The Disciple Part VII

 

THE EBON HAWK

Anet opened her eyes and smiled, the memory of the previous day coming back to her slowly. Beside her, Mical slept, snoring quietly and she stifled a giggle, looking up at him. His blonde hair had fallen over his eyes and his face was peaceful, young looking. Affection surged through her heart, and she snuggled close under his arm. She wasn't quite sure what had happened last night or why, and she didn't know what would happen now, but at the moment, she didn't care. She reached up and brushed his hair behind his ears, resting her hand on his cheek. He opened his eyes, blearily looking around before noticing her and smiling.

"Anet." His arm reached around her waist and pulled her close, and he sighed. "Anet. . ."

"Good morning." She laughed. "Or afternoon. I'm not sure what time it is."

He kissed her cheek. "There is no time."

"You're crazy," she mumbled, burying herself under his arm. Her hands tightened around his waist, and he sighed, content.

"Mical?"

"Hmm?"

She traced her finger along the muscles of his abdomen. "Remember when I taught your class?"

He nuzzled her neck. "Of course."

"What did you think of me?"

He looked into her eyes. "You were the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen."

She sighed, full of nostalgia. "I was so nervous. Vrook didn't approve, of course. But my master insisted, he said that the ability to teach was something to be cultivated at a young age."

"You were the best teacher I had ever encountered."

She pushed him, embarrassed. "You're teasing me."

He looked at her seriously. "I am not. Aside from the fact that I was enamored with you on the spot," Anet smiled embarrassedly, "Your words echoed within me. Every student felt it. You were a natural leader, a true mentor." He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it. "The thought of you inspired me for years, brought me through some of the darkest moments of my life."

She regarded him. "When you left the Jedi, what did you do?"

He looked away. "I pledged my life to the Republic. I trained as a basic soldier and healer, and then when the Jedi Civil War broke out I was stationed on one of the many Medical ships, treating the wounded flown in from the battlefields."

The corners of her mouth turned downwards. "You were so young. . . "

"There were no opportunities to be young during the war," Mical said. He sighed. "Those were dark times. I lived in fear that the next Jedi on the gurney before me would be you, that I would have to watch you be wheeled away when I was unable to save you."

The look on his face was haunted and she held him, pulled him down to rest between her breasts. "What did you do after the war?"

She felt him swallow. "I lived in Coruscant for a time, and I did nothing but try to drown my loneliness the way all men do." She saw the ashamed expression on his face and she understood. "I decided then to devote my time to searching for the Jedi. The Republic needed them, and they had all but disappeared completely."

Anet stroked his hair, thinking. "You must have seen a lot.

He chuckled. "I had to. It was my mission to understand the wounds of the galaxy and then to seek the Jedi." He pulled away and held her face in his hand. "You have done more for the galaxy in these few short months than I did in years."

She kissed him impulsively. "I love you," she breathed.

He pulled her on top of him, breathing in the sweet smell of her hair.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A couple in love is a hazard to their environment and the people who inhabit it, and the crew of the Ebon Hawk was no exception. But between the disgruntled mumblings of Kreia, the smug giggling of Mira, the sour whispers of Atton, and HK's griping about "hormone driven meatbags", Mical and Anet found they did not care. They lived each other; ate the sound of their laughter, drank the sight of each other in the morning. Anet lived for him, the small discoveries he would bring, his face lit up like a child's, the way his eyes blazed with a fire when they kissed. They were intoxicated, drunk on each other.

But despite the fact that their feelings for each other were no longer stifled, Anet would not allow their training to become derailed by the outflow of their passion.

"Mical," she said sternly, her hands on her hips. "Just because I let you kiss me does not mean your studies will fall by the wayside!"

He grinned at her in a way that could be described as anything but innocent. "Are you my taskmaster now?"

She tried to glare at him, but found she could not suppress the grin itching to take over her face. "Yes! Yes I am!" She swatted him on the shoulder, giggling.

He came in close to her face, grinning sappily. "Then you are the most ravishing taskmaster in the galaxy."

But she became serious. "Mical, I'm not kidding. How do you think I would feel if in battle you were struck down because I failed to teach you properly?"

He took her hand. "I was only teasing you. Of course I understand. It is good to know my dashing good looks have not distracted you from your teacherly duty."

Anet found herself laughing, despite the fact that she didn't want to encourage him. He gazed at her, a small smile playing on his lips, but before he could lean in and kiss her, T3 rolled up to Anet, beeping anxiously.

"What's wrong T3?" Anet asked, still laughing from Mical's attentions.

The astromech's musical tones sounded especially anxious. "Bee-deet! Be-reet deet dee vrrt!"

Anet detached herself from Mical's arms. "What did Kelborn say?"

"Deet-ree. Dee-deet de-reet. Dweet-dee! Dwoo..."

"Kavar is trying to reach me?" At the mention of his name a strange look crossed Anet's face.

"Dee-deet."

"Then we have to get to the Mandalorian camp right away." Anet said.

Mical looked at her shrewdly. "Did he say what he wanted?" he asked, trying to hide the suspicion from his voice.

Anet watched T3 go. "No, but I suspect it has something to do with the situation on Onderon destabilizing further."

Mical nodded. "I see." Though Anet had tried to hide it, the Force had flared around her as she spoke Kavar's name, and pain resonated through their Bond.

Wringing her hands, Anet set off towards the cockpit. "I'll inform Atton of our course change. I don’t' think he'll be happy. . ." she trailed off, striding away.

Mical watched her go, a small twinge of jealousy filling him. What did the expression on her face mean? Even without the Force filling him, he sensed there had been something between those two, and against his will he felt unhappy, threatened. He looked down at his hands, embarrassed. Don't be a child, Mical. Her feelings are her business.

But still unease gripped his heart.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Anet tossed and turned in her bunk, filled with insomnia. Above her, she heard Mira mumble incoherently in her sleep, and across the room Visas lay as still as a corpse. Flashes of their dreams filled her mind, their emotions painted a blurry picture before her eyes, more color than emotion. Sitting upright, her feet barely striking the floor, she left the dormitory, seeking comfort, seeking him.

She expected to see him asleep in the Med Bay, but instead he was awake, reading, hunched forward in the chair he sat in. His brow was furrowed, his eyes moving quickly along the lines of the datapad he held in his hands. So focused was he, he did not notice her and she watched him for a long time, drinking in the way shadows played themselves across his face, the way his light blue eyes burned with intensity and concentration.

"Do you ever sleep?" she said quietly, smirking slightly. He looked up at her and smiled as she plopped down on the bed facing him.

"I lost track of the hour, it would seem," he murmured, pushing the blonde hair out of his eyes. His expression changed to one of good humor. "But it seems you have discovered my secret. I am a droid. I never sleep."

She grinned at him, pulling him towards her by the front of his tunic and placing her hand on his broad chest. "Then what is that?" she asked, tapping her hand against his heart.

He cupped her face, leaning in so close she could taste his sweet breath. "It is yours."

Anet found herself blushing and turned away, playing coy. He sat beside her and leaned back against the wall, gazing at her intently.

A sigh escaped her lips. "I couldn't sleep either."

"What is troubling you?" he asked.

She turned to face him, staring into his earnest face. He looked so much like the boy she knew on Dantooine, and yet he was so different. She thought of Kavar then, judgment harsh on his face. The two were so different; Mical possessed none of the arrogance that had at first ensnared Anet to Kavar and then repulsed her. "Sometimes it is difficult to let the past go," she said.

"Indeed. Can you see nothing in the past worth leaving behind? Nothing in the future worth moving towards?" Anet looked at him sharply. Force, how did he always manage to read her mind like that?

"It isn't about that," she said, a little vexed. Pushing her hair back she said somewhat embarrassedly, "I don't know. I just feel that sometimes the wrongs that have been done to me are the only things that give me strength, and should I let them go, I will lose that strength."

"Holding grudges will ultimately weaken you," Mical said carefully. "Your strength should stem from the memory, not festering emotions."

Anet shook her head in disbelief. "You will make a wise Jedi Master one day," she said almost reverently.

Mical ducked his head at the praise, then smirked. "Why, because I can read the woman I love?"

"Maybe," she said, leaning forward to kiss him.

 

 

MANDOLORIAN CAMP, DXUN

Anet pushed her way through the muck and mud to the entrance of the Mandalorian campsite, her entire party behind her. Kelborn's message was vague, but through the Force Anet had felt a deep tremor that resonated violently against the fabric of her perception, and her worry increased. Something was horribly wrong. She suspected the situation on Onderon had erupted into a full scale conflict, but that was not all that occupied her attentions.

Kavar's face filled her mind. Before they had met on Onderon weeks ago, they had not parted on amicable terms. He had betrayed her. He had told her he loved her, that he supported her decision to war, and then had stepped back and allowed the Jedi Council to punish her, to send her away. The hurt echoed within her still, despite the passage of time.

She looked back at Mical. His face was subdued, spattered with muck. He was not a stupid man; she was sure that he had sensed the turmoil within her, the reason for her unrest. She sighed. The fact was that Kavar wasn't half the man Mical was. Mical was not a coward or a fool. Mical would not betray her. She smiled as she saw him wipe the mud from his face, grimacing. He was loyal, devoted. And she loved him.

She slowed her pace so that she was even with him. "Are you all right?" she asked.

He looked at her seriously. " I should be asking you the same question." He took a breath, swallowed. "I have felt your unease, and it has become my own."

She looked away, ahead at the looming camp. "You deserve the truth." Her voice felt thick in her throat. "Master Kavar and I were lovers many years ago. When I returned from the Mandalorian Wars he met me, comforted me. He told me that he had understood my reasons for war. But when I faced the Council, he sat among them. He did not defend me. In fact, he accused me along with the others."

He took her hand, squeezed it. He said nothing, and she was glad for she didn't trust her voice not to waver.

Together they mounted the hill, emerging from the dank of the jungle. Kelborn was waiting for them, a looming figure on the plateau. Mandalore came forward and they clasped each other briefly on the shoulders as Mandalore said "Tion'ad hukaat'kama". His voice sounded almost musical in his native tongue, but before Anet could comment, he beckoned to the group, leading them onward through the camp.

"A man named Kavar was trying to reach you urgently. He had said that the Queen had arranged safe passage for you. But. . . I don't know if that offer is good anymore." Kelborn said.

Just as I suspected. "What happened?" Anet pressed.

"General Vaklu and the Council of Lord's determined her guilty of treason. The two factions are now warring with each other."

Anet set her jaw. "Then we must come to the aid of the Queen."

Kelborn seemed to have expected her answer. "If only it were as simple as that. Vaklu has allied himself with the Sith and their Masters. Even with your aid the Queen won't stand a chance."

Kreia stirred beside her, her voice low. "I sense something...stirring on the moon itself. Tell me Mandalorian, have your sensors picked up anything on the moon's surface?"

"Y- Yes, we have. We picked up strange signals coming from nearby, in the heart of the jungle."

"The source of the transmissions is the enemy. They must be stopped if Talia is to survive."

Mandalore grunted in disgust. "Dividing our forces now at a time like this is foolish."

Kreia faced him, her voice mutinous. "You are nothing but a common soldier, and your tactics could never hope to triumph against the power of the Force," she hissed. "We must face them simultaneously, or we suffer defeat and death!"

Anet squared her shoulders. "It is so. I will lead the group to the palace." She gazed at her companions, their faces. "Atton, you will lead the expedition into the jungle." She approached him, and grasped his forearms. "We place our fate in your hands," she said solemnly, but then she smiled and winked. Atton grinned back, seeming pleased at being trusted so explicitly. "Bao-Dur and Visas will accompany you."

She turned back towards the rest of her companions. "Mandalore and Mical, you will accompany me."