Naro had been waiting for this opportunity his whole life. The shuttle he'd booked passage on had just descended into the atmosphere, and Naro's excitement seemed to build ever greater with each passing second. He pressed his face against the tiny oval of his passenger window. The ship was rapidly descending through a wall of clouds, obscuring everything, but Naro's face was still glued to the window, nose scrunched against the cold glass.
This was what he'd worked for. Eighteen years at the best schools on Raxus with the most accomplished tutors in the Outer Rim. Months of studying for his placement exams. Countless sleepless nights spent fine tuning credentials or worrying over interviews. All so that he could be where he was now.
And in the end, my family still had to bribe the admissions officer to let an Outer Rimmer like me in.
That fact still chipped away at him, like a rat nibbling away in his stomach, even months after he'd received his acceptance letter. His parents had tried to hide it from him, but he'd overheard them discussing it late into the night. They'd sold his mother's starfreighter to buy him his dream. Naro had thought his hard work would be enough, but apparently not. The Republic was corrupt, its ideals long degraded; only greed could induce it to function.
The passenger shuttle sank through the clouds and emerged above a vast, rocky landscape. Carida.
Naro's heart jumped. He'd made it. He was here. It was a sharp contrast to his homeworld, Raxus Secundus. Giant mountain ranges stretched across the surface with oceans carved between them. Dark blue waves crashed against rocky cliffs. Nothing like the flat, unending plains of Raxus. It was early morning, so this system's sun was just peaking over the horizon. The shuttle descended quickly, narrowing Naro's view and bringing greater detail.
A sloped durasteel structure came into sight. It sat atop a plateau that extended over a dark ocean. The structure covered the entire surface of the plateau with extensions and auxiliary wings. Starship hangars had been carved into the cliffside, and Naro's shuttle made a slow turn to align itself with one of the hangar bays.
Naro felt his stomach flip. This was it. The Carida Military Academy.
His shuttle entered the hangar and slowly descended onto a landing pad. A sudden jerk went through the shuttle before the boarding ramp descended.
I'm here. He breathed in, fearing he would wake up back home on Raxus. I'm here.
The other passengers, a collection of third and fourth-year cadets returning from their weekend passes, began exiting the shuttle. Naro jumped to feet, heart still pounding. He retrieved his kit bag from the overhead compartment and tried to quash any outward signs of excitement. It didn't work; two senior cadets gave him nasty looks.
To hell with them. He was here. No one could ruin that, not now.
He followed the others down the boarding ramp and was met by the sheer scale of the hangar bay. Sleek durasteel plated the walls which seemed to stretch up and up. Nothing like Raxus.
It took Naro's breath away. He stopped just to take it all in, and in doing so he was shoved forward by the cadet behind him.
Naro tumbled down the rest of the boarding ramp, falling flat onto his stomach at the bottom. He coughed, trying to catch his breath, and looked up at the cadet who'd pushed him.
"Watch yourself, rookie," the cadet spat. He was human, tall, and his voice carried the distinct tick of an upper class Corellian. The name on his uniform read 'Ladrek D'Andar'.
"I was just…" Naro began, but his voice came out cracked and weak. He stopped and winced.
"Stars above," Ladrek scoffed, "another Outer Rimmer? They just let anyone in these days. Did mummy and daddy let you off the farm?" he snickered, mocking Naro's Raxian accent. A few of the other cadets laughed at the imitation.
Naro scrambled to his feet. Part of him wanted to break Ladrek's nose, but the tactical side of his mind knew he'd probably lose that fight. Ladrek was a head taller than Naro, and he didn't know if the other cadets would intervene or not. Besides, getting into a fight on his first day would give the wrong impressions.
"Sorry," Naro mumbled. He stepped out of Ladrek's path.
"Bet you are," Ladrek said, and he walked past Naro to join the other cadets.
I'm here, Naro reminded himself. I'm here. I'm here.
He was still living his dream. Nothing could change that.
With a grunt, he picked up his kit bag and followed the other cadets out of the hangar bay.
The Carida Military Academy was essentially a small city built to take care of its cadets' every need. It was a single building, augmented by various extensions, and each section held a different purpose. Naro had memorized the layout of the building in order to prepare for this day. The other cadets went down a hall that led to the senior dorms, but Naro continued straight, up a turbolift, and then right to the administrative wing.
There was a woman on duty at the front desk. She wore a uniform Naro didn't recognize which bore no rank insignia. Her eyes followed Naro as he strode up to the desk.
Naro saluted, a practiced gesture he'd done in the mirror many times. "Cadet Naro Tarrik, reporting for duty, ma'am."
"Do not salute me," the woman snapped. "Do you see an officer in this room? I certainly don't."
"I'm sorry, ma'am, I-"
"Do not address me as ma'am," the woman snapped again. "You address officers that way. No one else. Understood?"
Naro swallowed. "Understood."
The woman scrolled through the terminal at her desk. "Let's see, Naro Tarrik… You're two weeks late from your assigned check in date. Classes began last week." She looked up from the terminal expectantly.
"My ship was delayed," Naro said, inhaling sharply. "Engine malfunctions."
"Says here you're from the Outer Rim. Raxus Secendus."
Naro could feel the tinge of derision in her voice. The casual disdain.
He bit his lip. "Correct."
The woman sighed and stuck out her hand. "Datapad?"
Naro fished through his bag and produced a slightly worn datapad. He handed it to her.
She tapped something into her console before connecting a cable to Naro's datapad. The screen lit up as it took in the data transfer. After a few seconds, she unplugged it and handed it back.
"That should have your class schedule and your reading materials. Your dorm is D-445. Random inspections occur every week, so make sure you keep it tidy. I suggest you start catching up on the work you've missed."
Naro blinked. "Thank you."
The woman rolled her eyes. "Get going."
Naro exited immediately, still shaken by the encounter. He went straight for his dorm room, darting through two hallways and down a turbolift. There were more people in the halls the closer he got to the dorms, and by the time he got to his room there were cadets openly lounging in the hallway.
He found his room, D-445, and opened it. It was a small room, smaller than the rooms of the big Raxian estates Naro was used to. Two bunks were stacked one over the other against one wall while two desks lined the opposite wall. In the bottom bunk, a human man lay reading on his datapad. The man hadn't noticed him come in.
Naro cleared his throat. "Cadet Naro Tarrik, at your service," he said as cleanly as he could.
The man jolted in his bunk and dropped his datapad. "I didn't-" he started, but then he coughed and stood up. "I erm… So you're my roommate? I was wondering why I was all alone." He offered his hand. "Davek Tharn, a pleasure."
Naro shook it. He noted that Davek's uniform had been tailored to fit him, and that his accent was Coruscanti. High society Coruscanti. His datapad, now abandoned on his bunk, looked both expensive and new.
"You know you're late, right?" Davek said. "My head's already bursting from just a week of studying planetside tactics. I can't imagine how it'll be for you. What happened? Miss your ship?"
Naro went still. "It was delayed. Engine problems."
"From the Outer Rim?" Davek asked, scratching his head. "That's where you're from, right? Or have I misplaced your accent."
"Correct, sir," Naro said carefully.
"Cadets don't call each other sir or ma'am," Davek said. "Stars, I hope you're from somewhere civilized. Serenno? Halcyon?"
"Raxus, sir," Naro said with icy formality.
Davek sighed, "Ah, Raxus. You know, I think you're the first Raxian I've ever met."
"Yes, sir."
"Cut it with the sir already. I'm Davek; what did you say your name was?"
Cadet Naro Tarrik, Naro wanted to spit. It would have been so easy to snap at him right there. Naro had already dealt with a lot that day. But he sighed internally. He doesn't need to be an enemy.
"Naro," he said.
Davek nodded. "You don't mind that I took the bottom bunk, do you? I'd assumed no one was going to show up after the first few days."
"It's fine," Naro said. He dropped his kit bag onto the top bunk. "It's my fault I'm late, anyway."
"Well, seeing as you've probably just landed planetside, let's grab some breakfast," Davek suggested. "Stopped by the cafeteria yet? It's edible enough if you don't mind the texture."
"I could eat," Naro allowed.
"Great," Davek said. He opened their door and stepped into the hallway. "Seeing as you missed the first week's orientation, I'll show you around. Cadet cafeteria is-"
"First door on the left then two hallways down," Naro finished for him.
Davek raised an eyebrow.
"I've wanted to go here since I was a little kid," Naro admitted sheepishly.
"Well then…"
They walked through the corridors of the academy. As they went deeper into the building, the number of people in the halls seemed to grow exponentially. On a distant level, Naro had known that Carida Academy had the capacity to train fifty thousand cadets at once, but to see it in person was a different matter. So many peers; his family's estate on Raxus had been rural enough that he'd never been around many kids his age, and the prep schools he'd attended hadn't been ideal for forming friendships.
Naro might have shrunk away, except that Davek didn't. He seemed to know many of them.
"Davek Tharn!" one older cadet called. She was human, there seemed to be a disproportionate amount of humans at the academy, and her uniform read 'Zara Tynn'. "You finally managed to get off Coruscant?"
Davek shrugged. "Much to my father's chagrin. He wanted me to follow your brother into corporate administration.
"My brother hates his job. Welcome to Carida Academy; you made the right call."
"Glad to be here," Davek said, grinning, and they walked past the older cadet. He turned back to Naro. "That was Zara; her family's close with mine on Coruscant. Business partners and the like."
"I see," Naro said.
"You two can meet properly later. Anyway…" They'd just entered the cafeteria. Dozens of long tables with integrated benches stretched up and down the long room. There had clearly been an extension at some point, as halfway through the room abruptly opened to a much larger space with more tables and benches.
They picked up trays and joined the line to the kitchen. A dozen droids served them variously colored slops while a Twi'lek chef dumped ingredients into pots behind the service counter.
When their trays were full, Davek led him to a table with three other cadets, all humans. "Come on," he said. "I'll introduce you."
The other cadets were having a lively conversation, but they went quiet as soon as Naro sat, which made his guts churn. He looked down at his food.
"This is Naro, my new roommate," Davek introduced. "Naro, this is Emeris, Hawkor, and Galara."
"Pleased to meet you," the cadet named Hawkor said. He extended his hand. "I'm from Alderaan, studying conflict resolution here. I'm looking to join the Diplomatic Corps."
Naro shook his hand. "I uh, I'm from Raxus. Studying applied tactics and strategy."
"Raxus?" one of the other cadets, Emeris, questioned. "That's what? Inner Rim?" She offered her hand. "Emeris Korr, from Chandrila. My emphasis is on interstellar piloting."
"Raxus is in the Outer Rim," the third cadet, Galara, corrected.
Naro winced. Here it comes. And it was going so well.
But Galara gave an easy smile. "I'm an Outer Rimmer too," she said. "Serenno. Here to study fleet logistics."
"But you sound like…" Naro started. He cut himself off.
"Like I'm from the Core?" Galara asked. She shrugged. "I moved to Coruscant when my mother became a Galactic Senator. Guess I lost the accent."
So really you're Coruscanti then, Naro thought. But then he blinked. Don't think that way.
"So, Naro," Hawkor began. "Applied tactics and strategy. That's what? A career in the Judicial Forces?"
"Maybe," Naro said. "Or I might join the ORSF."
Emeris made a face. "ORSF? What's that?"
"The Outland Regions Security Force," Naro stated. "It's a collective security organization that protects against pirates in the Outer Rim. For when the Judicial Department can't be bothered to do its job," he added.
There was an awkward silence. Galara looked away.
Kriff. Me and my big kriffing mouth.
"But joining the Judicial Forces would be nice," he muttered.
Hawkor took an outsized interest in his food. Galara was still looking away.
"Yeah," Davek said, cutting the tension. "I'm trying to head into the Judicial Forces too. We should check out the gym later. You know they bumped their physical requirements just recently?"
And like that, he was saved.
Emeris leaned forward. "Do you fence?" she asked. "It's a good way to stay fit. The academy likes to promote it, so there's a salon open to cadets."
"I do," Naro said, relieved. His father had encouraged it, saying it would look good on his applications. "I mostly do vibrorapier. You?"
"The same," she said, flashing him a smile. "We should do a bout some time. After classes tomorrow?"
Naro's first instinct was to say no. He knew he had a pile of readings to catch up on, not to mention any classwork from the first week he'd missed. But he was trying something new here. And it was a good excuse to keep in shape anyway.
"Sounds like a plan," he said.
A sharp ring suddenly sounded throughout the cafeteria, and several cadets groaned. People began standing to dump their trays. Others exited the room in a rush.
"Morning classes start in fifteen minutes," Davek explained. "Best get to it."
Naro breathed in. I'm here, he reminded himself. I'm really here.
After breakfast, Naro's day went by in a flash. He had a packed schedule and an even worse workload. His first class was planetside tactics which dealt with the minutiae of leading armies on the ground. Apparently he'd missed the unit on definitions and organizational structure, so Naro's first lecture was spent trying desperately to figure out terms like 'operational momentum' and 'reconnaissance strike complex'. After lecture, his instructor informed him he had three days to make up the quizzes he'd missed in the first week. Then he was in fleet maneuvering, learning how to maintain a screen of corvettes and frigates to protect the bigger ships of the line from starfighter swarms. Then onto sublight logistics, where most cadets seemed bored out of their minds. Then system-wide counter-insurgency, focused mainly on anti-piracy actions. After that was his class on ethical warfare and the implications of the Yavin Code. And then finally he finished up with galactic operational command, where they were taught the basics of leading fleets across multiple star systems.
The last time a major galactic war had been fought was a thousand years ago, so most of what Naro was learning was based on theory and historical examples. Some classes, like system-wide counter-insurgency, could draw from more recent operations by the Judicial Forces against pirates. Others, like sublight logistics, could use experience from the commercial sector. But for the most part, it was millenia old doctrine mixed with untested theory.
Naro loved it.
He dove right into his readings on military theory, trying to measure these new theories against his knowledge of the Jedi-Sith Wars while at the same time accounting for the impact a thousand years of technological improvement could have. New technology meant new tactics, and new tactics meant new strategies. The fact that so much was uncertain meant there was all the more room to innovate.
For one, hyperdrives had gotten faster and more reliable since the Old Republic's demise. Naro let his mind wonder at the possibilities. Feigned retreats into surprise reinforcements jumping into a system on a predesignated schedule. Pincer movements enabled by cross-system maneuver. Reconnaissance in force using dispersed fleets, rapidly concentrating for decisive actions. Force concentrations across-
"Naro!" Davek's voice cut through his thoughts. The fellow cadet snapped his fingers in front of Naro's face twice. "You there?"
Naro blinked and sat up. He'd been at his desk, hunched over his datapad, and he hadn't even noticed his roommate enter. He blinked again. "What time is it?"
"1900 hours," Davek said. "We're about to get dinner; you coming?"
"I need to finish this reading," he sighed.
Davek raised an eyebrow. "You also need to eat. Where were you for lunch?"
"Doing quizzes," Naro admitted. He felt his stomach rumble.
"Quizzes already? How many?"
"Four," Naro said, shrugging. "A reading quiz on the Yavin Convention and all the terminology quizzes for planetside tactics."
Davek's eyes were wide. "Stars above man. It's your first day. You did all three terminology quizzes one after the other?"
Naro nodded. "I have two more tomorrow plus the readings, and then I'm caught up. I just need to finish this one. It's on the logistical challenges of intersystem operations."
Davek leaned over Naro's shoulder to look at his datapad. "You know I'm in the same classes you are, right?" He read a few lines. "I remember this one. There's no quiz on it, so I skimmed it. You know you don't have to read everything we're assigned, right?"
Naro stared at his roommate, appalled.
"But… we're here to learn…"
"There's plenty of time for that later," Davek said. "Come on. You need to eat something, and after that we're hitting the gym. Healthy body, healthy mind and all that."
Naro took his datapad with him anyway. They arrived at the cafeteria, collected some mush of a different color from breakfast, and sat at their usual table. Hawkor and Galara were already seated.
"Ah, so you're alive after all," Hawkor said. "Busy first day?" he asked with a smile.
"Yeah," Naro replied. He hadn't really thought anyone would notice his absence. Or think about him at all, really.
"Don't worry, the thrill of it all starts to die down after a few days," Galara said between spoonfuls of mush. She was shoveling the mush down as if someone was going to steal it from her.
Hawkor laughed, "Speak for yourself, Gal." He gestured around him and said, "We're at Carida! We're learning things that will make a difference and change the galaxy. One of my instructors worked as an arbitrator during the Naboo Crisis. Today my class got assigned roles for mock negotiations!"
Galara gave him a dry look, but it only lasted a moment before she went back to eating. Her tray was almost empty now.
"Preparing to hibernate, Galara?" Davek joked.
"Kriff off," Galara retorted. "My mother never let me eat this much at home. 'Bad for appearances' apparently. But she's not here, so I can do what I like."
"True enough," Davek said. He turned to Hawkor. "You know, I think Naro shares your opinion. He's been glued to his datapad reading all day. Even while eating," Davek said, nudging Naro.
Naro looked up guiltily. He'd been trying to follow the conversation while doing his reading at the same time but that had proven… challenging. He only had thirty more pages to go.
"I like the subject," he protested.
"Sorry I'm late," Emeris said, approaching the table out of breath. She set her tray next to Naro's and sat down. "I got assigned some extra shifts in the simulators, but my time slots aren't very convenient." She looked over at Naro's datapad. "What are you reading?"
"It's a dissertation examining how large fleets can be sustained during intersystem operations and the logistical challenges facing them," Naro said enthusiastically.
Emeris made a face. "Sounds… interesting?"
"Ugh, please," Galara groaned. "I deal with enough logistical nonsense in my classes. Can we keep the work away from our free time?"
Naro's grin died away. "I just like the subject," he murmured. But he turned off his datapad anyway.
"Ah kriff, I didn't mean it like that," Galara sighed. "Look, I'm sorry. It's just that work tends to creep into everything if you let it, you know? It's great that you're enjoying your work, but if you could limit it just a bit. You understand?"
Naro didn't understand. He'd worked his whole life to have the opportunity to study this stuff. This was his dream. He was finally here.
I'll bet you got accepted the second the admissions officer learned about your senator mother. I'll bet your mother didn't have to sell off her pride and joy to buy your admission here.
But Naro was trying something new, so instead he said, "Sure, that's fine."
And he made sure to smile.
Galara smiled back.
I'm getting the hang of this.
Davek dragged him to the gym after dinner, and Naro was cruelly reminded how much he'd let himself go during his trip from the Outer Rim. His passenger ship had been the cheapest he could find, so it hadn't had the typical amenities one would expect for long space voyages like an athletics room or meals with full nutritional value. Weeks of sitting in space, waiting for engine repairs, had degraded his athleticism substantially.
But Davek was patient and clearly very invested in his gym routine. He led them through some basic exercises before moving on to more intensive workouts himself when Naro had to take a break.
That was fine with Naro. He managed to finish his reading on intersystem logistics in between exercises.
After an hour, they hit the refreshers and went back to their room. Lights out was at 2200 hours. Naro lay awake, imagining large scale fleet actions, until sleep finally took him.
In the morning, he got breakfast with his new friends. Friends? Acquaintances? My roommate's friends? Then he headed to class.
Naro had the immensely satisfying feeling of actually understanding what was being discussed in planetside tactics now that he'd studied the terminology. In fleet maneuvering, they learned how to operate the simulators they were going to be operating for the rest of the year. Sublight logistics was an hour of Naro answering questions while the other cadets pretended not to be asleep.
Then it was lunch, and Naro skipped the cafeteria to take the rest of the quizzes he needed to make up. He finished earlier than expected, so he spent the rest of the time catching up on his readings.
By the time lunch was over, Naro had finished everything he'd missed in the first week. A week's work done in two days.
I'm doing it. I'm here!
System-wide counter-insurgency was spent listening to their instructor tell lengthy anecdotes about her time in the Judicial Forces fighting pirates. Then Naro had to listen to his next instructor detail the exact theoretical punishments for various war crimes as established by the Yavin Convention. He finished up with a lecture on cross-system reconnaissance in galactic operational command which was… invigorating. And he stayed an extra half hour to ask his instructor questions.
After his classes, Naro went back to his room to read. Now that he was caught up with the rest of the cadets, he was getting into the good stuff. He was reading an article emphasizing the necessity for civilian compliance in anti-piracy operations when there was a sharp knock on his door.
Naro sat up and rubbed his eyes. "It's open," he said, because Davek liked to keep their room unlocked whenever possible. He claimed it encouraged people to 'get friendly'.
Emeris stepped through the door.
"Davek's catching up with a friend from Coruscant," Naro said immediately. "He said he'd be back in an hour or so."
Emeris nodded. "Great. But not what I'm here for." She raised an eyebrow at Naro's blank expression. "Forget already? We said we'd fence today after classes."
"Oh, right," Naro said quickly. He had forgotten, enraptured in the joy of military learning.
"If you're busy we could…"
"No, no," Naro spouted. He stood abruptly and went to his dresser. "Just, uh, give me a minute to get ready."
"Right," Emeris said, and she stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her.
Naro emerged a minute later in his athletic gear, and Emeris offered to show him to the fencing salon. Second door on the left, one hallway down, up the turbolift, first door on the right, he thought automatically. But he let Emeris lead him there anyway.
"Just so we're clear," Emeris said as they reached the turbolift. "This isn't a date."
Naro blinked. He hadn't thought it was one. Should I have thought that? She wouldn't have clarified if…
"Of course," he said.
Emeris nodded. "Good. People can get the wrong ideas, and I don't want to mess up our friendship because of something like that."
Friendship?
I've known you for two days.
But also, Friendship!
They arrived at the fencing salon. It was a long room with multiple rings set up down the center for doing bouts and mats on the ground for falling. The back wall was lined with big lockers and racks holding various types of vibro weapons, all practice variants of course. Dozens of cadets were doing drills or sparring with their preferred weapons.
Emeris walked him to the back wall and started going through the lockers. "All the gear's shared unless you bring your own," she informed him. "Laundry staff wash the jackets once a week, but you're responsible for oiling the swords you use. Never spar unless you're in full gear."
I know that. I've been fencing for years, he wanted to say. Instead he said, "Got it."
Emeris smiled. "Great."
Naro found a set of gear that looked like it would fit him and began suiting up. He picked a helmet that only mildly smelled like someone else's sweat and selected a vibrorapier from the racks. It was heavy and long, just as he preferred.
"Ready?" Emeris asked, stepping into one of the rings. She'd suited up and picked a blade which looked light as a feather yet was somehow just as long as Naro's.
"Yes," Naro said, and he stepped into the ring.
She came forward cautiously, point forward, arm slightly extended. Her footwork was impeccable, and in three advances Naro could tell she'd practiced more than him. She came into measure slowly, like a snake preparing to strike.
Naro had the heavier sword, and he wanted to use that. When she came into measure, he went to beat her blade aside and thrust down the centerline.
Except that Emeris was fast as lightning, and her blade disengaged away from his beat, coming out untouched by Naro's heavy sword. She did a simple lateral step to avoid his thrust while simultaneously extending her sword arm at his helmet.
Naro's head snapped back from the force of the counter thrust.
"Sorry! Too hard," Emeris instantly said.
Naro blinked and readjusted his helmet. Emeris had sounded like she'd meant it, unlike the prep school students he was used to fighting. Back on Raxus it had been a game to see how hard they could hit their opponent without drawing their coach's ire.
"It's fine," Naro said. "Let's go again."
For their second pass, Naro took the initiative and advanced against Emeris. He stopped just out of measure, made a feint, advanced when she just barely flinched, and then forced her to bind against his blade where his heavy sword had all the advantage.
She tried to retreat, but Naro followed her and lunged with a clean thrust as she tried a hasty disengagement.
"Nice one," she said. "Another?"
On their third pass, Naro misjudged the distance and lunged into Emeris's thrust, skewering himself.
Their fourth pass started with a feint from Emeris which Naro completely fell for. Except, he managed a desperate last second parry against her real attack and then made an excellent riposte right into Emeris's helmet.
Fifth pass, Naro tried to be aggressive with a quick rush, but she parried his thrust and then, because they were too close for either of them to get their points on line, she threw him to the ground with her hip.
Naro laughed from the ground. His laugh turned the head of every other cadet in the room, and he instantly regretted it.
People began to watch them.
Emeris helped him to his feet, and they squared off for another pass.
They circled each other, and Naro was all too conscious of every eye watching him as he moved. He decided to do a complicated feint into a lunge but then, as he began to extend his arm, he thought that would look stupid if he couldn't pull it off, and so he stopped himself to…
Emeris stabbed him in the wrist.
Someone laughed.
Naro could feel his breathing getting quicker, and not just because of the exertion. A bead of sweat went down his eyelid which he couldn't wipe because he was wearing a helmet. As he blinked it away, Emeris made a sudden advance with a thrust that made Naro panic and parry wildly while retreating. He was near the edge of the ring, but he still had enough space to retreat again and reposition himself, except that when he stepped back, he felt something hit his back foot. He tripped.
Naro fell onto his back, knocking the wind out of him, and groaned. His vibrorapier clattered to the ground. Above him, a tall cadet grinned down at him, foot ever so slightly extended.
"Oops," the cadet said with the distinct tick of an upper class Corellian. "Should've watched your step, rookie."
Emeris rushed over. "Ladrek, you're a right bastard." She extended a hand and pulled Naro to his feet before looking back at Ladrek. "Scug off," she spat.
The older cadet shrugged. "Not my fault the Rimmer tripped over himself. I guess they don't teach proper footwork in the Outer Rim."
"You tripped me!" Naro practically screamed. His voice was shrill and uneasy, not at all what he wanted to project. He ripped off his fencing helmet.
Ladrek gave a slight smile. "That's not what I saw," he said. He turned to one of the cadets beside him and asked,"Is that what you saw?"
The cadet shook her head. "Not at all."
Ladrek turned to another. "How about you?"
"Nope."
"And you?"
"Nah."
Ladrek gave a big shrug. "Looks like my story wins, Rimmer. Maybe you should just go back to herding nerfs, or whatever it is you provincials do."
Naro wanted so badly to break his nose.
"I saw you trip him," a voice that reeked of Coruscanti high society suddenly said.
A tall woman stepped forward from the crowd of cadets with an elegance that spoke of extensive training. Her fencing jacket was clearly custom made, her posture was perfectly straight, and she was carrying her own personal vibrosword in a case with gilded outlines. She looked at Ladrek with the sort of casual superiority that came with immense wealth and class.
Naro stared.
Ladrek puffed his chest. "Great, another rookie. What makes you think anyone's going to listen to you?"
The woman met Ladrek's eye. "I would like to think this academy's administrators would take into consideration my truthful nature and spotless record," she replied coldly. "But, if that proves not to be the case, I suppose I could suggest to them that my family would be less inclined to provide our annual donation this year to an institution with such lax standards. I suspect the commandant would be very receptive to such an argument."
Ladrek narrowed his eyes. "Who the hell are you?"
The woman gave a false smile. "Lynara Valorum. Of that House Valorum, naturally."
Even Naro had heard of the Valorums. After all, Finis Valorum had been Supreme Chancellor during the Naboo Crisis, and it had been his failures that spurred much of the discontent Outer Rim planets had with the Republic.
Ladrek became unusually quiet.
"You know, it's quite interesting that you're so quick to emphasize someone else's origins when you're… what? Corellian?" Lynara scoffed. "Corellia's barely even a Core World. I'm guessing your family builds ships?" She scoffed again. "Barbaric, really."
"Watch your mouth," Ladrek hissed. He towered over Lynara.
"Or what? You'll hit me?" Lynara ridiculed. "Go on. End your career before it starts."
Ladrek growled as if he was some kind of rabid animal. But when his friends started to pull him away, he went with them. Ladrek looked over his shoulder to glare at Naro before he exited the room.
Emeris shook her head. "Ladrek's such an ass." She turned to Lynara and said, "Thanks for that."
Naro's brain was finally catching up with the situation. "Yeah, thanks," he said. "I, uh, owe you one for that." He realized he'd been staring and averted his gaze.
"Do you now?" Lynara asked. "Well in that case, I am in need of a sparring partner, and you seem suitable. At least from what I saw earlier, of course."
She was watching me? Kriff.
"Sure," Naro said, before immediately realizing he already had a sparring partner. He turned to Emeris. "Unless, uh, you still are…"
"It's good to vary it up," Emeris said. "I'll go find someone new." Her tone indicated that she was genuine, though Naro couldn't help but worry.
"Looks like I'm free then," he said to Lynara.
She raised an eyebrow but replied, "Fantastic." Her eyes narrowed a bit. "You're in my classes, right?"
Kriff, am I?
"Emphasis in applied tactics and strategy?" he asked.
"Naturally," Lynara said.
"Then yes, but I haven't seen you."
"I sit in the back. You, on the other hand, like to answer questions."
Naro cringed ever so slightly. "I find the subject fascinating," he said defensively.
To Naro's immense surprise, however, Lynara smiled at his words. Her eyes sparkled. "Good," she approved. "I find it fascinating as well."
She opened her sword case and retrieved a beautiful vibrorapier. The hilt was gilded with jewels inlaid in the pommel. It was engraved with words in a language Naro didn't recognize along the length of the blade. Just looking at it, Naro could tell it was worth more than anything he'd ever owned.
My family isn't even that destitute. She's just… very rich.
"You do vibrorapier, if I recall correctly?" Lynara asked, though really it was more of a statement.
Naro picked up his vibrorapier from where he'd dropped it. "Yes," he said. Then, feeling a bit bolder, "I'm Naro. Naro Tarrik."
"Naro," she said, as if tasting the name. "Lynara Valorum, at your service. Though I'd prefer just Lynara."
Lynara stepped into one of the rings and pulled on her fencing helmet. It was, like the rest of her gear, custom made. 'The die is cast', was engraved on her faceplate.
Naro pulled on his loaner helmet.
"Ready?"
Naro nodded.
Lynara did a fancy salute, bringing her sword up to her faceplate and then whipping it down so it whistled.
Naro found he was smiling under his mask. He did a considerably more basic salute.
She's wonderful. And a Core World aristocrat to the boot. Why the hell don't I hate her?
But before he could think any more on that, they crossed swords.
This story should be longer than the one shots I've written for Star Wars so far. Just to be clear, it starts just prior to the Clone Wars but following the initial academy arc, the bulk of the story will be set during the Clone Wars.
Thank you for giving this story a shot. It's a break from what I usually write, I know, so thank you for giving it a try. Please review if you enjoyed.