman. "Master?" Nira said, not knowing why she felt as if she did something wrong.
Kirana Ti rushed into the chamber with another silver-haired woman following behind. "What's happening here?" said the other woman.
"This guy here tried sneakin' up on me!" Nira pointed an accusing finger at her 'attacker' on the ground.
"I beg to differ," snorted the unmasked and unhooded figure, who held a hand to his brown nose. His boyish face went over to the other woman. "Mistress Tionne, I found this girl here snooping around, and I-"
Nira cut him off. "Hey, I'm seventeen! I ain't no girl!"
"That's 'I am no girl,'" retorted the figure-no, boy.
"Enough!" Kirana Ti got in between the two, her saber pointed down. "Nira, this is Tionne's aide. He's been helping her with excavating the area."
An aide who wears a cloak and a mask? Nira wanted to scoff, but she stopped herself seeing her mentor's glare. "I want you to apologize to him," Kirana Ti said patiently.
The other woman, the Jedi Tionne whom Nira had heard so much about, walked over to the boy's side. She held his mask in hand and said, "He should also apologize."
The boy whirled at her. "But Mistress Tionne…"
"You are also partly to blame. Remember, you were the one who snuck on her, right?" Tionne's pearly orbs glowed in the dim light as she handed the boy his mask. "Besides, it wouldn't hurt to make amends."
There were no apologies, not immediately. Nira glared at the boy, who glared back with eyes as dark as his hair. The tan face opposing hers remained firm until Kirana Ti spoke up again. "Nira…" She did not raise her voice, but the firmness was enough to convince her pupil.
"Oh, alright," Nira huffed, then said to the boy, "Sorry for hitting you."
When the boy said nothing, Tionne gave him a little nudge to his arm. "Xanta, go ahead…" she said gently.
The boy cleared his throat. "Sorry… for sneaking up on you."
"Good," Tionne said as she greeted Nira with a bright smile that eased the tension. "Now, you must Kirana Ti's pupil, right?"
Nira nodded slightly. "Yeah…"
"Why don't I show you around? Xanta and I can bring you up to speed." Tionne looked back to the boy. "If you're alright with that…"
"That should be fine, as long as there's no trouble," the boy said monotonously before he put his hood and mask back on.
Nira shot a look at the emotionless bug mask. Not wanting to get into another argument, she reached out and called her glowrod into her hand. Then, she went down the hall of the ancient library, behind the two Jedi and beside the masked boy.
Xanta eyed the girl walking beside him. She could not have been anymore different from himself, with her shorter height and red braided hair. The girl seemed to have some skill, which Xanta learned to be a bit true from the small bruise on his nose. Plus, she had noticed him sneaking from behind, which was impressive for just a student.
Xanta, however, did not like this girl. Her skill seemed basic, and for all her Jedi training, she lacked discipline. The way she stood and walked was too relaxed, unbefitting for a warrior like her.
… Not to mention her accent. The girl must really come from a backwater world to be speaking like that all the time!
"What're you lookin' at?" the girl demanded, her freckles clear in her glowrod's light.
"Nothing," Xanta said quietly as he tore his masked gaze away to the musky hall.
Up ahead, Kirana Ti's voice cut in between the two. "Remember, you two are working together."
Xanta was glad his mask hid his annoyance. "Yes, mistress."
Nothing more was said on the matter, much to Xanta's relief, so he kept his eyes on the path ahead. The ancient walls that he breezed through earlier went on and on and on. The distance between from one end to the other was so vast that Kirana Ti's lightsaber was like a dimmed sun in a foggy morning. The only thing that could be heard was their feet against the floor, until Master Tionne announced with a billow of her cape, "We're here."
The flap of the Jedi historian's cape revealed another large chamber at the end of the hall. Millennia-old cobwebs and dust balls covered every corner. The only thing that looked new were the items, scrolls, and empty boxes, all which surrounded the lone bright light.
"There are some more things in the back. Kirana and I will go collect them," Mistress Tionne explained. "Nira, can you stay here and help Xanta with the artifacts?"
Xanta wanted to protest. He held his tongue, though, not wanting to start an argument. The girl looked the same, but she ultimately said, "... Yes, master."
So, the glow of Kirana Ti's blade left with her and and Mistress Tionne left. Alone, and wanting to get this over with, Xanta went over to the boxes. He picked one up and began packing away a couple scrolls. The girl, on the other hand, stood there by the side, watching and waiting. "So…" she started, "... how're we goin' to sort this out?"
"One by one," Xanta replied a-matter-of-factly. "Just make sure you handle the artifacts carefully."
A loud clank stopped Xanta, and he whirled around. The girl was holding up a large vase that now tilted off the table it was on. "Carefully," Xanta repeated with a pointed glare.
"So-rry," the girl huffed unapologetically as she put the vase back up. "I can barely see a thin' here, even with my glowrod."
Reaching under his cloak, Xanta answered her with the snap-hiss of his lightsaber. He held it up, illuminating the girl's face of astonishment with the saber's blue aura. "Better?" he said.
This time, the girl said nothing. Good. Grasping his saber in his gloved hand, Xanta resumed his job using his free one. The girl herself went over to another box, one a bit near the glowing lightsaber. The silence was a relief, and in no time, half of the scrolls and parchment were stored away. Xanta stacked his crates into small piles and let out a satisfied sigh at his achievement.
It sadly ended when the girl put her own boxes atop his. "This all we're takin'? Just some pots an' paper?" she asked.
"For now," Xanta said, turning away to pack some more.
"... Not the talkative type, are ya?"
Xanta replied with silence. Then, he heard, "Okay, then…"
At last, Xanta looked over his shoulder. "Is there something you want?"
"Just curious," the girl spoke. "Weren't there a set of armor up front? Why ain't we grabbin' that first?"
"Later," Xanta turned back to packing. "We have to pack this onto the ship. We'll done soon enough."
"And that's it? That's all there is?"
Again, Xanta looked at the girl in annoyance. "Were you expecting something else?"
"I dunno…" the girl's gaze wandered around. "This is a Jedi library. I thought there be somethin' interestin'."
… Something interesting. The imagination of this girl was just astounding. Xanta rolled his eyes and said, "You mean something like a holocron? Some secret power the Jedi left behind?"
"Kinda…"
Xanta turned back to packing. "... You weren't a good listener in class, were you?" If the girl was glaring, he did not care. "Well, this was once the Great Jedi Library. It held all the old Jedi Order's knowledge millennia ago. War came and the Jedi eventually left, taking whatever they could. That included most of their knowledge."
"Shortest history lesson I heard," the girl murmured. "So that leaves us to clean up the scraps."
"To sum it up, yes," Xanta frowned under his mask, mentally noting the girl's manners needed improvement. "We take what we can and use that… At least, that's what Mistress Tionne says."
The girl frowned, clear for Xanta to see. He ignored it as he placed another box away. The blue glow of his saber fell over the remaining artifacts. It also shone on the girl now sitting across from him, packing away the large vase she almost knocked over. Her eyes caught Xanta's attention as they darted to the lightsaber.
Xanta was less than amused by it. "Could you please focus more on packing and stop looking at my saber?"
The girl did just that. However, she kept speaking. "You know, I'm wondering…"
What was it this time? "Yes?"
"... I haven't really seen you 'round Yavin," she continued. "Did you just join?"
"A while back, yes."
"How do you know so much about this place? And where did you get that saber?"
"I made my lightsaber myself, to answer your question."
The girl looked unconvinced. "I've been under Master Ti for a month, and I ain't got one. The only ones with 'em are Jedi Knights. Did you learn under Tionne?"
"I'm not Mistress Tionne's pupil. And I'm not a Jedi."
"Then what?"
Not a surprising reaction, Xanta guessed, but one that made him sigh. He first pondered how to easily explain it, then he began.
"I guess you could say I'm… a bit different from other Jedi. My teachings differ, but I follow the same principle: use the Force to defend peace and justice, like the old Jedi used to. There are others like me who think like that. They were the ones who trained me how to make my lightsaber and my mask."
"So, you're part of a Jedi sect, where everyone wears masks an' cloaks?" the girl surmised in that accent of hers.
Now, Xanta was silent, surprised the girl even knew what a 'sect' was. "Well, yes..."
"You coulda said that from the start."
"I… I guess I could have," continued Xanta, who was at a loss for words for once. If he not for his mask, the girl would probably mock his stupefied face.
While the girl picked up the crate and carried it away, Xanta sat there, watching her. His pride swelled a little, demanding to the girl's insult to it be matched with something. Yet, there was something holding him back. A memory from many years ago.
From that memory, a voice, soothing and warm, once spoke to him in that telling tone. "You can't always judge someone right off the bat. You have to give them a chance."
"But how do I do that? How can I have them like me?" he had asked back then, his voice a lot lighter.
"Just be nice for a change…"
Under his mask, Xanta frowned. "I hate it when you're right," he murmured in defeat, his slightly deepened voice unknowingly catching the girl's attention.
"Huh?"
"Nothing," he replied and picked up his crate.
It was not long afterward that both collected the remaining artifacts in the chamber. The crates were stacked one upon the other, making a miniature mountain of relic. "Finally. I'd never thought we'd be done!" the girl exclaimed after putting down the last crate.
Xanta, done with his own, eyed her. As he did, his mind lingered on the words and the soft voice that spoke them. "Just be nice for a change…"
"Thank you," Xanta murmured, something he never thought he would have said.
The girl looked Xanta in surprise. "What?" she asked.
"Thank you," he repeated a bit louder, "for your help."
Xanta thought the girl would give a snappy comeback or a remark. "Um… you're welcome," returned the girl, who was not sure to be astounded or happy.
Xanta nodded his head. He paused for a bit. "... what was your name again?"
The girl pursed her lower lip in annoyance. "It's Nira. I thought you was listenin' the first time I said it."
"I was not," he answered without apology.
The girl, Nira, rolled her eyes before she changed the subject. "Sooo, what we do now?"
Xanta shrugged his cloaked shoulders. "Wait for Knight Kirana and Mistress Tionne, I believe."
Just as he said it, Tionne and Kirana Ti returned, the latter still holding onto her lightsaber and asking, "Is everything alright?"
Nira responded, "Yes, master. The relics are packed and ready to go!"
The two Jedi Knights looked at each other, both carrying knowing looks. Xanta wondered if they had planned this from the start. "Were there any problems?" Tionne asked.
Xanta shared a look with Nira then replied, "Not many, Mistress Tionne… it was alright."
"Yeah, it was a piece of cake!" Nira, smiling, put her hands on her hips.
"Good…" Kirana smirked, gesturing to more crates floating behind her, "... then you wouldn't have any trouble putting all this onto the ship, Nira."
Xanta heard a loud curse beside him and sighed in response.
The planet of Taanab was not what the captain of the Bel Brain had expected. She had heard tales of the Rebel Alliance's struggle against the Empire a decade ago. She remembered when the old Mandalorians fought against the old Jedi Knights centuries before. Knowing that, the captain thought there would be scars from those wars.
Instead, the planet she was on seemed too… peaceful. Too green. Not the devastation the captain imagined, like Tatooine or even her own war-torn home of Mandalore.
Still, the captain climbed out of the escape pod now buried halfway in the green prairie. "That seems to be it," she said tiredly, hold a small emergency kit in hand. "It may last a while before we run out. Even then, I think we could live off the land if we needed to."
There was no answer, and the captain growled. The blasted Jetii simply sat in front of the pod with his back turned to her. Unresponsive and uncaring. "Hey," the captain called out, "are you listening?"
"I am," Srad said without moving.
"Then, what are you doing?"
"Meditating."
The captain's rage rose inside of her, along with the memories of the destruction of her ship and crew. She wanted to riddle this shabuir with blaster bolts. The urge was close to becoming real as she placed her free hand on her holstered blaster.
"Shooting me won't change anything, captain," the Jetii said, his tone cold as ever.
The captain stopped, allowing reality to sink in. "No… it wouldn't," she agreed begrudgingly as she lowered her hand past her blaster. "We should get going. We can locate where we are, then try to get to the nearest spaceport."
"The nearest one is Pandath. At least a couple day's walk from here, if I'm correct. After I have what I'm looking for, we'll head there and take a ship off this rock."
Frustrated already, the captain asked, "And what is it you're looking for?"
Again, Srad gave no answer. He sat there on the green grass, legs crossed and fingers pressed against one another. Walking in front of the Jetii, the captain saw his eyes were shut tight like a pair of blast doors.
Suddenly, they opened, and for the first time since she took him aboard her ship, the captain saw a smile on Srad's face. "I've found it," was all he said.
A frustrated groan left Nira, who slumped down in the co-pilot's seat. After putting all the artifacts aboard-with only one small hovercart to carry a whole haul-the Jedi pupil was tired, and her muscles ached from all the heavy-lifting. That was not the only thing that frustrated Nira, though.
"Something bothering you, Nira?" asked Kirana Ti, who say at the pilot's seat of her own ship.
"It's nothin', master," Nira replied, her voice as gray as the cockpit.
"Your emotions are telling me otherwise."
Unable to hide anything in her mind, Nira answered the question, "It's just that guy… Xanta."
"Tionne's aide? You two surprisingly seemed to be fine, in spite of what happened."
"That's the thin'!" Nira sat up and looked at her mentor. "At first, I thought he's a jerk. Didn't help he's arguin' with me while we're packin'!"
"Was he really?"
Hesitation broke through Nira's resolve. "Well, kinda… he was answerin' my questions, but not all nice like, y'know? Next minute, he was bein' nice!"
"Did he do anything to you?"
"Just said thank you. Sensed like he was tellin' the truth. Then, he asked for my name."
Kirana did not look away from the blue tunnel of hyperspace. "Maybe he is trying to make amends."
"I guess, but it don't make sense. He was bein' rude before!"
"Well, you did hit him in the face."
"I did…" Nira caught herself and added, "but he snuck on me first!"
Kirana Ti sighed, a sign for an upcoming lecture. "Nira, you said yourself he was being nice. Is that so hard to imagine?"
Now, Nira hesitated and said, "... Well no, not really…"
"And if you keep holding onto this thought, what do you think will happen? Will it help anything?"
Nira had no answer. She knew it, alright. She did not want to admit it, even if her conscious nagged at her like a barking Kath hound pup. At the same time, Nira could not ignore it. "... a Jedi shouldn't hold onto grudges," she recalled Master Skywalker once saying in a lecture.
Left alone in her silence, Nira heard her mentor say, "How about you go talk to him? If what you told me really happened, then it wouldn't hurt to give it a try."
"... a'right," Nira conceded quietly, swerving around to make her leave. She almost bumped into Jedi Tionne who was entering at the same time. "Sorry," Nira apologized.
"It's okay," Tionne smiled, taking her own seat in the co-pilot's chair.
With that, Nira left the cockpit. She stayed in the long hall of the ship, a safe distance to watch the two Jedi conversing with each other. "So, how's your aide?" Nira heard Kirana say.
"Xanta's okay. He's up in the spare quarters, working on his armor now," Tionne replied.
"And what about his nose?"
"That's fine too," Tionne chuckled. "He was a bit touchy when I tried to add some bacta to it."
A small bit of pride rose in Nira. So did her guilt when Tionne continued, "You know, you were right. The two of them are a bit similar."
Kirana nodded. "A little bit, though they might not see it. They are still young."
"Much younger than when we started …" Tionne was silent, then she inquired, "Did you send Nira to Xanta?"
"I did, and she should be there now…" Kirana said only to stop. Nira froze, finding the Dathomiri's stern eyes on her. "Nira…"
"I'm goin', I'm goin'!" called back a scared Nira, now running down the hall.
Though she had grown used to small starships in the past few months, Nira had never felt comfortable in them. The same was true with Kirana Ti's ship, the Rancor's Claw, with its dim lights and dark gray plating. However, Nira learned enough about it to find her way, and she found him, Xanta, right where Master Tionne had said he was.
The door was open, and Nira saw a maskless Xanta at his desk. Yellow sparks nearly flew into his goggles while he moved the welding torch away from a strange plate of blue armor. "Is something the matter?" Xanta asked without looking away.
Nira hesitated while thinking of something to say. At last, she asked, "What'cha makin'?"
"Armor."
So Nira could see. The armor was incomplete, but still fascinating to look at. Intricate marks spread across the flat plate, forming what could have been the chest of an insectoid creature. "What's it for?" Nira continued.
"Protection," answered Xanta as more sparks flew.
Nira backed away from a rogue spark. She looked to the bed, where more incomplete pieces laid atop of the rugged cloak. One of which was the bug mask.
Curious, Nira scooped the mask up to look at it…
"Be careful with that!"
… and she dropped it back on the bed. Nira winced as it clanked atop an unfinished gauntlet. The only thing she could offer was, "Sorry."
Xanta, his work interrupted, drew his chair over to the bed. "It's okay," he huffed, like he was restraining himself.
While Xanta grabbed the mask to make sure it was alright, Nira looked to the rest of the armor and asked, "You made all this?"
"Yes. It has taken me a few months to get this far already."
"But all this?"
Xanta paused to remove his goggles. "... it took a couple tries at first."
Nira nodded then looked to the mask again. "So… why a slug-beetle?"
"What?" Xanta looked as surprised as he did back in the Jedi ruins.
"Your mask. It's a Naboo slug-beetle," Nira clarified. "Why use that for a motif? Looks harmless to me."
"... Because I don't want to scare people," he explained after composing himself.
"Hmm, that 'plains why I wasn't scared when you tried to sneak up on me." Nira mentally kicked herself for what she just said. "No, that ain't what I meant-!"
"No, no, it's fine," Xanta waved it off and placed his mask back on the bed.
Nothing else had been said for several moments. Nira was the one to break the silence, her voice barely above a whisper. "Why are you bein' nice to me?"
"It doesn't hurt to try," Xanta stood, dusting off his brown tunic. "Besides, what happened on Ossus was just a misunderstanding. It's not something to hold a grudge."
"Prob'ly not…" Nira agreed hesitantly. "How's your nose?"
"It's not bruised anymore, if that's what you're wondering."
The verbal jab was a playful one. Nira caught on, and she tried to mask it, both in the Force and on her face. "Sorry 'bout that. Guess Master Kirana's teaching stuck a bit too well." She flexed her right hand. "When you showed up like that, I thought you were gonna hurt me, y'know."
"That wasn't my intent. I just wanted to scare you," Xanta told her.
That made Nira giggle. "Right, and nothin's scarier than a bug screamin' 'boogaa, boogaa, boogaa!'" she joked, wiggling her fingers for emphasis.
Nira expected a frown. To her surprise, a genuine smile spread across Xanta's face. Not sure how to handle it, she lowered her arms to her sides. Master Skywalker and Kirana Ti's words echoed in her mind, and she soon came up with a way to respond.
After another awkward pause, Nira cleared her throat. "Look… we maybe got on the wrong foot earlier." Without any hesitation, she held out her hand. "I'm Nira Sylo, student to Jedi Knight Kirana Ti."
Xanta looked at the peace offering and accepted it in his gloved hand. "Xanta Jast, apprentice of the Jensaarai and recent transfer student to the Jedi Praxeum on Yavin IV."
"That's a lot to say, ain't it?"
"You're not short of words either, Nira Sylo."
"Maybe," Nira smiled wryly as she let go. "Hope it ain't too awkward now on."
Xanta nodded slightly. His mouth opened to say something-
The floor shuddered all of a sudden, and the two students shuffled around. "We dropped outta hyperspace?" Nira recognized once she regained her footing.
She and Xanta, the latter of whom put on his cloak, rushed out of the quarters for the front of the Rancor's Claw, finding the cockpit buzzing with control panel's beeps and chirps. "Mistress, what is going on?" said Xanta to Tionne.
"Something came up," the historian answered, her face completely serious. "We'll be taking a slight detour to Taanab."
"Taanab?" Nira echoed. "What for?"
Master Kirana spoke up, "We were called by the New Republic for a sudden mission. We'll tell you more when we arrive."
With so little said, Nira looked to Xanta for answers. He only looked back, equally confused, and Nira was left standing there, impatiently tapping her right foot on the floor.
It was not long afterward that the Rancor's Claw dropped out of hyperspace. When it did, Nira stopped tapping her foot and looked outside the viewport. Her heart froze upon seeing what orbited the green and blue planet of Taanab, and there was no way of mistaking it.
It was a Star Destroyer. Reconfigured, obviously, and sporting red highlights of the New Republic, but it was a Star Destroyer nonetheless. The shape alone spearheaded a shiver down Nira's spine.
Beside her, Xanta whispered, "Are you alright?"
"Yeah," Nira whispered back, not looking away. "Just fine."
A voice sputtered from the comm, coming from the Star Destroyer in front. Between the voice and Master Kirana, words were spoken, transmittal codes were exchanged, but Nira drowned them out to focus on the massive titan of a ship in front. "... proceeding to land," Master Kirana had announced and brought the Rancor's Claw closer.
The Star Destroyer, quite large in the distance, grew to a frightening size. The grey metal was so huge it would swallow the Rancor's Claw whole. The pressure on Nira's forehead grew, and her breath unknowingly quickened. She thought Xanta whispered something to her again, but could not hear his words.
"I think I'll head down to the ramp," Nira announced before leaving, and no one immediately followed her.
All, save for Xanta.
Once far enough from the cockpit, Nira called back, "You don't have to follow me."
"I'm not," Xanta insisted. "I'm just making sure that we both greet whomever is waiting for us."
That brought a smirk to Nira's face, in spite of her headache. By the time the two reached the boarding ramp, the ship shuddered again, signalling its landing in the Star Destroyer. Nira took a deep breath in and out, and Xanta, who more than noticed it, gave no comment.
Then, the dark ramp creaked open and allowed light to flood in. The ramp hit the ground, and Nira continued down with Xanta following behind her. After stepping off, Nira stopped and eyed what awaited Xanta and herself, which had been a dark cloak.
A dark cloak circling around the body of a golden demon.
AN: Yep, just a whole bunch of chapters from another cancelled SW fic put here. And it's just part 1.
Anyway, I had this fanfic set in the New Republic of the old SW EU (my favorite from growing up), refined from an old idea I had about 10 years ago. I put this fic up on Wattpad first but just gave up because of the franchise's nonsense (from the prequels, to the EU, to Filoni's work, to Disney) catching up with me. I don't mind writing this fic per say since I do like the interactions between Xanta and Nira-I'm just tired of SW's crap overall. I'll probably incorporate it into another story at some point (I do have plans for that, but we'll see how that goes). Until then, take care.
Raika out.