Saber Forum

AN 1: Liera's race is one I created myself. They are a naturally force sensitive people that see the world through the force. Unlike the Miraluka the Haasufeilians don't just see a persons force signature, they see into their very being. There is no such thing as dishonesty to them because they can see directly into someone's soul. This manifests in colors and sensations that are interpreted by the individual. Haasufeilians also revere bonds, especially family bonds, and are very free with their emotions. They are a tribal society from a planetoid just past the outer reaches.

The people of Haasufeiliah are all milky white skinned with light hair ranging from pale blonde to pure white and have vibrant eyes of all colors. In the dark their bodies actually give off a faint glow as they are naturally bio-luminescent.

AN 2: Liera/Stella is a character I have done many 'what-ifs,' time travels, and alternate universes with. This is just one of those many stories.

AN3: Normal text is the speaker's native language. Italics are non-native language.


Chapter 1: The Spark

The old arches rose above her on either side, disappearing into the ceiling due to the lack of sufficient light. The entirety of the temple hummed with power around her, brimming with the force. It was like walking in sunlight streaming through stained glass, the colors a beautiful kaleidoscope she could feel in her bones. So many people had once lived here, walked these halls… it felt surreal to see it so empty.

“Master? I’m not complaining, but why are we here?” She asked, looking to the man striding confidently through the halls in front of her. Master Paldrel looked back at her with an indulgent smile, his blue eyes kind.

“Every once in a while they like to send someone to make sure these old places are still standing.” He said flippantly and grinned when she rolled her eyes at him. “This temple is located on top of a Force Nexus. We’re here to make sure no one has tried to vandalize this place or take advantage of the lack of jedi presence to try something dark.” She nodded. It sounded like something they would send her master to do. “Master Indrid was supposed to come but she got caught up in something. We were the closest so the task was given to me.”

“Are you sure I shouldn’t have stayed back on the ship? I’m not sure how much help I can be if something goes wrong.” Even as she spoke she felt a surge of sensation down her spine and shivered. There was so much power here and it was all bottled up. If it were to get loose or intensify she was certain she would have an aneurysm. Or at the very least she would faint.

“Don’t worry, Liera. I’m going to have you stand by in the main hall while I look around. There’s plenty of old wall etchings and mosaics to keep yourself occupied with until I return.” She smiled with excitement. Reading old texts and learning new languages was one of her favourite past times, besides dancing.

“Okay, Master. Be safe.” The man nodded as they passed through a beautifully carved doorway and into a large chamber that took her breath away with its sheer brilliance. She heard her master chuckle in amusement at her but she ignored him as she examined a nearby wall relief. With the ‘background noise’ of energy swirling around she couldn’t feel when the man left her there but she could sense that he was alive and well. It was all she needed really. Her master was a very, very, accomplished jedi and didn’t need his padawan to babysit him… unless he was injured. Then she would do her best to sit on the stubborn man until he let her heal him. He didn’t need any more scars.

The girl moved on from the wall relief to a beautiful mosaic. Reverently she brushed her hands over a scene with meditating jedi in a serene looking garden. As her fingers trailed down a statue depicted with purple crystals for eyes she realized that there were slivers of actual crystal embedded in the work. She leaned closer to get a better look when the force suddenly cried out. She fell to her knees, crying out in pain, and grabbed her head. At her waist her twin sabers were pulsing, as if trying to ward off whatever it was that had suddenly attacked her.

The temple rumbled and she looked up at the ceiling in fear. If the place was coming down she needed to leave, she wasn’t strong enough to stop tons of old stone from crushing her like an insect. All around her the echoes of old force signatures began to brighten, seeing spots as the light began to overtake her vision. There was a sensation of something tearing and she realized that her master’s presence in her mind was suddenly just gone.

“You are early, little star. You are not where you are supposed to be…” A great voice intoned inside her mind. She wanted to scream but no sound came from her throat. She felt suspended in the air, not unlike floating in water or being held up by the force. “No matter. We have need of you regardless. Perhaps… this is the better path.” Things around her shifted and she felt a pressure behind her eyes as something poured into her. Oh force, it ached!

“Never fear, child of the far skies. We shall be watching over you.” Who? Why? What had happened to her master? The light brightened suddenly before the air seemed to shimmer.

Then she was falling.

With the reflexes of someone who had been raised as a warrior her entire life she flipped herself mid-air and rolled when she hit the ground. Jagged rocks dug into her shoulder and back but thankfully the thick white cloak she wore protected her from anything worse than a couple nasty bruises. Landing in a crouch she took in her surroundings in confusion. Nearby she could feel the sputtering of a life-force and an outpouring of emotion so strong it made her shudder. Turning she spotted the two armored figures and gasped.

Scrambling she rushed over to the downed figure and fell to her knees next to him. The smaller figure, the one in green armor with red markings, raised a blaster and leveled it at her face. She could feel the roiling emotions of his mind and knew that she had to be careful what she said next. Her master had warned her about Mandalorians, and how they had no love for the jedi.

Looking straight into his visor, hoping he could see her sincerity, she spoke. “I’m a medic. Please let me stop the bleeding, we don’t have much time.” The figure seemed to hesitate for a moment but lifted his finger away from the trigger.

“Make any false moves and I won’t hesitate to kill you.” The voice was young but steadfast. She took his words at face value and nodded.

“Help me get the armor off, I’ve never done it before.” Holstering the gun he started undoing the armor with deft movements of his hands. Carefully she slid the man’s helmet off and pressed a hand to his head, closing her eyes to concentrate. She poured as much power as she was able into making the man stable before she turned to the more difficult task of the multiple blaster wounds.

Once the armor was off she placed her hand on the man’s broad chest and began her work. The boy, or perhaps young man, grabbed her wrist and squeezed. She sucked in a breath and opened her eyes, losing her concentration and connection to the force.

“What are you doing?” He hissed angrily.

“I’m stabilizing him using the force.” He cursed and the hand tightened. “His wounds are too great for basic field medicine! I know you don’t like jedi but if I stop now he’ll die!” The seconds ticked away and the boy cursed again before releasing her. He let her get to work.

Seemingly unable to sit there doing nothing the Mandalorian stood, weapons in hand, and scanned the landscape around them. By the time Liera was finished as much as she was able the man beneath her hands was well on his way to recovery. Reaching behind her, beneath her cloak, she unclipped the kit she always kept on her from her belt. Noticing her movement the Mandalorian bristled, blaster twitching in her direction.

“Would you just relax? It’s a first aid kit.” Setting it down she opened it and started pulling out bandages, a bacta pack, and a couple of hypos. Quickly she found the zipper on the body suit the man was wearing and slipped it off his torso. She slathered the wounds in bacta and tightly wrapped his chest before moving on. After slipping the top of the body suit back on and zipping it up she held up two hypos for the Mandalorian to inspect.

“I have a painkiller and a stim here, but I don’t know his medical history. Is he allergic to either of these?” The helmeted head tilted and she had a feeling she was being glared at.

“Why?” She sighed.

“Well I’m not going to be able to carry him and if we’re in an active battlefield you’ll want your hands free. If we wake him up he can lean on me but walk on his own. Unless you want to carry him and let me and my lightsabers defend us.” This seemed like sound enough logic for the Mandalorian. Taking both of the hypos he jabbed them into the wounded man’s neck one after the other and waited for him to stir. Liera gathered up her supplies and carefully replaced it all in her kit before clipping it back to her belt. When the man began to stir she stepped back, more than aware of what a wounded warrior could do if he woke up with an unfamiliar figure hovering over them.

“Buir! Me’vaar?” The man blinked in confusion before he twitched and winced. His hand went to his chest and he let out a small hiss at the tender flesh beneath the bandages.

“Jango? Ngh, kadala. Shab, me’bana?” The younger Mandalorian slowly reeled himself in.

“Ibac hut’uun Montross.” The man’s expression hardened and she could feel his anger from where she stood. Slowly she came forward, looking between the two of them. She held out the man’s helmet.

“Do you think you can walk? We need to get you further medical attention. I could only do so much.” She couldn’t help fidgeting under the man’s assessing gaze. It was like her master at his most scrutinizing, except this man had none of the same warmth to him as Master Paldrel.

“Tion’ad cuyir kaysh?” Liera couldn’t help the frustrated frown that crossed her face. She didn’t like being left out of conversations. Especially in another language.

“Jetii baar’ur. Kaysh gaa’taylyc.” The man turned back to her.

“I can walk, need a hand up though.” Relaxing, even though his words were gruff, she stepped closer and helped the man to his feet. He was quite tall, standing at about six feet. It was almost ridiculous how short she was next to him, with her meager four feet and nine inches. When he was on his feet she let him lean against her. She might be small but she was strong enough for this at least. The other Mandalorian grabbed the man’s helmet and handed it to him.

“I’m Liera, by the way.” She looked between the two armored men with a small smile.

“Jaster, and this is my son Jango.”


Mando'a:

Buir! Me’vaar?- Father! Are you okay?
Jango? Ngh, kadala. Shab me’bana?- Jango? Ugh, hurt. What the f*ck happened?
Ibac hut’uun Montross- That coward Montross.
Tion’ad cuyir kaysh?- Who is she?
Jetii baar’ur. Kaysh gaa’taylyc- Jedi medic. She helped.

Chapter 2: The Flame

If he was being brutally honest he’d admit that the shock and fear of losing his adopted father had narrowed his focus to a single point. So when he suddenly saw movement it startled him into acting on instinct. Leveling the blaster at the stranger’s head he glared at them, not that they could see it. There were so many thoughts and emotions running through him at that moment that even if he was asked later he wouldn’t be able to answer why he didn’t just shoot. Vibrant purple eyes stared right into his own, as if the stranger could see through his visor.

“I’m a medic. Please let me stop the bleeding, we don’t have much time.” He still isn’t sure what it was about her that made him lift his finger from the trigger and let her try. Maybe it was the certainty that Jaster was already dead, that nothing she could do would make things worse. Or maybe it was the tone of her voice, the way the words were calm yet almost desperate.

“Make any false moves and I won’t hesitate to kill you.” The girl stared at him, keeping eye contact, and nodded in understanding. He was honestly a little surprised how easily she accepted his words.

“Help me get the armor off, I’ve never done it before.” Holstering his blaster he started stripping Jaster’s armor off, stacking the plates beside him. Our of the corner of his eye he saw her slip the man’s helmet off and place it down next to her. She laid her hand down on Jaster’s forehead and closed her eyes. His skin prickled and he could feel his instincts screaming that something was wrong. Grabbing her by the wrist he felt the prickling sensation disappear as her eyes opened and she looked at him in surprise.

“What are you doing?” He hissed, anger welling up within him. If this was some sort of trick-

“I’m stabilizing him using the force.” He knew it! She wasn’t a medic; she was a shabla jetii!

“Lying bastard!” He cursed in Mando’a tightening his grip, ready to haul her away from his father so she couldn’t do any more damage.

“His wounds are too great for basic field medicine! I know you don’t like jedi but if I stop now he’ll die!” Jango froze, eyes narrowing angrily. Normally he was a good judge of character but when it came to jetii he was far more wary. But this girl… she wasn’t giving off the aura he assumed a jetii would. There was no aloofness, superiority, no disdain. She was just a girl, smaller than him, who wanted to help. Her eyes… they were filled with concern and urgency but it had nothing to do with his fingers wrapped painfully around her wrist.

Jango wasn’t sure what exactly convinced him to let go, but he did.

As she uncovered Jaster’s wounds Jango couldn’t sit still. Standing he pulled out his blaster and stood guard while she worked. Hearing a low noise he turned and spied Silas nearby, weapon out and also scanning the terrain. He signed at the older teen to watch his back and keep hidden from the outsider. He received an affirmative response and went back to keeping watch.

Spying the girl reaching behind her into her cloak he almost turned his blaster on her, wary of her every move. “Would you just relax? It’s a first aid kit.” She didn’t snap at him, it wasn’t angry sounding enough, but she was certainly exasperated. She continued her work but this time with things he was very familiar with. He relaxed slightly when she finally helped Jaster back into his bodysuit.

“I have a painkiller and a stim here, but I don’t know his medical history. Is he allergic to either of these?” He raised an eyebrows at the hypos in her hand, not that she could see it.

“Why?” The girl sighed and gave him a look he knew all too well from their own medics.

“Well I’m not going to be able to carry him and if we’re in an active battlefield you’ll want your hands free. If we wake him up he can lean on me but walk on his own. Unless you want to carry him and let me and my lightsabers defend us.” Jango decided not to mention Silas, better that he remain hidden and watching their backs. Grabbing the hypos he injected them into Jaster’s neck and waited.

The girl swiftly and efficiently cleaned up the medical kit, clipped it back to her belt, and backed away. Weird, but smart. She must have worked with mercenaries or war vets before. Jaster groaned and shifted.

“Buir! You okay?” His father blinked, looking up with unfocused eyes before he twitched and winced. Jaster reached up to feel at his chest and hissed when he poked at the wounds.

“Jango? Ngh, hurt. What the shab happened?” Jango let out a breath so quiet the comm didn’t pick it up.

“That coward Montross.” Jaster’s expression darkened with tightly controlled rage and he echoed the feeling. If he caught up to that dar’manda bastard he was going to rip him apart with his bare hands!

“Do you think you can walk?” He hadn’t forgotten about the girl, not really, but seeing her come forward with Jaster’s helmet was still a little bit of a surprise.

“Who is she?” The girl looked at them in what he might have called a pout, eyes darting between them as she tried to understand what they were saying.

“Jetii medic. She helped.” Jaster turned to look up at the girl, a calculating look in his eyes.

“I can walk, need a hand up though.” The girl’s shoulders relaxed and she quickly stepped forward to help the wounded man to his feet. Jaster towered over her and it was almost comical how her face scrunched up in annoyance before she was slipping under the man’s arm and urging him to lean on her. Jango grabbed his father’s helmet and helped him put it on before taking point.

“I’m Liera, by the way.” A small smile crossed her face.

“Jaster, and this is my son Jango.”

They carefully made their way back to camp with Silas following behind them, watching their retreat. By the time they made it back to camp Jaster was a little pale but still going strong. The jetii didn’t seem to mind the weight on her and kept up surprisingly well. She was stubborn, Jango would give her that.

When the guards spotted them they stiffened and looked at one another. “Boss, we have a problem.” Jango marched past them, back stiff. Behind him some of the guards offered to help carry Jaster into camp.

Montross. Of course it was Montross! He was telling anyone and everyone that Jaster and Jango were dead, that he should become the new Mand’alor. Jango clenched his gloved hands into fists and stalked further into camp, his anger boiling in his veins.

“Montross, you shabla traitor!” He snarled, pulling his blaster and aiming it at the coward. Behind him he could hear the medics rushing to help Jaster but he didn’t turn around. The traitor looked at him and he could practically hear the sneer in his voice.

“He’ll be dead soon, there’s no way Jaster will survive his wounds. I should be Mand’alor, I will lead us to victory!” Jango felt someone behind him but didn’t move. A second blaster aimed at Montross came into view over his shoulder and a vicious grin crossed his face.

“That’s not your call to make, Montross. I say you’re not fit to lead us. You left Jaster on the battlefield to die.” There were angry murmurs from those around them and the sounds of multiple blasters being unholstered.

“What do you know, whelp?” He grit his teeth and hissed in rage.

“If Jaster does die I’ll follow Jango. No one else.” He glanced at Silas and felt grateful to the older teen for his loyalty.

“Montross.” Everyone’s attention shifted to Jaster as the jetii and one of the medics helped him sit on a nearby crate. The little jetii kneeling next to him to watch the medics. “You are a disgrace to everything that makes one Mando’ad. I declare you dar’manda, a traitor and an outsider. Go. Never show your face again.” Jaster’s voice was as cold and implacable as an ice field. No one moved.

True to his nature Montross backed down like the coward he was. Someone charged their weapon but Jaster’s voice stopped them. “No. Let him go.” He looked back at his father, one of the medics had removed his helmet and the man’s eyes were hard like stone. “Leave the dar’manda coward to his exile.” Hearing the ignition of a jetpack he whipped his head around and watched the coward flee. Holstering his blaster he scowled at the man’s retreating back until he could no longer be seen.

“Who’s this, sir?” One of the medics asked.

“According to my kid she’s the jetii that saved my life.” The reaction to the jetii in their midst was immediate. Everyone stiffened, hads still on their weapons and even more wary of outsiders after the betrayal of one of their own. The girl froze, her bright eyes darting around. He was surprised to see wariness but no fear on her face.

“I suppose now would be a good time for me to leave.” She said politely, her voice only slightly hesitant. She turned to the medics who were still working on Jaster and frowned. “But before I go… He’s going to need to sleep soon. I only had the one stim and used it because it was an emergency. He had multiple blaster wounds to the lungs and one that pierced his kidneys. He’ll need a blood infusion as well, my ability to heal can only do so much. I can’t replace the blood he lost.” Jango sucked in a breath hearing how much damage his father had suffered. The girl sounded clinical, just like any medic, but there was concern in her eyes.

“There’s no shabla way you could have fixed all that without surgery.” Cole said incredulously. The girl hesitated, looking around and trying to judge the people around her. She was a jetii, this was dangerous territory for her. But she’d helped Jaster. If the situation started going downhill he’d vouch for her, even if he still didn’t trust her completely.

“I… I‘m a jedi padawn. I used a force healing ability to close the wounds and regenerate the organs.” The tension rose and he watched her eyes widen. “I-I’ll just leave. Please, I don’t want any trouble.” Holding her hands out defensively in front of her she stood in one fluid motion. Then promptly fell to her knees as her eyes went unfocused. “O-oh kark.” Before she could slump to the ground in a dead faint his father grabbed her by the shoulder and held her up.

“This girl risked everything to save my life, I owe her a life debt. Someone find her a bed on the ship, we’re leaving.” The air almost buzzed with agitated energy but no one disobeyed a direct order from the Mand’alor.

By the time they left the planet the girl was stripped down to her simple tunics and under the watchful eye of the medics in the medbay. Jango stood next to his father, still not ready to leave his side after almost losing him, and watched with surprise as the medics squabbled over the girl.

“What’s wrong with her?” They looked at Jaster sheepishly.

“We… aren’t sure. It’s probably some jetii thing. She seems fine, just exhausted. But… her anatomy is a little odd. She’s definitely a near human, her organs match up for the most part. But we don’t want to poke anything until she can tell us whether it’d kill her or not.” That wasn’t a surprise. Jango had never seen anyone like her before.

“She has two lightsabers, an emergency medical kit, some rations, a boot knife, and… this.” The man held up a small holdout blaster that made Jaster’s eyes widen in surprise. “This thing is an antique but it looks brand new. Either it’s a damn good recreation, or she stole it from a collector.” The fact that she even had a blaster on her was surprising enough.

“I thought jetii didn’t carry blasters?” Jaster shook his head.

“It’s rare but not unheard of. Lock up her gear for now.” The man nodded and gathered up her things. The other medic came to check on Jaster’s wounds and shook his head.

“Are you sure she didn’t do some jetii thing to your mind? I still don’t believe she could have done what she said she did, even with jetii magic.” Jango scowled.

“Yeah, I’m sure.” Jaster put a hand on his shoulder as the medic re-checked his bandages.

“Where the hell did she even come from?” Jango looked at his lap, brow furrowing.

“I don’t know. I was too focused on you. She just came out of nowhere. I almost blew her head off but… something stopped me.” A shiver ran down his spine. Had that been her somehow? Had she gotten into his mind and stopped him?

“Good thing you didn’t.” Jaster’s hand found its way to his head and ruffled his hair. He halfheartedly grumbled and pushed the hand away but his father only grinned at him. “Go on, son, get some rest. I’ll be fine here.” Jango gave him a look then snagged a blanket from a different bed and hunkered down in a corner of the room. Jaster raised an eyebrow at him but he just glared back defiantly.

“Suit yourself.” Jaster chuckled.


Mando'a:

Mando’ad- Mandalorian, singular.
Dar’manda- No longer Mandalorian. Someone who has betrayed what it means to be Mandalorian.

Chapter 3: Kindling

Waking up she let out a low groan as the lights above her shone into her eyes. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been asleep but it was definitely too long. Her head felt like it was stuffed with cotton balls. Reaching out to the force she jolted upright in shock. ‘Master?’ Calling out to him had always been easy for her. Being in tune with the living force and being a natural telepath meant she could always hear her master, even if they were miles apart. There was no response. She poked at the bond between her and her master only to find it shorn. Torn and tattered at the ends as if something had literally ripped it in two.

A low choked off sob came from her trembling lips. Placing both hands against her mouth to try and stifle the sound she felt hot tears roll down her cheeks. There was only one reason a bond would be torn so viciously- her master was dead. If he was alive but hidden from her it would have been a clean break, it had happened once before. But this was different. There was no life to it, no promise. It was a dead thing in her mind, lying limp.

There was movement nearby but she couldn’t be bothered to lift her head as the grief took hold of her. A large hand gently pressed against her back and she startled slightly. The man she had saved, Jaster, looked down at her with kind eyes. “K’uur, adiik. Udesii.” She didn’t understand the words but she did feel the warmth in them. The last of her control broke and she flung herself at the man, needing comfort. She clung to him almost desperately as the loss echoed inside her mind.

[Jango]

Blinking his sleep blurred eyes Jango wondered what in the hell had woken him. A stuttered gasp reached his ears and he sat up straighter in the corner he’d stashed himself in. Scanning the room his eyes fell on the jet’ika and he froze. She couldn’t see him from where he was sitting but he could see her clearly. Jaster slid off his bed and Jango made to stand, only to stop when his father waved him back down. The man crossed over to the girl and put a hand against her back, murmuring comfortingly. Jango swallowed hard and looked away. He knew the sound of heart wrenching grief when he heard it.

The girl cried until she was hoarse, her shoulders twitching and arms wrapped desperately around Jaster’s waist. Eventually she pulled away from his father and sat there looking exhausted. She gave Jaster a watery smile, her expression so raw and open that Jango could barely look at her. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, ad’ika.” The girl blinked at Jaster for a moment then laid back down on the medical bed. It didn’t take long for her to fall asleep again. Jaster returned to his own bed and sat down, looking tired.

“What happened?” He asked, concerned.

“I have a feeling that her teacher-guardian is dead. What the jet’ika would refer to as her Master.” Jango frowned. Jaster cursed under his breath. “She can’t be older than 12…” He sighed. His father could be merciless in a fight but beneath it all he was a deeply caring man. Otherwise he wouldn’t have saved an eight year old brat who did nothing but cause him trouble the first few years after he’d been adopted.

Jaster ran a hand through his hair. “Go to sleep, son. Morning practice comes early.” Jango grumbled but settled himself back down. Jaster let out an amused huff.

[Jaster]

Cole came early to check on his bandages, grinning down at the still sleeping Jango with amusement. “Your kid is as stubborn as you are.” Jaster chuckled and let the medic look him over. The man’s eyes strayed to the sleeping girl and he frowned. “Did she sleep the whole time?” He shook his head.

“She woke up and had a breakdown. I think the older jetii she was paired with is dead.” The man swore.

“Who in their right mind would let a kid that young tag along?” Cole said through gritted teeth, eyes sharp. Jaster felt much the same. She looked so small and fragile, with slender limbs and petite body. It was like looking at a fragile doll. “Are we going to return her to the jetii?” The medic suddenly asked, glancing at him out of the corner of his eye.

“If that’s what she wants. But I owe her my life. If she asks to stay I won’t say no.” Cole looked at him, amusement crinkling the skin around his eyes.

“I think Shiona and Maav might be having similar ideas. I saw them with their heads together planning on how to fill her out some. She’s so skinny.” Jaster smiled, amused at the sheer amount of mother-henning his people were capable of.

“Good. Some hearty food and friendly company will help. Go see to her, I have a cranky teenager to wake up.” Cole snorted and gave him a mischievous smile before going to check on the girl. Sliding off the bed Jaster gingerly knelt and shook his son awake. He’d never admit this out loud, at least not where Jango could hear, but the angry glare he received was absolutely adorable. Jango was not a morning person. He was barely sentient before his cup of caf.

“Rise and shine kiddo. Get some breakfast and head over to the training hall.” Jango gave one of those frustration filled sighs that only a teenager could pull off before he slowly got to his feet and shambled out of the medbay.

“Good morning… er… night?” Jaster looked over to see the girl awake and sitting up, a small smile on her face.

“It’s morning, ad'ika.” Her nose scrunched up in mild confusion but she nodded. Cole looked down at the datapad in his hand then back at the girl. “I have a few medical questions, if that’s okay.” She shifted until her legs were hanging off the end of the bed and she could look up at the medic without turning her head.

“Of course.” He relaxed.

“I’d like your name, age, species, any allergies, and any major illnesses or trauma you’ve suffered.” The girl’s face turned serious.

“My name is Liera Buraaisuh, I’m fourteen in galactic standard years, and I don’t have any allergies that I know of at this time. My planetoid of birth is Haasufeiliah, which makes me Haasufeilian. As far as I know I’m the only person of my species to ever leave my home so I won’t be in any common medical texts. Thankfully I am close enough to human that most medical procedures meant for humans work just fine for me.” Jaster frowned. So the jetii were taking kids from wild space now. The thought made him scowl. “The only major difference I can find between myself and humans is my bioluminescence and inborn affinity with the force.” Cole blinked, staring at the girl for a moment.

“Bioluminescence?” She smiled and it was all mischief.

“I glow in the dark.” Jaster couldn’t help but to laugh out loud and the girl finally noticed his presence. She brightened. “I’m glad to see you’re feeling better. I can finish healing the last of your wounds now if you’d like.” It was a tempting offer, he was pretty sure no one liked being wounded, but he’d seen the girl hit the ground after what she’d done to save his life.

“You need rest.” She pouted at him.

“I’m fine now. I need to get up and move around.” Jaster looked at Cole who just shrugged. None of them understood how the force worked. They would have to trust her judgment in this, if nothing else.

“Fine, but if you start feeling weak or dizzy I want you back here immediately.” She looked up at Cole and nodded solemnly.

“I understand. I won’t neglect my own health, I assure you.” Cole seemed pleasantly surprised by this and smiled.

“Finally! Someone who listens to the medic.” She giggled. “Come on, ad’ika. I think we have some spare clothes for you to wear. You need a shower and some breakfast.” With a nod she hopped off the bed, intent on following Cole. Stars but she was small.

“Are you really fourteen?” He couldn’t help but to ask.

“Yes. I know I look very small for my age, apparently my people are all quite small due to the nature of their home.” Jaster nodded. It was as good an explanation as any and the girl hadn’t seemed to be lying at any other point. So he accepted her word for now.

[Liera]

Walking alongside the Mandalorian medic she tried to keep her grief from showing on her face. The edges of the broken master-padawan bond were still raw and it would take time to unravel her end of it. Which she could start later that night during her daily mediation.

“It might not fit very well, we don’t have anyone as small as you are on board. But it’ll only be temporary while we clean your clothes.” She smiled.

“That’s fine. It’s very kind of you to lend me something to wear. I wish I’d had my bag with me…” She sighed. Her bag of extra things, like her second set of robes, were all still back on her master’s ship. The thought ran through her mind and she flinched, the grief sharp and cold like glass. The medic looked down at her with concern but she just smiled and pretended that nothing was wrong. This kind of emotional issue was something no one could really help her with.

She was handed a grey-blue bodysuit, the same kind the Mandalorians were wearing beneath their armor, and accepted it gratefully. In the fresher she carefully unbraided her hair, laying the dark blue ribbon her master had gifted her to twine into her padawan braid on the counter. She brushed it with her fingers and bit her lip, taking in a few deep breaths to keep herself from crying again.

Once she was clean and dry she slipped into the bodysuit, noting that it was at least three sizes too big, and quickly braided the hair beneath her right ear. Then she gathered it up along with the rest of her hair and braided the entire thing so it was out of her way. If she had proper pins she would have wound the braid and held it fast to the back of her head. But she had no such luck.

She left the fresher and smiled at the medic. There was an amused look in his eyes and his spirit was practically laughing out loud. She rolled her eyes. “Very funny. I know I look like a wrinkly thranta, thank you.” The man laughed out loud and it made her feel a little lighter.

“Come on, cheeky ad’ika.” He said, putting a hand on her shoulder and steering her toward their next destination.

“What is that you keep calling me?” The man glanced down at her and smiled.

“Ad’ika. It’s Mando’a, it means little one.” She tilted her head for a moment and memorized the word before nodding.

“Not going to complain about being called little?” Lier huffed with good natured annoyance.

“I am little, there’s not much I can do to change that.” That brought another laugh from the medic.

They entered the mess hall and immediately all eyes were on them. The intense feeling of being watched made her balk but the medic’s hand on her shoulder steadied her. She gave a short bow to the room before letting the medic lead her to a table and urging her to sit down. He left her there and she sat with her hands in her lap, looking around curiously. All of the spirits in the room were some mix of curious, determined, steadfast, and wary. If she wanted to focus on a singular person she was afraid they would think she was tying to use the force on them, which would just agitate them further.

“Here you go ad’ika.” It was a simple meal, the kind of thing she’d eaten many times traveling with her master between missions.

“Thank you.” She took the plate and sat there eating quietly. People came and went, some stopping to stare at her for a time before going on their way. The bench suddenly shifted under her and she looked up at a purple female Twi’lek with friendly blue eyes and a very playful spirit. She leaned forward on her arms and smiled at Liera.

“Hey there ad’ika! I’m Shiona, and this is Maav.” Across from the Twi’lek a female Sullustan waved in greeting, her spirit curious and friendly.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Liera.” The two of them brightened and she smiled.

“How old are you sweetie?” She sighed, knowing what was coming. Any time she went somewhere new with her master everyone always wanted to know how old she was and seemed surprised. As if there weren’t padawans younger than her out there.

“I’m fourteen in galactic standard years. My master chose me when I was nine but I didn’t go on missions with him until I was eleven.” Silence descended over their section of the mess hall and she looked at the two of them quizzically.

“Dini’la jetii!” The Twi’lek hissed, almost under her breath. “What kind of missions?” Liera blinked and set her spoon down next to her nearly finished meal.

“I’m a force healer and a battlefield medic. Most of Mas- our missions were to planets torn apart by war or suffering from an epidemic.” The silence seemed to have spread and she could feel anger and anguish from those around her. She hunched in on herself. Her master was often a buffer for her when others were a little too overwhelming but right now she was alone…

“I’m sorry… did I say something wrong?” She didn’t want to accidentally offend them after all.

“Oh, no, not you sweetie.” The Twi’lek, Shiona, was quick to soothe her. “We just- that is- Mando’ade don’t allow adiik to go out on missions until they’re at least fourteen. Hearing that you were on missions at eleven…” There is was again, that background anger.

“You’re worried about me? Even though I’m a Jedi?” Shiona gave her a kind smile.

“You’re a child, sweetie. Of course we’d be worried hearing about it.” Liera’s face flushed slightly. She was used to her master fussing over her, or her friends, but no one else.

“To be fair the Order isn’t all that sure what is normal for my species. They’re a very insular and tribal people so it’s hard to ask them about average maturity rates.” Maav, the Sullustan, spoke to Shiona but it wasn’t in a language she understood.

“Well I hope you’re prepared to be coddled jet’ika. Mando’ade have a weakness for cute kids.” She reached over and pet Liera’s hair, which made the girl blush harder. However long she was going to be with these people it was sure to be an interesting experience.

[Jango]

After some target practice and a quick warm-up he was in the middle of hand to hand training with Silas when the jeti’ika appeared. The older teen almost slammed his head into the mats because Jango was so distracted. He motioned for a time-out and picked up his canteen. His dark eyes followed the girl as Cole, Shiona, and Maav led her to a section of the designated training area. It took him a moment to recognize the bodysuit she was wearing but when he finally did he gasped and accidentally choked on his water. Silas pat him on the back, looking concerned.

“You okay?” He waved the older teen off.

“Fine.” He ground out, even though it wasn’t quite true. He wondered if someone was playing a prank on him and vowed to get back at whoever thought it was a good idea to lend the jet’ika his spare bodysuit.

“Want to stop?”

“No.” He ground out, setting his canteen down and stalking back onto the mat, settling into a stance and waiting for Silas.

[Jaster]

The medics didn’t want him exerting himself but that didn’t mean he couldn’t go to the training room and bark orders at the younger warriors. Sitting on a bench he kept one eye on his son, deeply proud of his progress, and one eye on the others. A commotion at the far end of the space drew his eye and he hid a smile. Watching Jango choke when he realized that the jet’ika was wearing his clothes made him chuckle. It wasn’t as if they had anyone on board who was smaller than his stubborn kid. The girl was almost swimming in the damn thing.

Shiona and Maav tried showing her some warm up stretches but the girl just laughed. He couldn’t hear what was being said from this far away but his brows certainly rose in surprise when he watched her bend backward, place her hands on the floor, and do a handstand without any trouble. Shiona asked something and the girl shook her head with an amused smile.

Curious Jaster got up and slowly wandered over to the group, calling out corrections and encouragements to the pairs who were practicing. When he reached the other side of the space he found another place to sit before Cole could nag at him.

“…and you aren’t using the force at all?” The jet’ika shook her head again, switching from one hand to the other and keeping her balance.

“No. I don’t need the force for this. We start acrobatics at a very young age. Sure we rely on the force sometimes for balance if it’s needed on a mission but my master…” She went quiet, her smile slipping for a brief moment before she blinked and it returned. Jaster wondered how real the smile actually was. “He told me that there are things out there that can cut you off from the force. So he wanted me to learn how to fight even if I didn’t have the force.”

“So you learned hand to hand?” Maav asked. Shiona had to translate.

“We’re all taught a little hand to hand growing up. I’m not very strong but as a medic I know where to inflict the most damage to stop an attacker in their tracks.” Well that was good to know. She seemed surprisingly competent for a jet’ika.

“Do you want to try sparring?” Shiona asked. The girl’s smile brightened.

“What are the conditions?” Shiona gave her a confused look. “First to give up? First on the floor? Whoever gets knocked out of the circle? Whichever we do I promise I won’t use the force.”

“How about first to give up?” Jaster watched the two of them square off on a section of the mats. He invited Maav and Cole to sit with him.

The match ended pretty quickly. Shiona was one of their best hand to hand combatants. But the girl didn’t do that bad all things considered. The jet’ika was about as flexible as the purple Twi’lek and had landed a few good hits but it was obvious there was no power behind any of he punches or kicks. Although if she decided to use the force it might be a different story.

They fought a few more times but eventually the girl looked too tired to continue and was left to meditate in a quiet corner alone.

“What do you think, Alor?” Shiona asked, a determined look in her eyes.

“About what?” She made a face at him and shooed Maav awy so she could sit down.

“About her. She’s adorable.” Jaster shook his head, amused.

“We can’t keep her.” Shiona pouted at him.

“Why not?”

“She’s a jet’ika. They’re going to want her back, and she’s going to want to go home.” There was a look of longing on Shiona’s face and Jaster felt a pang of sadness for her. An injury earlier in her career had rendered her unable to have children. She’d always wanted to adopt but hadn’t had a chance to go looking. It’d be too dangerous with Kyr’tsad still gunning for them.

“If she decides to stay I want to ask her first.” Her blue eyes were serious.

“If it’s what she wants. I won’t push anyone into joining.” She nodded and stood up.

“We have to go, I have a repair shift and Maav is switching out with one of the pilots.” He waved them on and they left, but not before saying good-bye to the jet’ika.

“Before we do anything,” Cole said, “we should probably get more of her story from her.” The man had a point, but...

“Not today.” His voice was firmer than he meant it to be but he couldn’t get the girl’s crying face out of his head. “Let her grieve. Then we’ll ask.” Cole inclined his head, bowing to his authority in the matter.


Mando’a;

K’uur, adiik. Udesii- Hush, child. Calm down.
Dini’la- Crazy, insane.
Alor- Sir.
Kyr’tsad- Death Watch. A Mandalorian terrorist group.

Chapter 4: Flash (Part 1)

Once Liera’s clothes had been cleaned she gladly changed into them. No offense meant to the Mandalorians, or whoever had been kind enough to lend her their bodysuit in the first place, she just preferred clothes that fit. Especially now that she no longer looked like a wrinkly Thranta. Coming back out into the medical bay from the attached fresher she held out the bodysuit to Cole with a smile. “What would you like me to do with this?” She asked politely.

Cole looked at the bodysuit in her hands. “Well it’ll need to be washed before you return it, ad’ika.” She nodded.

“Where could I wash it?” He blinks at her, a little bewildered. “I want to wash it and return it myself, so I can say thank you.” A sense of glee and amusement came from the older medic as he put a hand on her shoulder and smiled.

“There’s a washer in the back room there.” He motioned toward a closed door and she nodded in thanks.

“Oh, is there anything I should know about the fabric? I wouldn’t want to ruin it by mistake.” Cole looked back up from his report and shook his head.

“It’s a pretty sturdy material, has to be for what it goes through. We have the right cleansers in there already. Just toss it in.” She did as she was told.

She waited in the medical room while the bodysuit was run through the wash, passing the time speaking with Cole about the possibility of helping around the medical room while she was with them. “I get… well… I guess you could say fidgety.” She finally admitted. “I’m used to always being on the move, always doing something. If I’m allowed to I would love to help.” The man watched her carefully, a contemplative look in his eyes.

“If you want to help, ad’ika, I expect you to obey orders.” A wide smile crossed her face. “And you’ll have to learn some of our language. Not everyone here speaks Basic.”

“I’ve already been memorizing the words Shiona and Maav were trying to teach me earlier.” Cole’s eyes widened and her face flushed at the sense of surprised almost-awe. “Jedi can use the Force to imprint information in our minds. It takes a lot of focus, and it’s much better to learn the proper way, but in a pinch it can help with languages and trying to memorize cultural practices. So we don’t offend the people we’re trying to help.” The man snorted.

“It’s both very easy and very difficult to insult a Mando’ad. We are warriors who take pride in our abilities and accomplishments. Honor, duty, bravery, loyalty, competency, and respect. These are all qualities we appreciate as Mando’ade.” Listening intently she filed the information away, although a fond smile had crossed her face as he spoke. The washer made a sound and she knew it was finished.

“I find it very interesting that the Mando’ade and the Jedi have such similar ideals, yet always seem to be at odds with one another. I wonder why.” Slipping off the chair she’d been sitting in she went to the washer in the back and took out the bodysuit. It looked like the washer had its own drying cycle, which was useful. She folded the bodysuit efficiently and returned to the main room with Cole. “Who am I returning this to?” The small frown he’d been sporting a moment ago vanished into a mischievous smile.

“Come on, they should be in the mess for lunch about now.”

[Jango]

Sitting with his bowl of spiced stew and some rough bread he talked weapons upgrades with Silas and Runaar. The jet’ika had disappeared earlier with Cole and had been gone for an hour or so. The fact that everyone was still buzzing about her earlier appearance annoyed him. Who the shab gave her his clothes? And while he was at it; why the hell? He was pretty sure that Jaster had been laughing at him earlier, jerk that he was.

“Sst. It’s the jet’ika, they’re coming this way.” Runaar hissed suddenly. Jango grunted in response and turned when he felt someone approaching from behind him. Now that he wasn’t panicking over Jaster, or half asleep in the medbay, he was finally able to get a good look at her. She wore her hair in one long braid, the color a pale reddish-blonde that could easily be called a shade of pink. Her skin was just a shade or two off from being true white, making her look not quite real. Like a spirit. She was slender, petite, and short. Almost childlike in the bulky jetii robes. Only her eyes gave away her true maturity. There was a sharp and perceptive intelligence in her piercing purple gaze that made him want to react. Whether it was aggressively or defensively he didn’t know.

“Hello.” He blinked in surprise at the Mando’a falling from her lips. “I believe this is yours?” And back to Basic. He looked at the bundle in her arms and scowled at the bodysuit. “I wanted to thank you for lending it to me. I ran it through the wash already.” The gratefulness in her voice dimmed his aggravation and he reached out to take the bodysuit back.

“You’re welcome.” Her eyes tightened and lips pursed for a moment and he wanted to sigh. “I said- you’re welcome.” She smiled and mumbled the word, eyes going unfocused for a second before she nodded to herself.

“Have a good day, Jango, everyone.” It was carefully rehearsed Mando’a and it was spoken with an almost musical lilt. With a bright smile she walked back to Cole, who had a wide grin on his face, the smartass.

“You lent the jet’ika your spare bodysuit?” Silas asked, eyes wide in surprise. Runaar just watched the jet’ika as she left and shook his head.

“What is she, like, ten?” He spoke just a little too loudly and one of the warriors nearby barked out a laugh.

“Fourteen.” They turned to look at the man and he shrugged. “I was in here earlier when Shiona and Maav were questioning her.” A dark look crossed his face. “The jetiise are all insane, I tell you. Sending out a tiny thing like her to battlefields when she was only eleven.” There was rumbled agreement from the people around them.

Silas choked on air. Even they knew that sending a literal child onto a battlefield was a stupid idea.

“Does that mean she’s actually trained to fight?” Runaar asked, becoming the spokesperson for the three of them.

“All jetiise know how to fight, they start training them young. I’m not sure about her though, I don’t know anything about jetii medics. But she put up a good fight against Shiona in a spar, still got trounced in the end though.” There was a round of chuckles before the topic was finally dropped as irrelevant. Silas and Runaar looked at each other and shrugged, going back to their meals and bringing up the topic of upgrades again.

Jango sat there, brow furrowed, as he tried to imagine just how someone as small as the jet’ika could go up against Shiona. She was considered one of the best in hand to hand combat. He’d pointedly ignored the jet’ika that morning, focusing on training instead, so he didn’t remember seeing her fight. He decided he’d watch her carefully next time and put it out of his mind for the time being. He had to go over his gear when he was finished eating and make sure it was all in good working order.

Chapter 4: Flash (Part 2)

[Jaster]

His comm chirped and he answered it quickly. “Speak.” The voice on the other end chuckled.

“Need some more painkillers, Alor?” He sighed and set down the datapad he’d been working on. “Come down to medical, I have a request waiting for you.” Grumbling he got up from his desk.

“Alright, you nag, I’m on my way.” There wasn’t much to be done in the middle of hyperspace anyway so he might as well indulge his head medic.

Passing his people on the walk to the medical bay he nodded and returned their greetings. He could see it on their faces, as plain as day, how relieved they were that he was still with them. It reminded him that he had been on the brink of death only a day ago. Whatever magic the jetii taught their medics it certainly was potent. He made a note to add a couple of questions about jetii abilities to his list when the girl was a little less fragile. She was putting on a good face at the moment but she’d just lost someone. Jetii or not she was only a child and that had to be hurting her deeply.

Coming into medical he could see the girl sitting on a chair, listening to Cole intently as he spoke first in Basic then again in Mando’a. She copied the words carefully and with some amusement he realized they were all medical terms. The jet’ika stopped abruptly and turned to smile up at him. “Welcome, Mand’alor. What’s new with you?” His steps faltered in surprise at the near perfect Mando’a and he was sure it must have shown on his face as Cole was looking damn smug. Shiona had some competition for the position of future buir it looked like.

“Nothing.” The girl frowned and looked to Cole.

“When you ask someone if they’re alright in Mando’a you’re asking if there is a change from their normal state of being. When someone answers with naas, or ‘nothing,’ it means that nothing has changed and they are fine. Of course we Mando’ade are a stubborn bunch so expect to hear that a lot, even when someone is not fine.” She giggled as Cole gave him an unimpressed look.

“Alright, you got me down here. I assume the request has to do with the kid.”

“You were worried about the Alor and wanted to finish healing him, right?” The girl beamed at the medic and hopped up from the chair, coming toward him.

“It would be best if you sat down. You’re a little tall for me to reach properly.” Deciding it was easier to do as asked he lowered himself into a nearby chair, wincing at the jolt of pain in his chest. The girl stood in front of him and Cole came over to stand behind her, watching with an intense curiosity. The girl placed one hand against his chest, over his heart, and one against his forehead then closed her eyes. It was a little awkward but he remained still.

“Why do you place your hands like that?” Cole asked as a warmth he couldn’t explain began to flood into Jaster’s body.

“Stability, mostly. I can heal with just one hand or even heal with both hands in one place but I find this way easiest. I can monitor heart rate, breathing, brain waves, chemical changes, and even consciousness this way.” Jaster wasn’t sure if he found that impressive or not but Cole certainly looked as if he did. “He’s going to need more iron in his diet, preferably from plant matter. More magnesium too.” She opened her eyes to look at him and he nearly jumped. Her damned eyes were glowing like some large cat when the light hit them just right. She faltered slightly then smiled. “Sorry I startled you. I should have warned you that happens whenever I use the force.” A moment later she pulled her hands back and stepped away from him.

Cole stepped up with his scanner and started checking him over. He moved to tell the man off for being a mother tooka when he realized he wasn’t in pain anymore. “Stars.” The medic breathed. “It’s all gone. Just… vanished.” They both turned to look at the girl who was fidgeting nearby. “Do you think the verde would accept help from a jet’ika?” Jaster took a moment to think the matter over.

“I think many of them would be fine as long as you’re keeping an eye on her. But I don’t want her dealing with anyone who might hurt her accidentally, she is under our protection for the time being.” If they were going to take her home he didn’t want the jetiise accusing them of putting her in danger. Although if they tried to make an issue of it he could always turn it back on them. An eleven year old on a battlefield without armor. They were all insane.

“You have my permission to work here under Cole. But I want your word you’ll obey his orders and won’t argue with him without a good cause.” The girl beamed at them and quickly promised she would do everything asked of her.

“Thank you, Mand’alor.” Standing up from his chair he reached out and put a hand on her head, more out of habit with Jango than anything.

“You’re welcome ad’ika.” He looked up at Cole in amusement. “Already teaching her Mando’a?” Cole grinned and shrugged, unrepentant. “I’ll put her on the roster and give her the same shifts as you. We’re a little low on space though… dammit.” With sudden clarity he realized they had a tiny issue no one had thought of yet. The girl couldn’t keep sleeping in the medical bay, taking up one of the beds. But they didn’t really have anywhere to put her. “We never planned for an extra passenger. We have nowhere to put her.”

“What if we put her in with the verd’ika?” Jaster shook his head.

“You want to put her in a room with a bunch of rowdy young verd’ika, the youngest of which is my grumpy ad?” Cole winced. While they were assured of the integrity of everyone on board the ship accidents and misunderstandings still happened. With Liera being a jetii, a girl, and a medic rather than a warrior… there was a lot of room for misunderstandings.

“Why don’t we put her in with Shiona? She likes the girl enough to want to keep her I’m sure she wouldn’t mind.” A light tapping on his arm distracted him and he looked down at what he thought was supposed to be a very serious face but just looked like an adorable pout to him.

“Can I know what you’re talking about please? I know it involves me.” Sheepishly he looked over at Cole, who looked just as apologetic.

“We didn’t think to figure out sleeping arrangements for you. Since you were unconscious and we didn’t know when you would wake up.” The girl just blinked and smiled without a care.

“Won’t I be bunking with you, since you’re going to be my mentor for now?” Cole choked in surprise and looked at him with wide eyes. “It’s what me and my m-master used to do. Padawan’s always live with their masters and when you’re in the field you can’t be picky about sleeping arrangements. I’ve slept in trees, caves, and a communal barracks before.” Jaster ran a hand down his face, wondering just how differently the jetii trained their young.

“Ad’ika… at your age bunking with an unfamiliar man, who is not your parent, is considered inappropriate. At least to us Mando’ade.” The girl looked confused for a moment before her face seemed to darken to what he recognized as a more common human skin tone. Huh, so that’s what it looked like when a ghost blushed.

“S-sorry, I was thinking like a jedi padawan and less like a guest.” She gave an embarrassed little half bow and Cole looked torn. If the man adopted her there would be no problem at all. They would be parent and child and no one would dare suggest something inappropriate was going on. But the girl wasn’t theirs.

“I was going to ask Shiona if she wouldn’t mind sharing a bunk with you. If that’s okay with you ad’ika.” The girl smiled and nodded.

“I don’t mind. Shiona is very fierce. I like her.” Cole grinned.

“How do you know she’s fierce? She’s been almost docile since you came aboard… don’t let her know I said that.” Jaster bit the inside of his cheek at the mild panic in the medic’s eyes. Any Mando’ad worth their salt would be pissed to hear themselves being referred to as docile.

“Oh, cause she’s so red in the force. But there’s a bit that’s all gray and I’m worried about it. There’s something wrong with her and it’s making her sad.” Silence filled the room and the girl looked between them for a moment before her shoulders fell slightly. “Oh… right. Um.” It was obvious she was suddenly very uncomfortable, although for the life of him he didn’t know why.

“What’s wrong ad’ika?” Cole asked.

“I can… you are… do you know how people think that the jedi can read someone’s mind?” He stiffened. “No, no, um, you don’t need to worry. Most jedi can’t do that and even if they could it’s against our moral Code. But we can feel other people’s emotions around us. So if someone is scared or hurt or… uncomfortable… we can feel it.” Oh. Well osik. “My ability to sense emotions is a lot stronger than most jedi. They think it’s because of my species.” She shrugged. “I don’t want to freak anyone out but I can’t really stop it from happening. Everyone is like a giant ball of colors to me. Like how Cole’s all green and you’re all purple.”

“And what does ‘green’ mean, ad’ika?” The girl stopped and turned to look at Cole fully. She blinked then seemed to narrow her eyes with focus, they began to glow.

“Well you’re more like an olive green, almost a brown. You’re a natural healer. You hate seeing people you care about hurt, but you aren’t afraid of violence. Most of you have at least some red in you. Reds for fierceness, strength, and protectiveness. Green for nurturing, helpfulness, and reliability. Blue for steadfastness, intelligence, and wisdom. Yellows for friendliness, optimism, and open mindedness…” Her eyes stopped glowing and she rubbed at them for a moment. “I can also tell if someone is force sensitive, if they have any close bonds with other people, if they’re physically hurt or traumatized, if they’re sick… even if they’re lying.” Jaster wanted to curse. This and her ability to just make wounds disappear like it was nothing was the level of power for a jet’ika?

“But you’re the only one like this?” Cole asked her, voice carefully blank, though he doubted it would matter to a child who could see everything about you with a single look.

“As far as I know. They used to do tests on me when I was an initiate, trying to figure out how I did it. It’s… I can’t help the small things I can sense all the time, I can’t turn it off, but I don’t go looking at people. It’s rude and an invasion of someone’s privacy. But Mandalorians are very… well, loud.” She shifted on her feet, chewing on her bottom lip nervously.

“We’re loud?” It wasn’t wrong, per se, but he didn’t think she meant they were boisterous. She nodded.

“You don’t try to hide your emotions most of the time. You’re honest and straightforward. It’s kind of nice actually. I’m used to people lying to me a lot and I don’t like that color.” Jaster was pretty sure he was done for the day. Was this one of the reasons the jetii stole their ade when they were young? Because he was pretty sure if his son started talking about how people were kriffing colors he would have taken him to a medical facility to get his head checked.

“You jetii make little sense to me ad’ika. But as long as you don’t go prying and you be careful who you tell that to I think it’ll be fine.” At the very least it sounded like a good ability for a medic to have. There were a lot of stubborn idiots who needed to be sat on before they’d let anyone look after their injuries.

“I won’t use the force on anyone without their permission unless they are dying or it’s an emergency. I might not look like it but I am a proper medic.” Her hands went to her hips and the hunch in her shoulders vanished as she looked between the two of them. Cole’s shock seemed to have disappeared for now and he was trying to hide a smile. “I can heal with my hands, if not as well as I can with the force.”

“All right, ad’ika, I believe you. Let’s go ask Shiona if she doesn’t mind sharing a bunk.” Cole motioned for her to follow him.

“Bye, Mand’alor.” Jaster smiled at the jet’ika in approval.

“Bye, ad’ika.” Once they were gone Jaster returned to his quarters and sat down on his bunk. The datapad next to him still needed to be looked over but at the moment his focus was elsewhere.

If a jet’ika, a girl of only fourteen, could do such miraculous things then what in the hell were the jetiise doing? There were systems rampant with slavery yet they never lifted a hand to help. Supposedly they were peace keepers yet they trained their children to fight and die before they were even in their teens. Jaster might have taught Jango how to fight, how to defend himself, but he’d only let the boy onto the field when he hit fourteen and he knew the boy could take care of himself. The jetiise lived in their big safe temple on Coruscant. There was no need to take a little girl, fantastical powers or not, onto a battlefield. He had half a mind to tell them off, even if it wasn’t really his business.

Although…

Picking up his datapad he opened a new file and began to type out a letter. He had to bring the jet’ika home regardless so he might as well tell the crazy bastards they were missing one of their own. He’d tell them the rest of his thoughts in person.

Chapter 5: Crackle (Part 1)

[Jaster]

Before writing his letter to the jetii Jaster made a quick search for who, exactly, he should be addressing it to. He didn’t want it being intercepted by some low level drudge who would misplace it. No, he wanted it to go straight to the highest levels of the Order so they all knew just how badly they’d karked up.

Master of the Order,

Such a pretentious title, Jaster grumbled to himself.

While under contract, on a mission to Korda VI, my mercenary company encountered one of your young ones. I, on my honor as the leader of the True Mandalorians, have offered to bring her home. She, under no duress, has agreed to journey with us until we can safely return her to your temple. I swear on my name and honor that no harm shall come to her and that I shall personally bring her home as quickly as travel allows.

Jaster Mereel; Mand’alor be te Haat Mando’ade.

This was probably the most polite letter he’d ever written in his damned life but he planned to hold on to his fury until he saw these crazy bastards face to face. So for the time being he’d keep his words civil. Let them stew in their confusion at receiving a polite letter from a notorious Mandalorian outlaw. Before sending it he ensured that there was no contact information, so that it couldn’t be tracked back to him. If they wanted to find their lost jet’ika they would have to work for it.

Grinning he sent the letter to one of his slicers to deliver, making sure to put in a note that he wanted it untraceable, before going back to work. Passive aggressive wasn’t really his normal style but it wasn’t a bad tactic now and again.

[Liera]

Four days had passed since she’d been taken aboard the Mandalorian’s ship and Liera was just finally getting the hang of how their days worked. There were three shifts that overlapped, so no one was ever too tired to do their job, and at any point during the cycle both the mess and the training room was open for use. If you were between the larger meals someone could always go and cook something for themselves or ask one of the people on shift for something, just in case you missed a meal. It was nothing like being on one of the diplomatic vessels or flying with her master.

At times she was able to convince herself that she was actually in a compound, rather than on a ship, although the vibrations of the hyperdrive sometimes broke through her self imposed delusions and made her shudder.

Cole eventually asked her if she had any fears or issues that they might need to work around and she admitted to her faults, if a little hesitantly.

“I’m afraid of flying.” Was the first thing she said when asked. Cole had looked at her for a moment as if he had no idea what she was referring to, then she motioned at the ship around them and gave him a slightly wonky smile.

“You mean any starship?” She swallowed and nodded.

“Why, ad’ika?” That was a little harder to explain.

“I don’t really know. It just feels wrong to me. All this dead metal around us, the vibrations of the hyperdrive, we’re shooting through the void of space and if the computer’s calculations are wrong we could crash into a star and be killed just like that! The atmosphere could start leaking, or the air could be compromised by any number of things!” She took a deep breath, forcefully stopping herself from panicking further and let it out slowly. Cole put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile.

“It’s okay, ad’ika, I think I get it. We’ll try to give you other things to think about, okay?” She nodded. “Anything else?” She nibbled her lip and looked down at her boots.

“Worms, anything with lots of tiny legs… someone cutting my hair.” Reaching back she pulled her braid over her shoulder and slowly ran her hands over the soft pale pink locks, reassuring herself. The crechemaster had tried to cut it once, when she was very little, but that had ended up being a complete disaster.

“No one is going to ask you to cut your hair, ad’ika, it’s your body and your decision. As for the bugs… well at least I can reassure you about that. Bugs can’t really survive in this kind of environment so you’re safe for now. I can’t exactly tell you there’s won’t be any bugs when the ship lands on a planet though, sorry.” She smiled at his playful grin, thankful that he had taken her fears so seriously. She loved her master, even if he was now gone, but sometimes he just didn’t understand that girls didn’t like crawly things in their hair or robes. They were just gross.

Staying with Shiona was a lot of fun. The warrior woman had a ton of interesting stories to tell and even taught her a few techniques to use against people who were larger than her in a fight. “If someone ever attacks you don’t be afraid to hit them fast, hard, and from unconventional angles.” She’d even demonstrated on poor Cole, who had been very flustered and embarrassed about the whole thing.

Already Liera had worked three shifts in the medical bay, shadowing Cole and listening to his orders attentively. It was like being back in the advanced medical courses in the temple. The man wasn’t liberal with his praise but she could feel his amusement and gratefulness for her help. After she’d handled a particularly nasty burn, without the force since the Mando in question had vehemently denied her when she’d asked permission, she’d felt a strong bolt of pride aimed in her direction and couldn’t help blushing. So far everyone she’d met was rough around the edges but altogether quite kind, or at the very least neutral to her presence.

For now she’d been given free time and was happy to see Shiona in the training room as well. After stripping down to her underlayer, a simple quarter-sleeve shirt and her tights with the smallest of her belts around her waist, she joined the woman in her warm-ups. Following her was a little difficult, Twi’lek spines did not work like her own apparently, but she managed to make it most of the way through without collapsing in a graceless heap.

“Alright, ad’ika, let’s go. Show me what you’ve got!” They sparred lightly for a little while before Shiona stopped her to correct some of her wrist movements and the placement of her feet.

“I can tell that whoever was training you was much bigger than you, ad’ika, you’re trying to emulate them but your frame is too small. Try placing your foot here, like this. You also have feminine hips so you’ll have to turn your toes just like… that.” Using the new variation she found it was a lot easier to go through the motions. “Much better!”

They took a small water break and watched the others training while they talked. There was a sudden harsh yelp and she turned to see two people getting up off the ground, one carefully helping the other. Instinct kicked in when she saw the flare of pain in one of them and before she knew it she was standing next to Jango and one of his usual sparring partners. “What happened?” Nearby a few of those who had been observing the others turned to see what was going on, though she ignored the scrutiny for now.

“Why do you need to know?” Asked the injured boy tersely. Liera straightened to her full height, which wasn’t all that impressive, and her eyes turned hard. She was a medic, everyone knew to obey the medic.

“Because I’m a baar’ur and I asked you.” It was another thing Cole liked to call her. Kih'baar'ur, or Little Medic. The blonde’s eyes widened slightly in surprise at how commanding her tone had become and glanced at his friend for help.

“Knocked his legs out from under him and pinned him to the mat, he didn’t move his arm out of the way fast enough and all our weight fell on it.” Nodding to Jango in thanks for the explanation she took the other boy’s arm and ran her hands over it carefully. When it came to his wrist the boy tried to hide a flinch but she could feel it was where the pain was radiating from.

“Unless you don’t mind me using the force to heal this here, you’ll need to go to medical and have your wrist scanned properly. I can’t tell if you’ve just sprained it or if you’ve actually cracked the bone.” Well, she could, but that would be using the force on someone without permission and she’d promised not to. The young man paled slightly and pulled his arm back, cradling it to his chest. Liera refrained from rolling her eyes at him. “Go to medical.” She reiterated firmly. The blonde looked to Jango but Jango was watching her carefully, his eyes calculating.

“Do it. If you’re too worried to have her fix it right now with her jetii osik then get one of the baar’ur to do it the normal way.” The boy flushed slightly, shifting on his feet for a moment, but quickly disappeared from the training room. The medics had all made it perfectly clear to everyone that it was not cowardly to refuse her force healing, and she agreed. Many of the older warriors preferred the methods they were used to. There was no shame in saying no.

“Looks like you broke another sparring partner, Jango.” Scowling the teen turned to Shiona. The woman didn’t seem bothered by it in the slightest. “Why don’t you spar with the jet’ika? She’s only fought me so far, no one else has volunteered.” Liera felt a spike of worry-concern from the people around her and wondered if they thought she would use the force on them. She was about to reassure them she wouldn’t when a young Mando in deep purple spoke.

“You’ve got to be joking, vod, she’ll break!” Agreement was added to the feeling of worry-concern in the force and she realized they weren’t afraid of her, they were afraid for her. They thought they would hurt her. As if she couldn’t just enhance her body to take a blow, dodge out of the way, or heal herself with the force. Shiona shushed them with a disgruntled look.

“Have I broken her? You’ve all watched us sparring, you’re too damned curious not to.” Liera tried to hide a small smile by ducking her head but she was pretty sure everyone knew she was smiling anyway.

“But you want the alor’ad to spar with her?” The woman shrugged.

“That’s up to them, it was only a suggestion.” Shiona turned to Jango and gave him a challenging smile. “Think you’re up to it?” Liera frowned. Was Shiona taunting the teen?

“If she gets hurt it’s on your head. You can tell Jaster it was your idea.” Shiona’s grin turned downright vicious.

“Of course. Liera, sweetie, remember to pull your feet in so you don’t overbalance.” She nodded and moved further onto the mats, wondering what Shiona was trying to accomplish. Admittedly she was interested in how Jango fought, his spirit was very bright in the force, but she hadn’t thought they would actually spar against one another. The teen had been avoiding her, although it didn’t seem entirely on purpose.

Chapter 5: Crackle (Part 2)

[Liera]

“Begin!” Immediately the boy sprang forward, aiming a kick at her legs to destabilize her. Jumping backward in a handspring she moved further away from him to assess what he might try next. She wasn’t prepared for him to rush forward and barrel into her with a shoulder charge. Moving with the motion, although her arms still hurt from trying to block, she spun to the side and aimed a punch at his unprotected ribs. Jango jumped out of the way and they began to circle one another, eyes sharp and searching for any opening to strike.

Liera was not an aggressive fighter, the more forceful forms of lightsaber combat and hand to hand had never appealed to her, but she was steadfast. Her defense was hard to break and her endurance was quite good for someone her age. Her strength, on the other hand… without the force she wasn’t much of a threat unless she had a weapon in hand. Even then she preferred disabling strikes to anything more deadly.

Jango was the complete opposite.

Swift and efficient he went for the most damaging areas of the body and tried to take her out of the fight completely. His style was brutal and vicious, but also very precise. It was clear he had been training for a long time in order to perfect his movements, to make them natural. But he did seem to have one weakness. Liera had never seen any of the Mandalorians attack from above before. It was worth a shot.

Darting in low Liera jumped high into the air and tried to bring her heel down on Jango’s head. The boy blocked, grabbed her ankle, and a triumphant twinkle entered his eyes. She smiled at him then brought her other leg up to kick him in the side of the head. Even with his bell rung the teen was tenacious. He grabbed her other ankle and her eyes went wide. If she hadn’t been trained since childhood to be as flexible and strong willed as she was this little stunt of his would have finished her. Thankfully she was a Jedi.

Throwing all her weight backward she grinned when Jango was suddenly pulled forward and down, grunting in confusion. Planting her hands on the ground she folded in half, letting all of his weight rest on her legs before she lashed outward. It took a lot of effort but Jango was thrown back, letting go of her ankles so he could tuck and roll safely out of range. Jumping back to her feet, breathing heavily from exertion, she gave the dark haired teen a pleased smirk.

Once Jango was back on his feet they started to circle one another again. So far none of the adults had thought to interfere, since neither of them appeared to be in any distress.

To be honest it reminded Liera of sparring with her crechemates.

Jango feinted to the right then attacked her left side, assuming it would be weaker. Shifting her feet into a southpaw stance she felt the other teen’s surprise in the force, even as he continued to follow through with his strike. Blocking his arm jarred her entire shoulder but it gave her a chance to sweep his legs out from under him. As he went down Jango’s hand snaked out as he attempted to grab onto her arm. He missed and grabbed her braid instead.

The next thing she knew her entire body screamed in pain and she let out a loud, pained, yelp before crumpling to the floor. There was a flurry of movement as the older Mandalorians jumped in to break up their fight. Shiona was next to her, speaking quietly and rapidly, as Liera trembled on the ground. Everything was a jumbled mess of static and she shook her head a couple times to try and clear it.

“S’sokay, n-not… fault.” She tried to explain but the words came out shakily and she wasn’t even certain she’d managed to get out a proper sentence. The lights around her wavered and she closed her eyes, feeling a little sick to her stomach. After leaning into the force and sending it through her body to ease the ache she was able to open her eyes and look up into Shiona’s worried face.

“I’m okay.” She quickly reassured the woman. The twi’lek’s shoulders relaxed but there was still a buzz of concern in the force. Glancing over her shoulder she saw Jango glaring angrily up at a couple of adults who were grilling him about what he’d done to her. Getting to her feet, Shiona tried to help but she waved the woman off, she hurried over to the group.

“Please stop, it’s not his fault.” The adults turned to her, disbelief and suspicion coloring their auras. “I should have pinned my hair up, it’s not his fault.” Everyone stared at her in confusion and she realized that none of them would know. This wasn’t the Temple with its extensive records on her odd biological quirks, these weren’t older jedi who would have felt the way the force turned staticky around her. To them she was only a strangely colored human. “Not all of my hair is just hair. I have vibrissae, they’re a sensory organ.” She floundered for a moment. “Like whiskers on a mammal or a Togruta’s Montrals.” That seemed to make more sense to them, although they still looked at her strangely.

“So what the shab was that then?” Jango asked her, although there was a small edge of worry to his tone.

“They’re very sensitive, both to vibrations and the force. When you grabbed my braid and pulled it caused an… overload, I guess you could call it. But I’ll be fine, there’s no permanent damage. It’s just like…” She didn’t quite know what it was like, to be honest. She had very rarely experienced that kind of sensory overload before. “I guess like getting hit with a flash bang.” That made sense. Most sentients found the loud noise, the concussive force, and the bright flash to be wholly disorienting.

“Ad’ika, you scared off years of my life!” Shiona muttered unhappily behind her. She winced.

“I’m sorry, Shiona. I never really think about it because I normally have my hair up in pins. But I lost them somewhere and I forgot about it.” The woman just shook her head and draped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her into a hug.

“I’ll get you some hair pins. Come on, you need to sit down. Your hands are still shaking.” With one last apologetic look back at Jango she let the woman lead her over to a bench so the aftereffects of the sensory overload could fade on their own. Although she did use the force to make them go away a little faster.

“I hope nobody blames him. It really was an accident.” Shiona looked at her and a small smile came to her face.

“Oh? You seem pretty worried about the alor’ad.” Liera glanced at Jango to see him watching her and she quickly looked away. He seemed very agitated.

“I just know he wasn’t trying to hurt me. Win, definitely, but hurt me on purpose? No.” Shiona eyed her carefully, as if trying to figure out how she could know that without really speaking with the other teen. “I could feel his intentions, through the force.” She explained quietly. “It’s how I know he feels guilty for causing me pain and was worried about me when I collapsed.” She paused, thinking about her next words carefully. “He has a lot of responsibility on his shoulders, doesn’t he?”

Shiona didn’t speak for a moment. “He does. He also looks up to our Mand’alor a lot.” Liera nodded, glad to have her observations confirmed.

“I think some cool down stretches are a good idea, then you should go lay down for a while. I’m not sure how closely your whiskers and a Togruta’s montrals are related but I know that most Torgruta would have a nasty headache if they went through something similar.” Liera nodded.

“I do feel a little sore and nauseous still. Even with the force it’s better to let myself heal naturally. Something like this should be gone by tomorrow.” Shiona nodded and led her through a few cool down stretches, to make sure her body didn’t seize up. They were just wrapping up when Cole rushed over, looking quite frazzled.

“Ad’ika! Are you alright?” The man reached out to gently rest a hand on her shoulder. She could feel the worry surrounding him and gave him as reassuring a smile as she could.

“I’ll be alright. I don’t even have a concussion or anything. It was just a sensory overload that caused my nerves to spasm.” The narrowed eyed look from Cole made her shrink in on herself slightly. She’d probably said too much.

“Ad’ika, nerve damage is very serious. Are you certain that you’ll be alright?” She had promised him that if anything was wrong she would let him know. With a small sigh she leaned into his hand.

“All I need is to rest in a dark room. The lights are a bit too bright for me right now.”  After a moment she drooped slightly. “My people see better in near darkness, according to the few reports the temple received from my Finder. While I’ve acclimated to brighter lights I tend to avoid them whenever I have time to myself.” She admitted.

“I’ll take her to our quarters and let her sleep it off. The ad’ika is fine, dar’baati.” Cole and Shiona shared a look that was a little on the heated side but Liera couldn’t tell if they were annoyed with one another or not, still too rattled to focus properly.

“Fine. If you still feel nauseous when you wake up I want to see you in my medbay immediately, suvarir?” She nodded, she understood perfectly. As Shiona led her away she gave one last glance back to Jango, giving him a reassuring smile so he knew she was okay. The other teen caught her eyes then quickly looked away again. She hoped he wouldn’t remain upset with her for long.

Chapter 5: Crackle (Part 3)

[Jango]

Jango was shaken to the core. Which had happened very few times in his life, thankfully. The feeling of soft silk sliding across his palm before the girl he’d been fighting suddenly let out a pained sound and collapsed to the floor, like a puppet with its strings cut, was replaying over and over in his mind. He swore that his heart stopped even as he hauled himself up off the floor and immediately went to see if she was okay. Hands stopped him as a few of the verde kept them separated. He scowled up at them in confusion before the first accusation came.

Then he was just pissed.

“How should I know!?” He growled, agitated. “It’s probably some weird jetii osik!” At least he wasn’t the only one who couldn’t wrap their mind around what the stars cursed shab just happened. He batted their hands away from him, clenching his fists at his side to remain calm while Shiona checked on the jet’ika. The girl began to stir and Jango’s heart slowly stopped thudding against his rib cage as he realized she wasn’t unconscious. A good sign.

“Hey, are you listening to me?” Jango clenched his teeth and glared at Tyl, who was being particularly aggravating. The man had it out for him ever since Jango had been promoted to a leadership position.

“Please stop, it’s not his fault!” Everyone turned to look down at the girl as she hurried over, her body still trembling from whatever had incapacitated her. “I should have pinned my hair up, it’s not his fault.” Jango stared at her, wondering if she’d hit her head and was now speaking nonsense. She twitched, her eyes sliding over all of them before understanding seemed to dawn on her. “Not all of my hair is just hair. I have vibrissae, they’re a sensory organ.” She seemed to stutter for a moment, as if trying to find a better way of explaining. “Like whiskers on a mammal or a Togruta’s Montrals.” Oh. That made a little more sense but at the same time…

“So what the shab was that then?” Jango asked her. If his tone bordered on slightly hysterical no one was going to comment. If they did he’d just punch them. Hard.

“They’re very sensitive, both to vibrations and the force. When you grabbed my braid and pulled it caused an… overload, I guess you could call it. But I’ll be fine, there’s no permanent damage. It’s just like…” The jet’ika’s gaze became distant for a moment. “I guess like getting hit with a flash bang.” Jango winced. He’d been hit with those before. Even with a helmet those things could be a nasty shock.

“Ad’ika, you scared off years of my life!” Shiona muttered angrily, stepping up behind the girl.

“I’m sorry, Shiona. I never really think about it because I normally have my hair up in pins. But I lost them somewhere and I forgot about it.” Shiona shook her head, exasperated, and put an arm around the girl’s shoulder. Jango was just glad the terrifying twi’lek cqc specialist wasn’t pissed off at him for hurting her… student. She was not Shiona’s kid, even though she was currently acting like it. The Jet’ika was going home after they’d stopped by Manda’yaim to resupply and switch ships.

“I’ll get you some hair pins. Come on, you need to sit down. Your hands are still shaking.” The jet’ika gave him one last meaningful look before she let Shiona steer her toward a bench and sit her down. Now that things had calmed down the others were going back to their training. Jango glared at the ones who had accused him of purposefully hurting the jet’ika and felt at least a little vindicated when they couldn’t hold his eyes for long.

As if he would act against Jaster’s wishes and hurt the one who his buir owed his very life to. Very shabla unlikely. It was one of the reasons he tried not to stick around either. The whole force thing confused him and he’d been trying to do some research into it on the sly, sneering at all the jetii propaganda and not finding much. Shiona being meddlesome and the girl looking so excited to pit herself against him had not been a part of that plan.

Being honest with himself he was a little impressed. He’d heard that jetii could pull off insane acrobatics and could push someone around with their mind. Yet all she’d done is dance around him. If he hadn’t landed a few solid hits he would have accused her of being a spirit. Her leap straight up into the air had been interesting, as had her reaction to him blocking then catching her ankle. He was going to have to check with one of the medics himself with how much his ear on that side was still ringing.

Then she’d just given him a cheeky little grin and thrown all of her weight behind her, pulling him downward and unbalancing him. She’d used her legs and the momentum to pull him closer and he’d felt his heart rate speed up at how close they were before he was being thrown backward. Letting her go he tucked his legs and rolled so he’d end up back on his feet. She hopped up from the ground with little effort, although her breathing was a bit ragged, and gave Jango a self-satisfied smirk.

Okay, he was starting to believe there was something to the rumors about jedi. The fact that she hadn’t thrown him around with her freaky mind powers was a point in her favor. She wanted to fight him on their terms. Mando terms. He could respect that.

Feinting to the right he’d attacked her left side, since she’d only used her right for the entire fight so far. The switch from right handed to left handed had been a pleasant surprise and Jango’d had to suppress a grin. It was rare to find someone who was naturally ambidextrous, like himself. Blocking his strike with her arm she’d moved the moment he was the least balanced and had swept his legs out from under him. As he fell he tried to grab onto her arm, hoping to pull her to the ground and grapple her into giving in. Then his fingers had wrapped around her pink tresses and his own weight had done the rest, yanking her head back.

It hadn’t been on purpose and he was glad she seemed to understand that. The whole deal with her hair having the same properties as Montrals was weird but he’d seen weirder osik as a Haat Mando’ad so he wasn’t going to lose sleep about it.

He saw the girl turn to look at him before quickly looking away. It made him a little embarrassed to have been caught watching her but if anyone asked he’d just tell them the truth; he wanted to make sure she was okay. He was the Alor’ad, both a leader and the son of the Mand’alor. She might not be one of them but she was a guest who his clan owed a life debt to. And Mando’ade took life debts very seriously. It was one of the reasons she had been accepted so readily, despite her being a jet’ika.

Seeing Cole rush into the room he heard someone mutter about how the man looked like a worried parent and Jango huffed, rolling his eyes.

Medics were just like that, worried over every little thing. She was a jet’ika. They couldn’t keep her, she wasn’t theirs.

Chapter 6: Where there's smoke... (Part 1)

[Jedi Temple, Gillan Rubrikal]

As the Master of the Order looked over the message a third time, trying and failing to find any deception, through the words or in the force, he let out a low sigh. It was clear that they would glean nothing further from the simple message.

"Master Rubrikal, make of this what do you?" Turning to Master Yoda he reigned in his emotions, taking a long, deep, breath to steady himself.

"The message refers to the one in their care as a 'young one' and 'she.' From what we know of Mandalorian culture we can assume that they mean a child, most likely a padawan. There is no mention of anyone else so we can assume that the master is either missing or deceased." There were mutters from the others and Gillan shared a look with Grandmaster Yoda. "We must search through recent mission files for an unknown master and female padawan who were sent to the Korda System."

"What about the fact that a group of Mercenary Mandalorians has one of our own? Are we certain this isn't some kind of threat?" Master Giiet asked, brows drawn together with concern.

"Traditional Mandalorians place a high value on children and are very protective of them, regardless of species or creed. This man swore on his name and his honor that he would keep the padawan safe. I do not believe he is a threat to our lost young one." Master Nu said, placing her hands primly in her lap.

"I have a feeling that we will not be left waiting long. The padawan will be returned to us." Master Tyvokka rumbled from his seat.

Master Rubrikal looked around the council chamber one last time. "We will assign someone to look through recent missions, if they are a younger padawan then the assignment couldn't have been anything too dangerous or drawn out. We'll go back three months. Master Nu, can you find us everything we'll need to know about Jaster Mereel of the True Mandalorians, and what he might expect of us when he returns the padawan?" The elder woman smiled and nodded.

"I will see what can be found in he archives." Gillan nodded politely in return.

"Then this current meeting is adjourned."

[Jaster]

He'd heard about the incident in the training room and couldn't help but to sigh over his overly cautious kid. He'd thought his boy had been distracted the past few days, hiding his holonet search history and trying to be sneaky. He figured Jango was doing what most boys his age did and tried not to comment on it, giving his kid the privacy someone his age needed to learn about themselves. Then Jessid had sent him a file on what his ad had been looking up and he wanted to groan. Trust his kid to be looking into the jetiise rather than something a normal fourteen year old boy would be trying to hide from their buir.

Most of the articles followed one of two themes. The skills of a jetii and the welfare of a jetii. Jango was far too earnest and serious for his own good at times, the grumpy little bastard. On one hand his son was trying to gather intel on the jetiise in case they caused trouble when Jaster returned the ad'ika to her home. On the other Jango seemed to be doing research into how to keep a jetii healthy in case they decided to keep her.

Jaster sighed and shook his head.

He'd received footage of the spar and eyewitness accounts as well. Both Shiona and Cole were adamant that the jet'ika get some rest before Jaster asked her what had happened. Regardless of whether or not it was an accident he needed to know that she was alright and still felt safe around his people. Although by all accounts, even Jango's, the girl didn't seem to blame him for what happened at all.

Knocking on the door to Shiona and Liera's cabin he waited patiently. "Come in." Opening the door he looked into pitch darkness and raised a brow in surprise. Cautiously he entered the room and the door slid shut behind him. From a cot on the other side of the room he noticed a faint light and sucked in a breath when he realized what it was. Liera laughed, her bright eyes dancing with mirth as she sat on her cot, long hair framing her small body.

"I told you a few days ago that I glow in the dark." She giggled. Jaster couldn't help smiling and edging further into the room.

"That you did, ad'ika." The girl grabbed something off the floor and put it on before hitting the lights. The large hood should have shadowed her face but the fact that she gave off her own small light source meant he could still make out her features. "The light bothering you?" He asked gently.

"It's still a little too bright for me at the moment but I feel much better. Nothing some rest and the force can't cure." She replied cheerfully. Jaster smiled.

"I've heard about what happened and I wanted to know how you feel about it ad'ika." The girl blinked at him. A pout of concern crossed her face before she seemed to come to some kind of conclusion.

"Jango didn't do anything wrong!" Jaster smirked. It was cute how she was defending his kid first, rather than worrying about herself. "The spar was a lot of fun, up until my hair got in the way. I wouldn't mind fighting him again." She said adamantly, expression serious.

"I believe you. Jango might be aggressive but he wouldn't attack a guest, especially one we owe a life debt to." The girl calmed considerably, looking relieved.

"Shiona found me some hair pins so I can put my hair up. It won't get in the way again so Jango and I can finish what we started." The girl said with a bright smile, eyes determined. Jaster couldn't help but laugh.

"I thought the jetii were supposed to be peacekeepers." The girl nodded.

"We are. But peace is relative. Every culture has its own definition of peace. Just knowing a martial art doesn't mean you're going to use it to hurt others." The girl looked straight into his eyes and something deadly serious came over her. "I am not a warrior, that much is obvious. But as a healer with access to the force I can break bones, rip muscles, and shear tendons. I can paralyze someone without touching them, control their lungs, stop their heart." A shiver of fear ran down his spine and he watched her expression fall. The jet'ika looked down at her hands sadly. "But I can feel others pain, as if it were my own. Every tiny flicker of life from insects to mighty beasts. All life is precious, sacred, and while I understand the will of the force, that everything eventually dies, I could not in good conscience use my abilities to cause an innocent person harm like that. The very thought makes me feel sick." She shook her head. "Just knowing something doesn't make someone evil. Knowing something and willingly using it to hurt, control, or enslave others is what makes someone evil."

"Is that what your guardian taught you?" The girl looked up in surprise before a grief stricken look crossed her face.

"Master Paldrel was a Jedi Guardian, he believed in searching for true evil in order to rid the galaxy of it. He was a Blademaster, one of the best in the Order. Everyone always asked why someone like him would be interested in taking someone like me as his padawan." A small smile crossed her face and Jaster felt his chest ache. It was the same look Jango gave him when the teen thought he wasn't looking. Affection, devotion, and belief. Whoever her guardian had been she truly cared about him. "When I asked him why he'd choose me he joked and said it would be nice to have his own medic." She laughed but it sounded raw. "But really I think he just understood me better than the other masters who'd asked me to be their padawan. They wanted me to stay in the temple, in the halls of healing. But I didn't want to hide away. I wanted to go out and help people who really needed it." Jaster got up from his place on Shiona's bunk and sat next to the jet'ika, putting an arm around her shoulders.

"I'm glad you left your temple, adi'ka. I wouldn't be here otherwise." The girl smiled at him, even as her eyes shone with unshed tears.

"I don't even know what happened to my master. One minute I'm in an old abandoned temple with him, to make sure no one had moved in or vandalized the premises, then a bright light blinded me and I was falling toward the ground." She shook her head in confusion. "I've heard strange stories about the old temples but nothing like this." Her expression became pained. "When I woke up on your ship I tried to feel for my master through the force. But… the bond we have… it's broken. Tattered as if something violently ripped it apart." Jaster looked down at her in alarm.

"Is that a problem ad'ika? Do you need help?" If this was some kind of wound only a jetii could fix he hoped it wasn't anything serious. They had no way to help her, especially in hyperspace.

"…there's nothing that can be done about it for now. I'd need a jedi mind healer to help me unravel the bond. It's nothing dangerous, just unpleasant. Like… like a really deep bruise." He gave her a small hug before letting her go. "Unless… could I have my lightsabers returned? The crystals inside them are connected to the force and should help me stabilize the torn bond." Jaster frowned but he didn't see anything wrong with it. She'd been working in the med bay and was practically living with Shiona. He didn't want to think she had been pulling a fast one on them all this time.

"Alright, ad'ika. Once you're all rested up I'll return your weapons to you. However! You are not allowed to turn them on. Understand me?" The girl nodded, a bright smile crossing her face and relief in her eyes. "We'll be arriving on Manda'yaim in two days ad'ika. Do you want to see some of the planet before we take you home?" The girl smiled at him.

"That would be wonderful! I'd love to see your home planet Mand'alor." Jaster flinched and the girl's smile fell. "Sir? Are you alright?" He sighed, running a hand over his short hair.

"My home planet is Concord Dawn, ad'ika. But I'm not allowed back there." The girl frowned in concern.

"Why?" Jaster grimaced. But he figured she'd learn about his past sooner or later.

"I was banished from the planet by corrupt officials. I used to be a Journeyman Protector, one of the planet's police force." The girl blinked at him.

"You definitely feel like a protector." She agreed readily. "I'm sorry about your home." Jaster placed a hand gently on her head.

"Don't worry about it, ad'ika. You get some rest. We'll be arriving in a day and a half." Getting up he crossed the room and opened the door. Looking back he smiled. "Have a good rest ad'ika." He turned off the light and let the door close behind him.

Chapter 6: Where there's smoke... (Part 2)

[Liera]

The next 'morning,' she still wasn't sure how to read the clocks since they were all in Mandalorian script, Shiona woke her and asked if she was feeling better. When the lights were turned on she had no bad reaction and declared herself fine. Shiona gave her a quick hug, which Liera whole heartedly accepted. "Ready to get your stuff returned ad'ika?"

"Please." She said emphatically. The purple Twi'lek chuckled at her and steered her toward a part of the ship she hadn't been before. Apparently it was a small armory where some of the more volatile weapons were kept. Otherwise most weapons could be found on their owners or near their bunks. The male Devaronian gave her an amused grin when he pulled out her weapons.

"Imagine my surprise when the Mand'alor sent these along." He said as he slid her blaster and blade over to her. Liera smiled and snatched them up, giving them a quick once over before slipping them into place inside her boots. Then the male slid over her lightsabers, eyes wary and expression less amused. She knew how the Mandalorians viewed the jedi as an enemy but they really had nothing to fear from her. Picking up her lightsabers she closed her eyes as they reached out to her, soothing the ache inside her mind. It was like two bright stars that had vanished from her night sky had returned to guide her path. She felt her connection to the frce stabilize further and let out a relieved breath.

"Ad'ika?" Opening her eyes she smiled at Shiona as she clipped the two lightsabers to her belt.

"Thank you." She said to the weapons keeper. The male nodded respectfully. Shiona put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed, feeling pleased in the force.

"They're very pretty, ad'ika. Simple designs, but nice." Looking down at the silver, gold, and pink cylinders on her belt she grinned.

"Guardian and Haven aren't very complicated. They like simple." Shiona blinked at her, looked to the lightsabers, then looked back at her again.

"Did you say that the… weapons, like simple designs?" Liera couldn't help laughing at her confused look.

"Lightsaber crystals have their own kind of sapience to them. They can think and feel. It's why a jedi's lightsaber is so important to us. They are a valued partner, not a tool. They are part of us they… resonate with our soul." The woman looked fascinated as she steered Liera toward the mess hall.

"So they're alive?" Liera shook her head.

"Not by most people's definition. But they are intelligent. Enough to sense when someone they don't like tries to touch them. I'm not sure what it feels like to a non force sensitive but my crechemates felt like they were being either ignored, pushed away, or growled at. And those are people I trust." She brushed her hands down the hilts and felt the crystals sing in joy at being reunited with her.

"So if another jedi, that they really didn't like, took them and tried to turn them on…?" Liera shook her head.

"They would fight the other jedi for control, making it very hard to perform any katas. They would also be yelling, for lack of a better word, at the jedi to let them go. I imagine it would be very distracting in a duel." Shiona hummed as they entered the mess hall and the two of them grabbed breakfast before sitting down. Today it was a sweet and spiced cooked grain with some kind of syrup in it. Liera like the flavor.

"It's Uj'ayl, common on Manda'yaim." Liera smiled.

"I'll have to take some home with me to share with my crechemates. I'm sure they'd like it too. Except maybe Phali-tho, he hates sweets." He'd certainly like the spiced grains though, she thought to herself.

"We'll make sure you get some." Shiona said, although her smile dimmed a little. After a quiet moment where they continued their breakfast the woman looked across the table at her. "So, what are you going to do today ad'ika?" Liera looked thoughtful.

"I should practice katas, now that I have Guardian and Haven back. Maybe I'll warm up in the range first. I haven't had time to practice with my blaster recently." The woman's eyebrows rose and a sly look crossed her face. Looking past Liera's shoulder she called out to someone across the mess hall.

"Jango! K'olar!" Turning back to look she spotted the teen and he stiffened momentarily before knocking back the last of his caf and heading their way. "Jango has practice in the range in the mornings. He can show you the ropes." Shiona said as the teen stopped next to her. "Show the verd'ika to the range?" She asked the boy with a playful grin.

"Fine." He said, frowning. "You done?" Liera took one last bite and a sip of water before standing up and gathering her dishes.

"I'll deal with that, ad'ika, get going." Liera stopped and looked at Shiona a moment, then at the impatient Jango, and nodded her thanks.

Walking with Jango down the halls she noticed his attention on her belt, his assessing gaze going over her twin weapons. He was clearly curious about them but she wasn't sure if he would actually ask her. It wasn't that he was antisocial, he talked with the other Mandalorians a lot, so much as he seemed a little cautious around her. There was probably some residual guilt from what had happened before. "You have a question?" She asked him, hoping to prompt him into talking with her. He glanced at her then away again, contemplative.

"You're ambidextrous. Born or trained?" It was an observation that made her smile.

"Born. I've never really had a preference for one over the other. The Training Master was the first to realize that I had a hard time using only one weapon. She suggested Jar'Kai, the art of wielding two blades. I feel more balanced with two weapons than I do with one." Not that she couldn't fight with one if she had to. But Guardian and Haven really didn't like being apart.

"I don't have a preference either." She smiled.

"I noticed." Jango's brows rose slightly and she could feel his amusement/surprise in the force. They came into the small range and she marveled at the inginuity of the Mandalorians. The range had clearly not been part of the ship's original schematics but they had somehow made it work. Following the other teen she waited as he talked to the woman in charge for the day. She set them up side by side and told Jango that Liera was his responsibility. She nibbled on her bottom lip, she hadn't meant to be an inconvenience.

"I'm guessing you already know how to shoot." He said dryly. Letting out a small laugh she pulled her blaster from her boot and flicked the safety off.

"I do. Master Paldrel insisted on it." Jango nodded and turned toward his target, leaving her to her own devices. Squaring her shoulders she carefully took aim and pulled the trigger.

The two of them spent some time side by side, blasters in hand. Liera huffed after a while, getting frustrated. It wasn't that her aim was poor, she had spent a long time practicing and had used her blaster in the field before, but there was some discomfort in her shoulders and she didn't know why. Rolling her shoulders she tried again but lowered her blaster after a moment.

"Problem?" Jango asked from beside her, having lowered his own blaster to stop and watch her.

"I feel off. I'm not hitting the target the way I know I should be." She admitted with a sigh. Jango made a low humming noise in his throat before hitting the safety on his blaster and setting it down.

"Want help?" Blinking she looked at him and saw nothing but curiosity and openness. The offer was genuine.

"Yes, please." He gave her a once over, intelligent eyes taking in the way she held herself, before he stepped closer.

"You're standing all wrong." He declared. Nudging her left foot with one of his she got the message and moved it to where he wanted it. Reaching up he pulled her shoulders down and back a little, not enough to be painful or unpleasant but definitely not her usual stance. Then he pressed his hand in between her shoulder blades. "Now try." She looked over her shoulder at him for a moment, suddenly realizing that he was at least half a foot taller than her, and slowly nodded. Turning back to the target she raised her arms and pulled the trigger.

"Oh." She said, eyes widening when her shots hit a lot closer to where she was aiming and her body felt lest uncomfortable. Relaxing her tense muscles she felt Jango's interest and a small hint of pride.

"Better?" There was amusement in his voice that made it sound very warm and she couldn't help the small blush that crossed her cheeks.

"Much. Ori'vor'e Jango." She felt his fingers twitch against her back before his hand was pulled away.

"Any time."


Mando'a Translations;

K'olar- Come here!
Verd'ika- The rank of Private, also used as an endearment meaning 'little soldier.'
Ori'vor'e- Thanks a lot!

Chapter 7: ...there's fire. (Part 1)

[Jango]

They’d finally arrived home and Jango felt the excitement all the way to his bones. Jaster said they would be staying on the planet for three days to have someone repair the ship and restock the supplies. Until then they would all be staying at the Tranyc Vhetin in Keldabe. Rather than set off home both Shiona and Cole decided to stay in Keldabe as well. Jango had a sneaking suspicion they wanted to spend more time with Liera before she had to leave.

Walking through the busy streets, lined with vendors of all kinds, Jango felt himself relaxing at the welcoming feeling of finally being home. Almost losing Jaster had caused him a lot of stress but here he felt like he could finally start shedding some of it. Their group received respectful nods and joyful greetings as they passed by open shops. Everyone recognized the Mand’alor and Jango felt proud to be standing next to his father as the man returned the greetings and inquired about the lives of his people. Ahead of them Shiona was holding Liera’s hand and pulling her over to different vendors, laughing and talking excitedly whenever the girl made a comment or asked a question. On Liera’s other side Cole was quiet but attentive, making a comment here or there that had the purple twi’lek giving him an amused grin or huff of annoyance.

Strange. Those two had never really spoken to each other but they both seemed relaxed in each other’s company now. He looked at the pink haired girl as she spoke with a spice merchant, through Shiona, and smiled. The two of them definitely had a soft spot for the jetii baar’ur.

Making it to their destination with little fuss Jaster set them up with connected rooms and they all started unloading their gear.

“I didn’t ask before, just in case someone overheard me, but where are you hiding your jetii’kade?” He heard Shiona ask from the room next door. It looked like the door hadn’t been closed all the way so their voices were coming in clear.

“I have pockets in my sleeves for them.” He snorted. Cole, who he was sharing the room with, looked over at him with a grin.

“At least we know she’s well armed.” The man said quietly. Jango inclined his head in amusement.

“Ad’ika, we’re going to have to get you some more clothes. You can’t keep wearing those all the time.” Shiona said with a frustrated huff.

“What’s wrong with my robes? I know I don’t have my second set but these are clean.” Came a very practical answer. Jango glanced at Cole, who was looking at the door to the other room with a frown.

“You’ve been sleeping in your tights and undershirt. You’re a girl, ad’ika, you can’t wear the same undergarments all the time. It’s unhealthy. We’ll get you some night clothes and underthings.” Jango knew that his entire face was flaming red and he couldn’t look at Cole. The man snuck over to the door and gently closed it, looking equally flustered. They shared a look that screamed ‘we are never talking about this’ before they went back to unpacking their things.

A knock came at the door and Cole answered. Shiona gave him a funny look for a moment but seemed to disregard whatever she noticed. “I’m taking the ad’ika for some new clothes. We’ll be back in under two hours. Probably. I’ve got my comm on me.” The woman waved at them before turning on her heel and ushering the girl out without a backward glance.

“We better warn your buir that his charge was childnapped by a ferocious twi’lek.” Jango chuckled, shaking his head. Pulling out his cleaning supplies he sat at the table and started taking apart his blasters. Shiona was usually spot on when she judged the time so he had no doubt they would be back within the two hour time frame. He knew his buir was going to visit the Oyu’baat later and wanted to bring the jet’ika. Seeing her there was sure to cause a stir in the older traditionalists but she had saved Jaster’s life. A life debt was not to be taken lightly, no matter who it was that saved your backside.

Some time after he’d started disassembling his blasters Cole plonked himself down on his bed and began to read. The two of them spent their time quietly undisturbed, other than an appearance of his buir who looked mildly annoyed that Shiona had taken the jet’ika and run off. An hour and a half later they heard the door to the other room open and close. Putting the datapad down Cole went to knock on the door, waiting to be told he could enter.

“Hey, you two have fun?” Cole asked.

“Yep!” The man laughed.

“What did you get?” Shiona made a clicking sound with her tongue.

“You’ll just have to see.” Then she gave the man a mischievous smirk and shut the door in his face. Cole stood there for a moment, stunned, before shaking his head and muttering to himself.

Jaster came to get them a short time later, looking mildly irritated. Jango raised an eyebrow at him in concern but the man just gave a subtle shake of his head. “Are you all ready to go?” He asked, sounding a little bemused. The Oyu-baat was a meeting place for clan heads, it had been on Manda’yaim for thousands of years and had changed very little over that time. No one would bat an eye if Jaster brought a bunch of guests with him. Although there may be some tension once they found out Liera was a jet’ika.

The door opened and Shiona came inside, grinning. “Tell me how I did.” She commented playfully as she moved out of the way and let Liera into the room. Jango very carefully did not react, although it was hard not to.

Liera’s hair was mostly down, with two braids around the side of her head holding back the majority of her hair. The dress she was wearing was knee length in front and sloped to ankle length in the back. It had a high neckline and slender sleeves that stopped at her wrists. The bodice was form fitting and laced down the back. At the collar, cuffs, and hem were embroidered white flowers. The entire thing was dyed a soft orange that flowed down into a gentle pink then dark purple, mimicking a sunset. Belatedly Jango realized he was staring and turned his gaze away, trying not to seem rude. The change from the frumpy cream colored jetii robes was just a big contrast.

That was it.

“You look very nice ad’ika.” Jaster said gently. Cole quickly agreed and they all turned to Jango. Liera noticed where their attention had shifted and looked over at him as well. Their eyes met and held. Jango cleared his throat, feeling decidedly awkward.

“It… uh… suits you.” He said roughly. Shiona let out a small noise of amusement and he could see Jaster’s shoulders shaking with mirth. Bastards. All of them.

“Thank you.” She beamed. “I’ve only worn a few dresses before but nothing this nice. Lou’lai will probably be annoyed with me, she likes fashion.” There was a warmth in her words that made Jango want to frown. Who was Lou’lai? They weren’t one of the Haat’ade. With suddenly clarity he bit back a curse. Liera was a jetii. She had friends and family that weren’t Mando’ade. She was going home soon…

Liera looked at him in concern but her attention was grabbed by Jaster as he suggested they all head out. Even distracted as he was Jango fell in step with his father as they left the inn.

The walk toward the older section of Keldabe was similar to their walk to the inn, except this time there were less confused or suspicious looks. Liera didn’t really look like what most people assumed a jetii looked like. While her coloring was strange for a human the Mando’ade were used to welcoming any species into the fold. If anything they probably assumed she was a hybrid or a some type of albino. If he didn’t know any better that’s what he would have assumed himself.

Hearing laughter he looked back and saw Cole placing a wide brimmed hat, white with pink flowers, on Liera’s head. Shiona leaned down and whispered something which had Liera smiling.

“Thank you for the gift, Cabur Cole!” The medic’s eyes went wide and a faint flush colored his cheeks. He mumbled a welcome and Shiona started to cackle in amusement. Then the purple twi’lek caught him looking and gave him a mischievous grin. Jango narrowed his eyes at her. She leaned down and mentioned something to Liera, who looked surprised for a moment then smiled and nodded.

Jango was startled when the girl ran over to him and grabbed his hand in her own. “Shiona said you could show me where they sell uj’ayl! I want to get some to bring back to the temple.” He looked up at his father, who gave him a reassuring smile and a nod, signing ‘go, nearly-hunt.’ Jango wanted to glower at his buir. He was not a child, he didn’t need to be told to go play! Liera’s hand loosened on his and it seemed like she would draw away from him, looking hesitant. He closed his hand around hers more firmly.

“I know a place, not far up ahead. We can check it out and wait for them to catch up.” Nodding she tightened her grip on his hand and let him lead her as she took in more of the capitol city.

After buying a small container of uj’ayl he noticed her frowning down at her clothes and realized she had nothing with her to carry it. He tucked the container into his own belt and she smiled at him. “Thank you, Jango.” Looking around she saw something that piqued her interest and reached for his hand again, pulling him toward a weapon stall. The stall owner raised their eyebrows at the girl but nodded respectfully at Jango, who nodded back.

“The hilt of my knife has been loose for a while and the blade is dull. There was nowhere to get it seen to on the last planet we were on so I was going to wait until we got home to replace it. Now seems like as good a time as any.” She said, looking over the displayed weapons. She stopped suddenly and a sheepish look came over her as she turned to look at him. “Republic Promissory notes won’t work here, will they? Shiona gave me some credits for the uj’ayl but I don’t have any credits for myself. Master Paldrel carried it all.” He could hear the hitch in her voice as she spoke of the deceased jetii who had been her guardian and Jango’s hands clenched.

“No, we don’t take Republic credits here.” He looked over the wares and thought to the credits in his pouch. “Give me your old knife.” He said, holding out his hand. She looked at him strangely for a moment before bending down and pulling the blade from her boot. The vendor looked surprised before they let out an amused chuckle. Jango looked the knife over and was surprised how worn out it was. It had seen a lot of use. Glancing over the display he motioned to three of them. “Try those, see if you like one of them.” She looked ready to protest but he just shook his head and ignored her.

“What kind of value would you put on this?” He asked the vendor, holding out Liera’s knife. The vendor looked it over carefully and hummed.

“It’s an antique design but the metal is sub-par. Not much value besides sentimental.” Jango nodded and glanced back at Liera, who was changing her grip on the hilt of one of the knives before transferring it to her other hand. She seemed quite pleased with it.

“How much for that one?” The vendor looked between the two of them then an amused twinkle entered their eyes.

“Is it a gift? Or a promise?” Jango made a choking sound and his face became hot. Why did everyone seem to think he was courting the jet’ika!? He was just being nice to their guest, dammit all!

“A replacement, she can’t go unarmed.” He said exasperatedly. The stall owner just laughed and took in the knife the girl was setting back down on the table. She was looking between him and the stall owner and he could see the confused concentration on her face. She was trying to understand them but probably only knew about five of the words they had spoken.

“Sixty-five if you give me the old knife. I can always melt it down for something.” Jango blinked. It was a generous offer but still quite fair. Although he was a little suspicious he handed over the credits and set Liera’s knife down. Picking up the new knife he was about to hand it over when the vendor set down a matching sheath. Now that was being a little overly generous. The vendor just shrugged at his searching look. “You’re right. Small thing like her can’t go around unarmed.” Was all they said. He nodded, sheathed the knife, then held it out to Liera.

“What?” She looked between the knife in his hand to his face, looking mildly bewildered.

“It’s yours. They traded your old knife for the new one. A lot of vendors will do trades if you don’t have proper credits. He said the knife was an antique design.” He very carefully did not lie as he spoke. Just omitted the fact that he had also payed credits in addition to giving the vendor the old knife. Liera smiled brightly and took the weapon, holding it in her hands like it was something worthwhile. She turned and bowed to the vendor.

“Thank you very much!” They nodded politely back and Liera slipped the new knife into her boot. She stood up and held out her hand to Jango. “Shall we go back to the others?” The vendor snickered as Jango took the girl’s hand and he glared at them before leading the girl away.

Back with his buir and the others he finally let go of Liera’s hand and let her go show off her new weapon to Shiona. Jaster eyed the weapon then looked at him in surprise, although his eyes were calculating. “So. Gifting the ad’ika with a weapon are you?” Jango’s ears burned and he desperately wanted to shove his bucket back on.

“No, buir. Her old knife was broken and she wanted a new one. But jet’ika don’t really have any funds. No one here is going to take a promise note for Republic credits.” Jaster hummed in agreement.

They arrive at the Oyu’baat, passing by the large main square where there seemed to be a celebration going on. Jango wanted to slap his palm against his forehead. How could he forget! This whole week was the Harvest Festival! It was that time of year again. Where they thanked the ancestors and celebrated a good end to the harvest. Liera was looking around, excitement on her face as her bright eyes darted around in interest.


Mando'a Translations;

Tranyc Vhetin- Sunny Field
Jetii- Jedi
Baar'ur- Medic
Jet'ika Little Jedi, used to mean Padawan but also a term of endearment for Liera.
Jetii’kade- Lightsabers, plural.
Manda'yaim- Mandalore, the planet.
Mando'ade- Mandalorians, plural.
Haat'ade- Shortened from Haat Mando'ade, meaning True Mandalorians.
Cabur- Guardian or protector, mentor.
Buir- Parent
Uj’ayl- A thick scented syrup used in cooking.
Oyu'baat- Meaning universe, the oldest tapcaf on Mandalore.

Chapter 7: ...there's fire.

[Jango]

They entered the Oyu’baat and everyone who was paying attention to the door noticed them immediately. A couple of the older clan heads stopped talking to stare, like they were surprised to see them. Jaster walked right into the room, confidence in every stride, and sat down at a table, motioning the others to follow. Jango sat to Jaster’s right and Shiona gently led Liera to sit between her and their Mand’alor. Cole sat between Shiona and Jango, looking a little uncomfortable but hiding it well.

“Mereel! We heard you died, obviously the rumors were exaggerated.” There were a couple of amused chuckles or snorts as the surprise began to fade into acceptance.

“I almost did.” His buir admits readily, looking down at Liera with grim determination. There was no way to hide that she wasn’t one of them. Already the clan leaders were watching the girl with carefully assessing gazes as she politely removed her hat and placed it on her lap. “I owe a life debt to the ad’ika here.” The din hushed as his words sank in and they had the attention of nearly everyone in the room. His buir certainly knew how to be dramatic. Jango wished he’d be less so.

“Mand’alor, I can take your order now if you like.” The waitress hurried over with a pad in her hand.

“A round of ale for us three.” He motioned to Cole and Shiona as well as himself. “Jango, you’re allowed to have the lighter ales now that you’re of age.” He reminded.

“Shig.” Jango said immediately. He didn’t want to drink ale at the moment. Even Keldabe wasn’t always safe and he wanted to be alert.

“Ad’ika, what would you like to drink? Jango is having shig and we’re having ale. You’re legal on this planet.” Jango saw both Cole and Shiona want to protest but they held back, watching quietly.

“Oh, I’m fine with either some fruit juice or Shig.” Jaster nodded and turned back to the waitress.

“Some Jogan juice for the ad’ika.” The woman wrote it all down and quickly left to grab their order. Meanwhile there were many curious and suspicious looks being thrown their way. One man, with the signet of Clan Eldar, sneered at them. Liera stiffened slightly in her seat and Jango wondered if she could feel the man’s intent before he spoke.

“Adopting another stray, Mereel?” There was tension in the air and Jango himself froze, rage burning in his chest. Jaster leaned over his chair to look the man in the eyes.

“I would if I could but she has a clan already and is looking forward to going home.” That garnered more curious questions being thrown out.

“You’re saying an aruetii child saved your life?” A sharp smirk crossed his buir’s face and he wanted to groan. Jaster was a great leader but sometimes, sometimes, he could be a right asshole. He liked riling others up when that mood hit him.

“Don’t let appearances fool you. She’s Mandokarla.” Shiona grinned and Cole smiled in agreement. The waitress returned with their drinks and quickly served them before stepping back again.

“Anything else?” Jaster ordered them all some tiingilar.

“What’s teen-gee-lahr?” Cole sighed.

“It’s a very spicy casserole, ad’ika. I’m not sure if you’d like it or not.” Liera frowned slightly.

“Is it anything like eating Stralic Peppers?” Cole wheezed and coughed as some of his ale went down the wrong pipe. Shiona slapped him on the back in sympathy and Jaster just snickered.

“Who let you eat Stralic Peppers!? Those are considered illegal in some systems!” Liera looked surprised.

“A trader on Ryloth. You had to pay in, but whoever could finish an entire pepper without crying would be given the entire pot. Master Paldrel couldn’t do it, he hates… hated spicy food. But it wasn’t that bad, really. I think my taste buds are just different from a baseline human’s though.” She shrugged and Cole looked like he wanted to complain.

They sat and ate together and everything seemed to calm down. When they were almost done Liera seemed distracted, frowning slightly and glancing around as if looking for something. A warrior in full kit got up from their seat and headed for the door, taking a path that would lead them right behind Jaster’s seat. Liera stiffened before suddenly throwing herself back, out of her seat and raising both of her hands. Her eyes began to glow and everyone in the tapcaf stilled, hands going toward their weapons.

The warrior who was near Jaster started to curse. “What the shab are you doing to me you little witch!?” Liera didn’t understand the man but something in her expression changed as the attention in the room focused on her.

“He’s got a syringe and was going to use it on Jaster!” There was an outcry from the gathered clan heads and patrons. Jaster stood up and turned to regard the warrior carefully. Reaching for the closest hand he wrenched it open and a syringe fell to the ground, clattering in the sudden quiet.

“Ad’ika, can you knock someone unconscious?” Liera’s expression darkened but she nodded before closing her eyes. The warrior made a wounded noise before he suddenly slumped forward. Liera lowered him to the ground before she dropped her arms.

“Someone alert the local Protectors and have this one locked up. Take the syringe for testing.” Someone ran off to do as they were told and Jaster turned to smile at Liera. “That was very brave, ad’ika. Thank you.” Bright spots of pink colored her cheeks and she shook her head.

“You don’t need to thank me, sir. It’s my duty as a jedi to help others.” A sharp hiss made Jango look away from his father and he saw the sharp looks some of the gathered warriors were giving the girl. He scowled.

“You let a jetii in here?” Someone asked heatedly, he wasn’t sure who.

“This jet’ika has saved my life twice now!” Jaster snapped. Liera hunched in on herself and he watched as she carefully took a few deep breaths and let it out again. Before he knew what he was doing he had moved to stand in front of her.

“Are you alright?” She blinked, looked up at him, and gave a slow nod.

“I’m okay. There’s just a lot of mental ‘noise’ right now.” He wasn’t quite sure what she meant but he thought he understood. If jetii could read minds or whatever then she was probably hearing all the angry thoughts of the warriors in the room. The attacker hadn’t just tried to kill the Mand’alor… he had tried to assassinate him. It was the coward’s way and not in line with Mando beliefs. It was dishonorable to say the least.

“What happened? How did you know he was going to hurt my buir?” Liera continued to stare into his eyes as she tried to calm herself. Jango breathed in and out calmly, matching her and relaxing his body. He wasn’t sure if it was conscious or not but she followed him and began to relax. It was a little unnerving to have all her focus on him.

“I could feel his hatred and intent to harm in the force.” Jaster put a hand on each of their shoulders.

“What did you do to him ad’ika?” His buir asked, not unkindly.

“I wrapped the force around him so he couldn’t move. Then I convinced him to sleep.” Jango knew there was more to it than that, so did Jaster, but neither of them said anything.

“Did it hurt him?” The girl looked shocked.

“No, he’ll be perfectly fine when he wakes up. Using the force to deliberately hurt someone is against the Code.” Jaster turned to look around the room.

“There you have it. She only stopped him to save my life, if any harm comes to him it won't be from the ad'ika.” Some of the warriors and clan heads grumbled about it but sat back down, going back to whatever it was they had been doing before.

“You’re just going to believe the word of a jetii?” Jaster looked toward an older Clan Wren member and his eyes went sharp.

“I’m going to believe the word of my guest. A fully trained medic.” Jaster looked at them and came to a decision. “Come on, we’re leaving.” Cole and Shiona joined them. Cole handed Liera’s hat back to her with an encouraging smile while Shiona went to pay for their meals.

The walk back to the inn was long and they had to pass through a lot of crowded streets to get there. On the way Liera kept running her hands through the strands of hair that had fallen over her shoulder, as if trying to comfort herself. Jango wanted to curse. The day had been going well until some bastard had tried to kill his father. They neared another open square and he lifted his head when he began to hear music. Someone was playing a flute and he could hear the pounding of drums. Beside him Liera seemed to perk up a little, looking around for the source of the sound.

“What’s that?” She asked him, eyes bright.

“Dancing.” Shiona said. “We came in time for the Harvest Festival. So there will be lots of music, dancing, and good food.” The jet’ika practically bounced in place.

“Dancing? I love dancing! Can we go watch?” Shiona looked to Jaster and the man looked down at the two teens before shrugging.

“Go on then.” Liera smiled and grabbed his hand, pulling him toward the square. Jango threw a look over his shoulder at the adults but they just grinned back at him and waved them onward. Disgruntled he let himself be dragged over to the crowd of people standing on the outside and just enjoying the music. Liera stood there, head tilted slightly to the side and a wide smile on her face. A group of girls, who must have belonged to whoever had started this whole thing, were walking around and handing out bands of flowers. When they came by Liera was more than happy to have one of the girls fix one around her wrist. They offered one to Jango but he politely refused. Taking one look at his beskar’gam they seemed to understand and left him alone.

“What is that pretty smell?” She asked him.

“Vormur, it’s a wildflower that grows here.” She lifted her wrist to her face and took a delicate sniff. She looked pleased with the scent and went back to watching the dancers. Slowly her foot began to tap to the beating of the drums and she suddenly turned to him.

“Let’s go dance!” Jango gaped at her in surprise but didn’t protest as she pulled him further into the square. They joined the growing group of people and Liera let out a joyful laugh when he spun her, like he’d seen some of the others doing with their partners.

It was weird, being one of the few people in full armor, but at least he wasn’t the only one. There were a few warriors about, dancing with their partners or someone they’d just met. He’d never really danced before, but in a weird kind of way it was just like fighting. Each movement he made was either followed or countered by the girl who was smiling at him as if she was having all the fun in the world. Jango wanted to roll his eyes at her and she must have felt it because she giggled at him as he spun her.

The song ended and she let go of him to applaud the musicians. Jango looked around and caught sight of his buir leaning against a building, chatting with someone amiably. Another song started up and Liera turned back to him. “Do you want to go back?” The way she framed the question made him think that she didn’t want to stop but was asking him in case he did. He shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck, and held out his hand for her to take.

“One more.” She took his hand again with a bright smile and he couldn’t help but to smile back.

Ka’ra. He didn’t want her to leave.


Mando'a Translations;

Shig- Any infusion of whatever's available, but usually a mildly stimulant herb with a citrus flavor called behot. Similar to tea.
Aruetii- A foreigner or outsider, can be used to mean traitor.
Mandokarla- Showing guts and spirit, the state of being the epitome of Mando virtue.
Beskar'gam- Mandalorian Iron armor.

Chapter 8: Rise

Waking the next morning Liera dragged herself out of bed and blearily made her way to the fresher she and Shiona had been sharing. After a quick shower she braided her hair and pinned it up properly so that it wouldn’t get in the way before donning the new simple tunic and leggings Shiona had graciously bought for her. They were a soft brown and came with a proper waist sash in a cream color. Unlike her jedi robes the sleeves were once again close to the skin, although it didn’t hamper her movement at all thankfully. Finished getting ready for the day she sat down on the floor and meditated until Shiona woke and finished her own daily morning routine.

Going downstairs to the communal eatery she smiled at Cole, Jaster, and Jango. The three had saved them seats and had already ordered Shiona some caf. Liera giggled as the female twi’lek made a pleased noise after taking a big gulp of the warm drink.

“What will you be having this morning ad’ika?” Liera looked over the menu and ordered a simple breakfast with some shig. She digs in the moment her plate is set before her and Cole gives her a pleased nod. The man always seemed worried about how thin she was but Liera knew she was healthy enough for her age. She was just small and would probably remain small for her entire life.

Jaster turned to Jango near the end of the meal and spoke in Mando’a, too complex for her to understand. Jango gaped at the man for a moment before groaning and agreeing to whatever he had been told. Jaster turned to her and gave her a small smile.

“The three of us are going to be pretty busy today, ad’ika, so Jango is going to be your cabur today.” Liera knew what that word meant. Jango was going to be her protector for the day and likely also her guide since he knew the city.

“Don’t work too hard, Alor.” She teased lightly before looking over at Jango and smiling. “I’ll be relying on you today, Jango.” The boy frowned at her and looked away, feeling disgruntled but also pleased. She was beginning to realize he was a very contradictory sort.

Before they left Cole took Jango aside and suggested something quietly in Mando’a. Liera could feel the curiosity-intrigue and slight worry from both of them but they seemed to agree on something before Jango strode back over to her and offered his hand. She stared at the hand for a moment and felt a spike of embarrassment from the boy before she took it and held firm.

“Where to first?” Jango gave her a small grin.

Leaning against the reinforced fence Jango gave her an amused look as she peered over it on the tips of her toes. Inside the fenced area that smelled of pungent musk were strange six legged mammals she’d never seen before. Through the force she could sense that they were carnivorous pack animals and highly intelligent. “What are they?” She asked.

“Striile. Although in Basic they’re called Strills. We use them as hunting animals. But they’re pretty smart and vicious so they need someone strong and dedicated to train them.” He looked at her and shrugged. “Cole thought you might be interested in seeing some of the animals we have here on Manda’yaim.”

“Can we go in and interact with them?” Jango blinked at her but slowly nodded, looking a little anxious.

The breeders seemed amused by the idea and allowed them inside. As long as they stayed near the kennel and didn’t venture out into the field it would be fine. Jango chose not to pet the animals. Instead he stood nearby, arms crossed, and watched her as she followed the trainer around.

Sitting on the ground with the Striile she let them come to her and allowed them to scent her. Through the force she sent out waves of calm assurance and confidence. Enough to be considered not a threat but not prey either. Once they were a little less wary of her she found herself smothered in warm bodies as they all tried to get scratches and pets from her at once. Looking up at the trainer’s surprised expression she giggled. “I’m really good with animals.” She said politely.

When they were finished with the Striile they went back to the inn. There she was told to change into her training clothes, which consisted of an undershirt tucked into another set of tights in dark brown, and told to get ready for combat training. Shiona didn’t waste any time putting she and Jango through their paces. Apparently Jaster had agreed to allow Shiona and Cole to continue training her as long as she was with them, since a consistent schedule was important for young warriors… and jedi.

After washing up and dressing in white leggings, pale blue tunic, and soft pink waist sash Cole took her to a local clinic where they offered to help for a couple of hours. Liera would have stayed there all day if she could but Cole dragged her away for lunch back at the inn. Everyone gathered for a quick meal before the adults had to head back to doing… whatever it was they were doing. Jango sighed at his father, looking every inch the exasperated teen.

The last half of the day was spent wandering around Keldabe and looking at the wares of the vendors. Everywhere they went people immediately recognized Jango and were quick to offer their greetings. Through the force she could sense the hope just seeing Jango gave the people and she began to wonder.

At some point Jango must have noticed her lack of attention as he gently pulled her to a stop in a quiet side street. “Me’vaar?” Feeling his concern and tense wariness in the force she realized he was expecting an attack. It made sense. The last time he’d seen her so distracted someone had tried to assassinate his father.

“It’s… I just don’t understand why my master was so worried about me meeting Mandalorians.” She confides, feeling torn and a little confused. “Is it only because I’m a jedi?” Jango’s brow furrowed and his hand tightened around hers.

“There’s too much bad blood between the Mando’ade and the Jetii. A long history of being on opposite sides of war.” Liera nodded and kept any further thoughts about it to herself.

That night, after dinner, she asks Jaster if she can perform her lightsaber katas. The man stares at her for a moment. “I trust you not to hurt yourself or others, ad’ika. Go ahead. But I want one of us to supervise, just in case.” She nodded, eager to finally reconnect properly with Guardian and Haven.

In the end both Jaster and Shiona offered to watch her go through her katas while Cole and Jango went off to do their own things.

Pulling out her lightsabers she flowed through the first opening moves of Soresu before spinning the hilts in her hand and flicking them on. It was a bit flashy looking but in all honesty it was good practice for her focus. There was a loud gasp and she stopped, looking over at Shiona in concern. The female twi’lek seemed to realize she’d distracted her and flushed in embarrassment. “I didn’t know they came in that color.” Liera couldn’t help smiling.

“It’s a very uncommon color for lightsabers. My crystals are Mephite, from the Adegan system. It’s a tradition for those of my Lineage. At least… that’s what Master Paldrel told me.” Jaster looked up from his datapad, interest clear in the force.

“Lineage?” He asked gently.

“It’s what we call the long lines of masters and padawans going back to the founders of the Order. Each Lineage has their own traditions and branches. Master Paldrel raised a padawan before me, Jervais Urduk. We refer to each other as brother-padawan and sister-padawan.” She paused and thought about it. “I suppose you could consider them like family lines, only through choice and adoption rather than blood. But sometimes the force itself will intervene. Either by creating a bond between two individuals before they’ve even met or by sending one, or both, of them a vision.” Jaster shared a look with Shiona, who just pouted at him, eyebrows raised as if to say ‘see!’ Although Liera didn’t know what point the female twi’lek was trying to make.

For the next two days her schedule was basically the same. She got dressed, meditated, and went out into the city with Jango. Going back to the inn she would practice hand to hand with Shiona before Cole took her to another clinic where they helped out. After lunch she and Jango would wander again, the other teen taking his duty as her guard and guide quite seriously. Although she did notice him relaxing and beginning to have fun the longer they were together. Afterward they would go back to the inn for dinner and she would do her katas before bed with Cole, Shiona, or Jaster observing her.

On their last day in Keldabe Shiona told her to change into her dress, which she did. She could feel the excited buzz around the adults and shared a confused look with Jango, who just shrugged and offered her his hand again. Jaster cleared his throat and the two of them looked up at the man as he looked between their clasped hands and their faces. Surprised she felt her face heating slightly when she realized that, since it wasn’t just her and Jango, she wouldn’t need to hold his hand so as not to get lost. Jango seemed to realize it at the same time but stubbornly held her hand firm, ignoring the snickers of the adults.

The restaurant they went to was apparently ready for their arrival as they were taken to a nice back room with comfortable looking cushions and a low table. It reminded her of her shared room with her master. Shiona asked her to come sit next to her and Liera let go of Jango’s hand almost reluctantly. He was a steady and solid rock in the force, a buffer between her and others. It was nice having him nearby to keep her from being overwhelmed. But she realized that she couldn’t keep relying on the other teen.

Across from Cole, Jaster sat down and beckoned his son to sit next to him. Liera smiled at him across from her and felt Shiona’s sudden amusement-curiosity-mischief. A moment later a server entered the room with the first few dishes and set them out on the table. Jango seemed to clue in to whatever this was as he exclaimed- “Skraan'ikase!” Looking to Cole the man smiled at her.

“It’s a celebratory meal made up of bite sized snacks.” Gathering a few pieces he placed them on a plate for her to try. Everything looked so delicate and well made she almost couldn’t bring herself to eat them. But she was far too curious about their taste and in all honesty she was quite hungry.

“Cuyir val ven’ri’koor?” She heard the server ask Jaster. Across from her Jango made a choking sound and started to slap at his own chest. Alarmed she reached across the table and grabbed his other hand, sending the force through him to help him breathe and ease the pain.

“Are you alright?” The boy looked at her, wide-eyed, and quickly nodded, pulling his hand away from her as his face flushed a dark red. Feeling his embarrassment she just smiled at him reassuringly and pulled her hand away. Beside her both Cole and Jaster were quickly speaking to the server, who was looking mildly confused and giving off amusement in the force.

“N'eparavu takisit, jatne vode.” The man said, giving them a short bow before leaving the room quickly. Liera got the feeling the man was trying not to laugh in front of his customers. Jaster let out a long sigh and looked at his son, who glared at him heatedly for a moment.

Thankfully that seemed to be the only upset of the evening as drinks were brought and they settled in to eat and enjoy one another’s company.

Walking back through the lively city she tried to take in as much as she could and burn the memory of Keldabe into her mind. She never wanted to forget her experiences on the planet. Especially since she was certain she would never get the chance to return. A cautious-curious nudge in the force stopped her in her tracks and she spun on her heel to look through the crowded street. On the far side she saw a short Mandalorian in deep green armor. His thermal undersuit was black and there were three white triangles painted on his helmet. The moment she locked eyes with his visor she knew- he was force sensitive. Not only that but she could feel the resonance of a kyber crystal. Was he a jedi? Why was he wearing armor?

An older Mandalorian with a similar coloring stopped and placed a hand on the shorter Mandalorian’s shoulder. Their helmet titled downward and she had the feeling that the two of them were conversing before the older Mandalorian looked right at her. The feeling of curiosity and wariness in the force prompted her to smile and give a polite nod. A gentle brush of gratitude and acceptance washed over her before the two of them turned and walked away. “Ad’ika?” Startled she looked up at Jaster, who was giving her a concerned look. “We called you but you didn’t answer. Is something wrong?”

“I… saw another jedi. I think.” The man’s brows rose in surprise. “They were wearing green armor with a white symbol on the helm, three triangles. I could sense the kyber crystal from a lightsaber on them.” Jaster smiled.

“That would be the Kurshi’cin boy then. He’s about sixteen now, I believe. He used to be a jet’ika, like you.” Her mouth fell open in surprise. She had never heard of a jedi leaving to become a Mandalorian before. She wondered what had pushed him to abandon the Order. Since she hadn’t sensed any malice or spite in him she was certain he hadn’t fallen to the dark.

“He must be very brave.” She muttered. Jaster just smiled and put a hand on her shoulder.

“He is. Now come on, ad’ika. We need to gather the last of our things and ship out.” With a nod she walked with Jaster and caught up to the group.

It was time to say goodbye to Mandalore.


Mando'a Translations;

Me'vaar- You okay?
Cuyir val ven’ri’koor- Are they engaged?
Ven’ri’koor- Engaged. Mixing the words for Ven ‘Future,’ Riduur ‘Spouse,’ and Koor ‘Contract.’
N'eparavu takisit, jatne vode- I am sorry if I offended you, customers.

Wow your own unique art work cool!  I was wondering where this was heading now the kind of teen romance thing is coming through, usually Star Wars is all action adventure, this is a different take but equally fitting in the setting with the Mando politics of the era simmering in the background.  There is interesting meta potential here with Liera as a sort of out of place and time accidental visitor, scattered by whatever strange powers were in that old temple across different multiverses, there was something sinister in the opening that the power of the temple has 'need of you' what is its end goal...regardless it will be interesting to see if that is explored and you've left a lot of room to explore that in different ways with different realities, two Liera's might come to different resolutions.

PeachyProtist is an amazing artist~ I'm so glad I commissioned them. :)

I actually have an apocrypha based on chat logs where all the different versions of Liera speak with one another. It is mass chaos. lol But none of the instances of Liera ever actually meet each other. There can only ever be one in each universe.

Chapter 9: Flare (Part 1)

[Jango]

The next three days of space travel passed by far too quickly for Jango’s liking. Although they primarily kept to the schedule they’d established on Manda’yaim they didn’t exactly have a city to wander around in. Instead Jaster added blaster practice and more sparring to their daily lessons. Along with more Mando’a for Liera. For someone who hadn’t known a single word of it when she first appeared she was becoming surprisingly fluent. All she was missing was the cultural context and some of the more secretive spiritual aspects of being mando’ad.

As they became closer she began to open up even more about her life at the temple and the people she considered family, although she didn’t call them that directly.

“I always stop by the Halls of Healing whenever we… whenever I return to the Coruscant temple. A lot of my friends are still working there as Healer’s assistants and they like to make sure I’m in good health.” Her smile was bright, if a little sad, and he couldn’t help the small bolt of jealousy that went through him. He couldn’t help wondering if she would tell her friends about him and the Haat’ade, the same way she was talking about her friends now. Would she miss them after she’d gone back? Or would the jetiise somehow make her forget about them?

“I wonder if any of my crechemates will be there, or my brother-padawan. The last I heard he was helping hunt down some pirates in the outer rim.” She blinked slowly, tilting her head, and her eyes went vacant. Jango felt a tingle on the back of his neck and shivered. He knew she was doing something with her weird magic but he couldn’t tell what.

She frowned as she blinked back into reality.

“I can’t feel any of my bonds right now, it’s like they’re all hazy.” Jango watched her sag, frowning in concern. He cleared his throat to get her attention and had to look away when those vibrant eyes looked up at him, curious.

“Once you get there you can always comm them. Someone should have a way to contact them at the jetiise temple, yeah?” Straightening she smiled brightly at him, obviously grateful for his words. Jango felt his face heating slightly but he sucked it up and smiled back at her, aiming for reassuring.

“Of course! If the mission isn’t too dangerous then it should be easy enough to ask for their contact information. I lost my communicator so I’ll have to get a new one and put in all their codes again.” She shook her head in frustration.

“Thanks Jango!” He nodded.

“Any time.”

[Liera]

As they came closer to Coruscant she could see the change in the people around her and bit her lip in mild distress. Jango in particular seemed to be struggling, his emotions fluctuating wildly and too fast for her to follow. Cole and Shiona felt sad, sad enough that she might even classify it as grief. While Jaster just seemed resigned.

All in all it made her realize just how much they had come to like and accept her. Whenever she did her katas in the main training area there were always warriors lining the walls or sitting on the benches, watching with interest. They’d even started to ask her about her fighting style, how lightsabers worked, and questions about temple training. It was a lot of fun to speak with them and she knew she was going to miss them all terribly when she returned home.

For now she would just savor the moment and sear everything into her memory so she would never forget. This experience was now a part of her and besides the fact that she missed her master, still grieved him, she wouldn’t change a single thing about her first meeting with the Mandalorians. Except maybe the whole fainting thing. That had been very embarrassing.

Once they landed on Coruscant proper Jaster asked her to gather up her things and say good-bye to everyone. Liera was surprised to find that practically all the warriors of the Haat’ade had come to wish her well.

She was perilously close to tears when Cole knelt and pulled her into a warm hug.

She actually started to cry when Shiona handed her a hand-made satchel, embroidered with her name in Mando’a. Inside the front pouch was a communicator and as she turned it on she saw that each of them had put their contact numbers inside. “So you can call us if you ever want to escape.” She joked, eyes wet.

“Thank you.” Liera hugged her tightly before she had to pull away.

It was time to leave.

[Jaster]

Jaster had been given permission to fly a shuttle right up to the temple. He’d been a little surprised by the offer but accepted it. Both because he wanted to look these people in the eye when he criticized them and because he wanted to ensure the jet’ika made it home safely.

Behind him he could hear Liera and Jango talking quietly. She was looking over the gift that Shiona had spent quite a bit of credits on while Jango explained what some of the inner pouches would he bused for.

Among other things she found all of her clothes including her hat, the uj syrup she’d bought to share with her friends, packets of spice mixes from various verde, and a datapad with Mando legends. It also contained more lessons in Mando’a and a few other important pieces of literature.

“I asked buir to load the Commando Codex onto it, since you asked about it during training.” Jaster glanced back to see Liera nod, her body language subdued and contemplative.

The Temple contacted him and gave him clearance to land the moment he told them his name. When he finally stood from the pilot’s seat he could see his son sitting next to the jet’ika, one arm around her shoulders. He was tempted to snap a holo but it just seemed wrong in this instance. It was clear the two of them were going to miss one another and Jaster knew that the jetiise weren’t going to let either of them visit the other. After all; the Haat’ade were still considered criminals to the Republic. He was risking a lot coming to Coruscant just to return one of their ade.

“Time to go.” He said quietly. Both kids looked up at him and nodded.

Jaster watched the jet’ika as he the ramp lowered, her expression confused and shoulders tense. Jango grabbed her hand, squeezing it reassuringly before donning his helmet, and Jaster smiled. His son wasn’t averse to physical contact, or even physical affection, but he wasn’t usually the one to initiate it. It hit him suddenly that this tiny little jet’ika had done more to build bridges between their peoples than anyone else since… well he couldn’t actually think of an example.

As they finally set foot on the temple grounds they were met by three jetiise. One was a tiny green alien that he had never seen before, one was a middle aged man who had a feeling of danger and competence about him, his hand hovering over his weapon as if he were just waiting for a fight. The last was a tall, dark brown, Zabrak with black hair and green eyes. He stepped forward and inclined his head politely.

“Greetings, Mand’alor. I am Jedi Master Rubrikal, the Master of this Order. With me are Master Yoda and Knight Drallig.” He looked between them for a moment, noting the way the Knight continued to keep his eye in them as the other two looked to Liera. Even without the force he could tell they were trying to judge whether or not she had been injured in any way. Making a quick decision he reached up and took off his helmet, which had Jango stiffening next to him in concern.

“I am Jaster Mereel, and this is my son Jango Fett. We’re here to return your lost child.” Rubrikal nodded sagely and smiled at the ad’ika, although something seemed a little stiff about it.

“I don’t think we’ve ever met, young one.” Stepping forward, he felt Jango flinch beside him before forcing himself to stand still, Liera bowed at the waist, much lower than he would have expected.

“Padawan Liera Buraaisuh, Master. My master is- was Ashfurr Paldrel, Third Blademaster of the Order.” There was a mild look of surprise and confusion, the green jetii and Rubrikal sharing a look.

“This is all well and good, but I had more in mind than simple introductions when I came all the way here to return your jet’ika.” He could see Liera straighten and look at him, eyes wide with confusion. He held back an amused snort. “Nothing to do with you, ad’ika. I just have a few words for your guardians.” He thought for a moment and a wicked idea entered his mind. “Why don’t you give him a tour, ad’ika? Mando’ad never get a chance to see the jetiise temple and I’m sure Jango would like to see your home too.” He eyed the jetiise, wondering if they would deny his request.

“As long as the young man leaves his weapons behind he may join Padawan Buraaisuh and Knight Drallig on a tour of the common areas of the temple.” There was a warning in Rubrikal’s voice that had an amused grin crossing Jaster’s face. “Go on, Jan’ika, I’ll be fine here.” Jango clenched his hands for a moment before turning on his heel and heading back into the ship. From where he was standing he could see the young man pulling out his weapons and setting them down in a huff.

The jetiise made small talk with him, asking how his journey to Coruscant had been so far. Jaster responded with quick, concise, comments that made it hard for them to continue the conversation. They seemed off put by him. Good. They should be able to feel how utterly ridiculous he found this whole thing. He wasn’t here to make friends, although having them at least recognize his authority by the time he and Jango left would be a good start.

Before Liera left Jaster motioned her closer. She came willingly into the hug, a big smile on her face. “Thank you for taking care of me these past two weeks.” He saw the elder jetiise twitch at her sudden use of Mando’a and couldn’t help but to chuckle.

“Contact us when you’ve settled in. We want to hear from you, alright? You’ll always be one of us, mandokar, even if you’re a jet’ika.” A pleased blush crossed her face and she hugged him again before dashing off to stand excitedly next to Jango.

It was time for her to go home.

Once they’d left the Master of the Order’s eyes turned sharper, his stance less welcoming. Jaster squared his shoulders. If they wanted a fight he’d give them one.

“Now then, jetiise, I have a few concerns.” His anger didn’t seem to phase them, although his word choice did earn him raised eyebrows. “Number one being that the ad’ika is much too young to be out on battlefields! What kind of crazy osik goes through your heads? Letting someone like that go on missions. Master or no- she’s much too young for battle.” Rubrikal opened his mouth to speak but Jaster held up a hand to silence him. “I’m not finished.” He growled.

“My next concern is her mental health. She lost a father,” he stalled them again, “no I don’t care what you want to call it. That man was a father to her and she just lost him. She said that there was something wrong with her mind, that only the jetiise could fix. If it wasn’t for that fact, and the fact that she still sees herself as a jet’ika healer, I may very well have let some of my people adopt her.” He shook his head. “We know how to take care of our ad’ike, jetii, do you?”

There was silence for a long moment before the zabrak sighed.

“Perhaps we should have this discussion inside? I want to hear the entire story of how you came into contact with, and care for, one of our lost padawans and it sounds as if it was under less than optimal circumstances.” Jaster frowned.

“I’ll go with you, jetii, but I’m not leaving my weapons behind. You and the Republic may not recognize my authority but I am still a leader to my people. I won’t go into unknown territory unarmed or unarmored.” Rubrikal paused, giving him a searching look, before nodded in acceptance. Jaster slipped his helmet back on and stepped up next to the male. “Lead the way, Jeti’alor.”

Chapter 9: Flare (Part 2)

[Cin Drallig]

Keeping watch over two young ones, one of which was a Mandalorian in full armor, minus the helmet which hung from his belt, had not been part of the plan. He was supposed to be there as back-up in case the Mandalorians tried anything funny but after the young padawan had appeared unharmed it seemed as if the plan had changed. He was surprised as the Mando boy allowed the young padawan to pull him along by the arm, chattering excitedly about her favourite places in the temple.

Strange. He’d never heard of Music Room Osk-39, or Training Hall Peth-4. Considering he was one of the foremost lightsaber instructors that struck him as very odd.

Every now and then the two would suddenly begin speaking in what he assumed was the Mandalorian language, the boy sounding more guttural in his delivery than the padawan. It was clear he was far more comfortable speaking his native tongue than Basic. Cin only wished he knew what they were saying so he could monitor what the padawan was telling him. It could very well be a security risk.

“…I’m sorry Knight Drallig, is my speaking Mando’a making you uncomfortable?” He looked over at the padawan in surprise. Violet eyes looked up at him and he could see maturity and insight within them. It eased his fears a little and he carefully schooled himself back to calm. Behind her the Mando boy was giving him an unimpressed look, stepping closer to the padawan as if to protect her. Without his helmet his emotions were a little more clear in the force. Cin could feel his wariness but also his patience. If he was going to strike it would be at an opportune moment.

“There are security concerns you may not know about, young padawan. I only wish to ensure you aren’t accidentally saying something that shouldn’t be said.” The girl’s expression turned thoughtful.

“I am only speaking of places that are accessible to guests of the temple, I assure you. There are some concepts that don’t translate into Basic well and although Jango is almost fluent there are some terms he only knows in Mando’a.” It was a diplomatic answer and he felt a smile tug at his lips. The padawan was young but clearly well learned if she was already this eloquent.

“I would ask you to keep your comments primarily in Basic, however, translating for a guest isn’t unheard of or discouraged.” The girl smiled at him and nodded easily, not offended in the least. The Mando boy, on the other hand, was scowling at him.

He decided to move the tour along to the next stop- the training salles.

“This is where you learn to use your jeti’kade?” The Mando asked, looking around the room with a critical eye.

“Yes. There are larger rooms for tournaments, and different rooms with special terrain or obstacles so we can train while using force jumps as well.” The Mando snorted and muttered something under his breath. The padawan snickered.

“It’s not cheating when two people have the force, Jango. You’ve beaten me in most of our spars anyway so what are you complaining about?” The boy grinned at her and it was a near feral thing. He felt amused and pleased in the force yet there was a strong thread of respect as well. Interesting.

“You study Jar’kai, do you not?” He asked. The padawan smiled up at him.

“Yes, Knight Drallig. I find myself more balanced with two weapons.” As if anticipating his next question she detached her lightsabers from her belt and held them out to him. The boy next to her shifted his stance, frowning, his emotions once again becoming wary and tense.

Cin took the weapons respectfully and gave them a quick once over. He felt something sharp prod at his mental shields and almost hissed in response. The crystals, to his surprise, were not kyber. “Where did you get the crystals for your lightsabers, padawan?” The girl smiled at him almost shyly.

“The planet Tarrasi, in the Adega system. My crystals are mephite.” Adegan crystals? For a not yet sixteen year old padawan? That sounded like madness. “They’re very protective of me and tend to push away anyone who tries to hold onto them for too long.” She warned, concern clear in her voice. Cin could feel the way the twin crystals pushed at his mind and nodded, handing them back.

“They are well balanced. Maybe we can spar later and I can see them in action.” The girl bit her lip, ducking her head slightly as she returned her lightsabers to her belt.

“I’m not a very good swordsman.” He blinked at the admission. Not many field padawans would try to downplay their abilities. “I am well on the healer’s path, Knight Drallig. I want to follow in the footsteps of Master Fay.” It had been quite some time since he’d heard the name of that legendary jedi master.

“A good example to strive for, padawan, but be wary of putting unreal expectations on yourself.” The girl smiled and nodded in understanding.

As they moved on from the training halls towards the Room of a Thousand Fountains he listened to her explain the exploits of the famous jedi healer and how she wanted to follow her example to help as many people as she could. He was surprised to find the Mando agreeing that a life of healing was a good one, and encouraging her to continue her learning. He had been under the impression that Mandalorians only valued the life of a warrior.

“Cole said he’d send you some medical texts to read later.” The padawan beamed up at the Mando and he could feel the boy’s embarrassment clearly.

Oh. Well that was a little awkward. It seemed the Mando had a bit of a crush on her. The padawan didn’t seem to notice but it was clear she held affection for the boy. He would have to inform the council that the padawan might need further training to avoid any attachments.

“Ka’ra! Cuyir ogir haat ta’raysh’olan?” The boy exclaimed as they finally came into the massive greenhouse. The padawan laughed, smiling.

“I’m not sure. I’ve never actually counted. But I’ve been told it’s true. Not all of the gardens have water though, there are a few smaller gardens set aside for desert plants.” Reaching over she took the Mando’s hand without hesitation, as easily as if she’d done it a hundred times, and dragged him over to a section of flowers, babbling about their medicinal properties.

“Hmph. What you need are some behot plants. You can’t make shig without behot.” The padawan was a little sad for a moment but brightened quickly.

“You’ll just have to send me one. I can send you some tea and spice blends we make in temple in exchange. I think Cole would like the citrus leaves we put in the Aspiskera tea and I think Jaster would like the Redikurr spices we use. It has a similar warmth to peppers but the taste is more bitter than spicy. It’d go well in hetikleyc caf.” The boy made a thoughtful sound before the two were distracted by something else.

As they were finally leaving the Room of a Thousand Fountains the boy’s comm went off and he quickly answered it. “Lek, buir?” The padawan leaned closer to get a look, interest piqued.

“Yaimpar’la at te me’sen, mhi cuyir ba’slanar.” The man didn’t sound angry or impatient but the boy stiffened, eyes narrowing.

“Elek, Alor.” With that he hung up and turned to look at Cin. “Lead the way, jetii.” There was a small huff from the padawan as she nudged the Mando’s shoulder. His attention snapped to her and he glared. The padawan rolled her eyes at him.

“Don’t be rude, ven’alor. You’re here on behalf of the Haat’ade bal te Mand’alor. Knight Drallig doesn’t know Mando’a either, he has no idea where you need to go.” Surprisingly her words seemed to have an effect on the young man. He turned and gave Cin a small incline of the head.

“…sorry, jetii. That was my buir, he’s ready to leave. I need to get back to our ship. Will you lead me there?” Inclining his own head, accepting the young man’s apology, he thought about where they were in relation to the landing pad and turned toward the nearest lift.

“Apology accepted, young Mando. The landing pad with your ship is this way.”

When they arrived back on the landing pad the older Mandalorian was standing there with his helmet under one arm, body relaxed and talking amiably with Master Nu of all people. The moment they were close enough the younger Mando called out- “buir, me’vaar?” The Mand’alor politely halted Master Nu before smiling at his son.

“Naas, Jan’ika. Ni jahaala. Me’var?” The young man nodded, repeating the man’s words in response.

“It was nice speaking with you, Master Nu. I’m grateful you spoke on behalf of my people and the code we follow. I only hope more of your people will take a closer look at what I’m trying to achieve and understand that we are not your enemies.” Jocasta Nu smiled and gave the man a polite bow.

“It was a pleasure, Mand’alor. I will not attempt to speak your language, however I will say this- maybe we will meet again.” The Mand’alor grinned, feeling amused.

“Maybe we will meet again.” He turned to look at the children and gave them both a smile. “Time to say good-bye, Jan’ika.” The young Mando grit his teeth but nodded before turning toward the padawan.

“Ret'urcye mhi… Lie’ika.” The padawan smiled and stepped forward, enveloping the young Mando in a tight hug. Cin could feel the young man’s emotions spike. Both the Mand’alor and Master Nu were chuckling as the young Mando finally hugged the girl back. His embarrassment was clear enough even without the force. “K'oyacyi.” He commanded firmly.

“Lek, alor. K'oyacyi.”

And with that the Mandalorians got into their ship and flew off, back to wherever they’d come from.

“Hello, padawan. We’ve been very worried about you.” The padawan turned to look at Master Nu and bowed politely, though her expression seemed torn.

“Thank you for your concern, master.”

“The Mand’alor had some concerns about your mind being injured. Perhaps a trip to the halls of healing are in order?” The girl grimaced but didn’t disagree.

“Yes, master. My bond with my master snapped when… when he passed into the force. I’ve been unable to deal with it myself. I would appreciate it if we could see a mind healer first thing.” Cin blinked down at the girl in surprise and noticed Master Nu doing the same. He’d never heard of a padawan asking for a mind healer before. Normally they had to be corralled and forced into going.

“Are you having any other issues that we need to look into?” The girl paused for a moment, expression turning serious.

“Yes, master. The force doesn’t feel right. Almost like it’s covered in oil. Like… like it’s touched by the dark side.” Alarm went through him and he eyed the girl with concern.

“We’ll go to the halls immediately then. Come along, padawan.” Nodding the girl followed Master Nu without a fuss.

Cin stood there for a moment, wondering just what her master could have been doing that a padawan knew what the dark side of the force felt like and could actively identify it. He shook himself out of his thoughts and pulled out his comm. He had a report to give now that the Mandalorians were gone.


Mando'a Translations;

Mandokar- Exhibiting Mandalorian values and traits, here it’s used as a compliment.
Ka’ra! Cuyir ogir haat ta’raysh’olan?- Stars! Are there really a thousand?
Yaimpar’la at te me’sen, mhi cuyir ba’slanar.- Return to the ship, we’re leaving.
Buir, me’vaar?- Parent are you well?
Naas, Jan’ika. Ni jahaala. Me’var?- Fine, Jan’ika, healthy. Are you well?
Ret'urcye mhi- Maybe we’ll meet again. A Mandalorian farewell.
K'oyacyi- Stay alive.

Chapter 10: Embers

Sitting in the temporary recovery room the young padawan stared at the wall without truly seeing it. In less than a month she’d lost her master to some mysterious force related mishap, saved a Mandalorian King, been taken to Mandalore and enjoyed the company of the Mandalorians, and returned to the temple. Now she was learning that every single bond she had ever made had been severed, causing a psychic backlash that had been causing her mental strain and low key force exhaustion.

Seven hundred years. Even among the longest lived species in the galaxy seven hundred years was such a long time.

The news that she had somehow been flung forward in time had shaken her to the core. Gone was everything she had ever known and in its place was a facsimile of the life she had known. The robes were the same, as were the halls, gardens, salles, and the general comfort of the temple. But everything else was entirely foreign to her. Even how the healers that had examined her were just so subtly off that she didn’t know how to react at first.

When she’d brought up the idea that the healer wasn’t following proper protocol they’d stared at her in confusion. Master Nu, whom she didn’t recognize but was apparently a Council member, had shared a look with a Twi’lek master who had come into the room to oversee the other healer. “How?” Was the question posed to her. So, Liera had explained, in detail, how. When she was finished she was disheartened to find that things she was used to doing were either forgotten or had long since gone out of practice.

Once everyone was gone she curled up against the headboard of the medical bed and pulled her knees to her chest. Across the room she could see the bag she had been gifted by Shiona and felt some of her grief ease with the knowledge that she wasn’t completely alone.

The door opened and the master healer entered, exuding a quiet confidence and a sense of gentle serenity. It hadn’t taken them long to find her in the system, running her dna through the scanner had been simple enough, but she’d been labeled as missing and eventually deceased. Re-opening her file required the Council’s permission, which was easily given by Master Nu.

“We’ve done all we can to ease the psychic backlash and promote healing but you’ll have to be monitored for a couple of weeks to make sure you’re adjusting. I’ve made an appointment with the mind healers for you in three days time. Is that alright with you?” Shifting so she was sitting cross legged she nodded.

“Thank you, Master Che.” The female twi’lek smiled at her.

“It’s always nice to have a patient who actually cooperates.” She chuckled. She smiled in return.

“I know the feeling. Cole was always chiding the verde who refused to sit still or go to medical the moment they were injured. I had to deal with some of them myself but they were always kinder to me, probably out of fear of Cole and Shiona.” Thinking about it made her giggle. Shiona wasn’t the best at hand to hand for nothing. She could easily beat others three times her size while Cole, as a medic, had a lot of knowledge on where to hit someone where it hurts.

“Are those the Mandalorians who helped take care of you?” Liera blinked the memory away and looked up at the master healer. There was clear worry there but a hint of curiosity as well.

“Cole was the chief medic who helped me when I fainted from force exhaustion and Shiona was the warrior who took me under her wing. Jaster, the Mand’alor, and his son, Jango, also looked after me quite a bit. I’m not sure what I would have done without them there.” She was grateful they didn’t just abandon her because she was a jedi. There was no telling what would have happened to her if they’d left her on that planet in the middle of civil unrest with no means to escape.

“Were you injured at any time, besides the obvious?” Liera hesitated for a moment, not wanting to paint people she considered friends in a negative light.

“During a spar with Jango he accidentally grabbed my braid and pulled it as he fell. I blacked out for a moment and had some trouble with my nervous system for a moment but I was fine a few hours later. It was an accident.” She reiterated carefully, trying to convey the truth of her words. She knew how horrified Jango had been when she’d suddenly collapsed, how scared he’d been for her in those moments before she got up to defend him. She didn’t want anyone in the Order to have any more reason to distrust the Mand’alor and his people.

“I didn’t sense anything wrong with your nervous system and I had a look at your file so I understand what happened.” Pulling out a datapad she made a few quick notes. “Did you eat well while you were in their care?” Liera frowned a little. This was starting to feel less like a healers appointment and more like an interrogation.

“Of course. They were very attentive to my nutritional and health requirements. I shared a bunk room with Shiona and she was always sure to keep the lights a lot dimmer than would have been normal for a twi’lek, if only to make me feel more comfortable. Cole also gave me a full check-up the moment I woke that first day.” She clenched her hands. “Master Che is there something wrong? It sounds like you’re trying to find fault with the people who saved me.”

“Peace, padawan, I have nothing against the Mandalorians. I just want a thorough update to your file to make sure we don’t miss anything. You’ve been through a very strange ordeal. You are the first recorded person to travel forward in time and we want a thorough picture of your health to compare to your last recorded check-up. Who knows what happened to have you appear here after so many years.” She shook her head incredulously.

Bashfully Liera let her defensive manner fall away and felt a little guilty for assuming the master had been trying to find fault somewhere. “I apologize, Master.” The female smiled at her.

“You’ve been through an ordeal, young one, and there is a reason we have scheduled you for sessions with a mind healer besides the obvious. I took no offense, I assure you.” Calmed by her words Liera leaned back again, not remembering when she’s leaned forward in the first place.

After asking her a few more questions there was a knock at the door and she brightened sensing a presence she recognized. “Interrupting something, am I?” Master Che frowned slightly but shook her head. She’d just finished writing the last of her notes.

“Not at all, Grand Master.” Liera started slightly before she forced herself to remember this was not the Knight she remembered from her own time. He was much older, his force presence denser than she remembered.

“Recognize me, you do. Afraid, I am, that recognize you I do not.” There was almost a melancholy about him when he admitted to not remembering her. She felt a pang of sadness but carefully released it into the force. Seven hundred years was a long time. Even Wookies, one of the longer lived species, only lived to be an average of four hundred years old, though Jedi Wookies were known to live to six hundred. It was no wonder he had forgotten her.

“That’s alright, Master Yoda. I don’t think we ever really crossed paths that much before. You were still a Knight then and were away on missions quite a bit. I was also found primarily in the halls of healing for my initiate years, before I was taken as a padawan by Master Paldrel.” She smiled.

“Speak with you, the Council wishes. But only if you are well. Questions, have we, about the Mandalorians and how you came to be here. A mystery, this is.” Oh, she remembered that style of speaking. It was nice to hear something familiar.

“Agree, do I, if allow it does Master Che.” The master’s ears perked up and it won her a small chuckle of amusement. Master Cher looked conflicted, as if she didn’t know whether to laugh as well or to scold her for being rude in some way. Master Yoda stalled her by turning to the chief healer for her verdict.

“She’s in perfect health besides some damage to her mental scape. As long as she takes it easy and doesn’t use the force too much she’s free to go. I’ll have someone speak with the quartermasters to find her a place to stay and some replacement robes.” Liera sighed in relief and sent a wave of gratitude toward the master healer. The female looked at her in surprise before she gave her a gentle smile. “Will you be leaving your things here? Or would you prefer to take them with you?” Liera looked over at the bag Shiona had gifted her and hesitated for a moment.

“I’d like to take if with me, if Master Yoda doesn’t object.” His green head moved back and forth, his ears flopping slightly.

“Take it, you may. Wait outside I shall.” With that he turned and went into the hall so that Liera might change back into her robes.

Attaching her lightsabers to her belt and picking up her bag she left the room and bowed to the small master. She was ready to face whatever they might throw at her.

[Jango]

Looking down at his comm he scowled again. It had been three whole weeks since Liera had been dropped off at the jedi temple and they had heard nothing since. Cole had brought up his concerns with Jaster, that maybe the jedi had taken her comm, while Shiona had started to take out her frustration on her training partners. Even some of the verde had asked him how she was doing and he’d had to tell them that he didn’t know.

It was worrying.

But Jaster had asked him to wait for her to make the first call, to let her get reacquainted with her home and grieve her father figure’s death.

The waiting was driving him nuts. He hadn’t wanted her to leave in the first place and now they hadn’t heard from her. It was suspicious, dammit! For all they knew they could have blocked their comm so she wouldn’t have contact with them. Even if Jaster had wrangled a promise from their Master of the Order that she’d be allowed to comm them whenever she wanted.

Sitting on his bed he bit out a small curse and hit the call button. He’d had enough waiting and he was really worried!

The comm rang.

Once.

Twice.

His heart beat in his chest with anticipation and fear.

“Jango?” Her voice was like a sweet bell and he felt a rush of relief flow through him. She’d answered!

“Lie’ika! We’ve been worried about you.” He growled before he could stop himself. “Why haven’t you commed?” There was a moment of silence on the other end.

“I’m so sorry, Jango. I was busy with my healing sessions and being tested by the Masters. Apparently when you’ve been declared dead a lot of your old assessments are declared invalid, although they keep them for record keeping purposes.” Jango’s brows rose.

“You- what? Dead!?” There was a quiet laugh on the other end of the call but it sounded almost… nervous. He let out a frustrated sigh. “What happened Lie’ika?” An even longer silence.

“I don’t think you’d believe me if I told you…” He scoffed.

“I’ll believe you, Lie’ika. You’re no liar.” She laughed again but this one sounded even more anxious. What had the jedi done to her?

“Jango, you asked for my birthday once and I only gave you the day, remember?” He blinked in confusion.

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“My birth year is 229 ARR.” He stopped dead, staring at the comm in confusion as he did some quick math and translated the number into the Mando calendar.

“What the shab?”

“That was my reaction too, minus the cursing.” Oops, he hadn’t meant to speak out loud.

Wait.

“You’re… you’re serious?” Silence. “How!?” He choked.

“We don’t know. They think it has something to do with a Force Nexus and the old temple I was visiting. Apparently that temple had a tradition of using the crystals of deceased jetiise in their murals, a way to keep their spirits alive and allow them to live on in the home they’d always loved. When the Nexus… I guess exploded would be the right word, when it exploded I was sent forward in time. Somehow.” Jango was speechless. How the hell did you even fathom that kind of thing? Being torn from everything you knew and loved. Hell, it’d happened to him but at least he had the Haat’ade.

Seven hundred years… things on Manda’yaim had changed so drastically since then…

“Jango? I’m so sorry.” Twitching he pushed his existential dread away and focused on the comm.

“For what? You obviously didn’t know before or you would have told us. I already told you that you’re not a liar, that I believe you.” Even if it was really shabla weird.

“No. For my ignorance… the Dral’han.” He froze. Of course she’d be trying to catch up with history. If he had been thrown into the future he’d want to know what happened to everyone he knew too.

“You didn’t know?” He asked carefully.

“No, it was after I’d… disappeared. But that’s no excuse for my ignorance. I realize now just how much animosity there was between the jetiise and the mando’ade. I’m even more grateful now that you all came to accept me so readily. That can’t have been easy for you.” He grit his teeth, wanting to grind them but forcing himself not to.

“We aren’t the mando’ade of old and you aren’t the one who harmed my people. There’s no debt between us, we’re friends aren’t we?”

“Of course we are, Jango. And I’m sorry to drop this on you suddenly. But there’s… not really any good way to tell someone you’ve traveled through time, is there?” He snorted.

“Not really. Do the jetiisse do this often?” She laughed and it sounded lighter than earlier. He counted that as a win.

“I’m the first recorded case. So there’s been a lot of visits to the healers and questions by the masters here. I’ve become a mystery to unravel.” There was a moment of hesitation. “I’ve asked to continue as a field medic and they’re discussing options right now. Once I’m done my mind healing sessions they said they’ll look for a master to complete my training. I’m a little nervous about it.” Jango hummed, contemplating how her current situation must feel.

Probably like when he’d lost his birth parents and had been taken in by Jaster.

“It’s going to feel weird at first. I don’t think being a jetii is going to change that.” If anything it might be even more strange. “You’ll probably call them the wrong name or expect them to do something you’re used to, only to have them do something completely different. But once you get to know them you’ll stop comparing them to your old buir and learn to rely on them.”

“Is that what happened with you and Jaster?” He wasn’t surprised she knew they weren’t blood related. It wasn’t a big deal to them as mando’ade.

“Yeah. I was only eight at the time so it was a pretty big change. But eventually I learned to respect and care for him as my buir.” She was quiet for a moment.

“Thank you, Jango. You’re very brave to share that with me. Not everyone can open up like that.” His face burned at the praise and he was so glad it wasn’t a holocall. “Oh! I have to go. Have a-”

“Wait! Do me a favor?” She stopped speaking for a moment.

“What do you need?”

“Call Cole and Shiona, they’re getting worried about you.” There was a small muttered curse in Mando’a on the other end of the call and he grinned.

“I will call them tomorrow during my rest period, promise. May we meet again, Jango.” His shoulders sagged. He wanted to ask her to stay on the line with him. But he knew she had responsibilities.

“Soon, I hope.” He joked instead. She laughed and it was a joyful sound.

The call ended.

Jango sat there for a time, thinking over everything he’d been told.

He had to tell Jaster. This was way too big to keep to himself.

[Jaster]

Letting out a large sigh he filed the last of the paperwork for the day and looked at his datapad for any messages. There were the usual suspects and he leaned back in his chair with a grimace. He didn’t really want to confront Cole or Shiona about their behavior. To them they’d just lost a child, even if she wasn’t there’s to lose. Although there was one silver lining in all of this, although he wasn’t sure if anyone else had noticed it yet.

Cole and Shiona had been spending more and more time together. It started with asking each other for updates at meals and slowly he started to notice them standing together during meetings. He’d never seen them speak to one another before Lie’ika came, not outside of combat or training at least. Knowing both of their pasts he hoped they’d be able to overcome whatever hang-ups they still had and got together. They were well matched, after all.

His comm rang and he glanced down at it.

“Hey Jan’ika.”

“Hey, buir. I just got off the comm with Liera.” From the slightly guilty tone in his voice he guessed that she hadn’t been the one to call. He let it slide for the moment.

“Oh? How is she.” If he knew then he could update Shiona and Cole so they’d stop pestering him to go back and ‘rescue’ her. She was with people who would take care of her, place she chose, he wasn’t going to forcibly remove her from a loving home.

“She said she’d been seeing healers for some mind thing and was being tested by the masters so they knew where she was skill wise.” Sounded about right. “Oh yeah and she’s from seven hundred years ago.” Jaster stopped, staring at the comm as if it were an alien creature that had suddenly perched on his wrist.

“What?” He croaked. Jango chuckled. “Don’t mess with your buir, Jan’ika.” He grumbled.

“I’m serious. Apparently the jetiise are studying her cause she’s the first time traveler they’ve ever met. Something to do with a bunch of lightsaber crystals and a force thing? She used a word I’m not familiar with.” Jaster hung his head. He’d been hoping to have a restful day. And his kid had just dropped a bomb on his already tired mind.

“What the shab?” Jango cracked up and started to laugh.

“That’s what I said!”

“How the shab am I going to tell Cole and Shiona?” He could practically hear the shrug in his kid’s voice.

“Hell if I know. Maybe start with telling them she promised to call tomorrow?” Jaster let out a heavy sigh. He needed a damn vacation.


Mando'a Translations;

Verde- Soldiers, warriors.
Buir- Parent, father.
Jetiise- Jedi plural.
Mando’ade- Mandalorians
Dral'han- The Annihilation, also called the Mandalorian Excision, was a preemptive attack on Mandalorian space by the Republic, led by the Jedi.

Chapter 11: Ignition (Part One)

[Cole]

Smiling as the holo connected he was gifted with the sight of a smiling girl, hair pinned back primly. “Still alive, Cole?” She asked, nose crinkling playfully. He chuckled.

“Still alive, ad’ika. And so is everyone else, thanks to yours truly.” Liera giggled and it eased the tight weight that had been sitting in his chest since their last call three weeks ago. “How have you been? Still working with the other jetiise medics?” Leaning back slightly the girl looked like she was trying desperately not to roll her eyes.

“Yeah, I think the Council of First Knowledge are still arguing over my test results. There have been objections raised about my suitability for field work due to my age and ‘lack of control’ with the force.” The girl looked dejectedly down at her lap, frowning.

“Ad’ika, the things you’ve been able to do have been nothing short of amazing, and we all know that you’re field ready.” He reassured her. Her expression brightened and Cole counted it as a victory.

“Thank you for saying so.” He waved away her thanks.

“I’m only speaking the truth, ad’ika. Although I’m not so sure about the control of the force thing. You’d think that putting someone back together with just your mind and a bit of stardust would count as exceptional control.” Liera snorted in amusement, shifting to get more comfortable.

“That’s not the problem.” She sighed. “I can’t lift the stones.” Cole waited for her to continue, expression carefully curious and non-judgmental.

“I don’t know what that means, ad’ika. You’ll have to explain further.” She frowned, nibbling on her bottom lip.

“Jetii have the ability to lift objects, even a toddler can do it. But I… I can’t. I could lift a person, no problem. Because people are alive and have a force signature. But stone? Metal? I just can’t do it.” She shook her head. “Back when I had a Master it was no big deal. Master Paldrel already knew that I had troubles and promised to help teach me. But now they’re wondering if I won’t just be a liability in the field.” Cole took a deep breath and let it out again.

“Do they think that normal people are a liability then?” Liera looked at him, head tilted slightly.

“I… don’t think so? At least, I don’t believe that non-force sensitives are a liability.”

“It’s my understanding that there are far more non-force sensitive sentients than force sensitive ones. Being able to lifts rocks or metal with your mind is an advantage, yes, but that doesn’t mean a normal person couldn’t lift rubble with their own two hands.” A relieved look came over her and he gave himself a mental pat on the back. “You’re a healer, ad’ika, you don’t need to be great at everything. Just saving lives is a gift all its own.”

“Tell that to the jetiise.” She said with a small grumble.

“Oh, I will. Just watch me.” Her nose crinkled in amusement. “What else have you been up to?” He asked, just wanting to hear her voice.

“Well, I sparred with Knight Drallig, he’s one of the combat instructors and is considered one of the best swordsmen in the Order. He said I had a solid grasp of Ataru but my Soresu could use some work.” Cole blinked and tried to remember what those styles of combat were but it was honestly eluding him.

“That would be the ‘flipping through the air’ and ‘efficient defense’ styles of sword combat, right?” Nearly jumping out of his skin he turned to see Shiona smirking at him before motioning him to shift over. With a look of annoyance he moved so that Liera could see both of the on the holo. In one smooth movement the woman placed a hand over the back of the couch and jumped over it, sitting down next to him as if it took no effort at all. She leaned over so she could get a better look at the holo of Liera and Cole felt his face turning red at their closeness.

“Still alive, Shiona?” The woman chuckled.

“Still alive and ready to fight, ad’ika.” The girl’s smile widened and he was glad to see them fall into an easy back and forth about combat training. Watching the two of them interact made him feel content in a way that he never had before. A feeling that had been growing since their shared trip to Keldabe. It was both comforting and unnerving in equal measure.

“I hate to cut this short but I have a lecture soon and I don’t want to be late. It’s on the other side of the temple and I still tend to get lost.” Cole smiled, a pang of longing in his chest.

“That’s alright, ad’ika, we can talk again soon. Yeah?” Her face lit up with a smile and she nodded in agreement.

“I have time next week I can set aside. I’ll send you a message first just in case you’re busy.”

“We’re never too busy to chat with you, ad’ika.” Shiona answered for him, glancing at him as if daring him to disagree. She needn’t have bothered.

“Until we meet again!” Said the girl he thought of as a daughter.

“Until we meet again, ad’ika. Take care of yourself.” With that she was gone. The blue of the holo winked out and left the room feeling dark from its absence.

“Stars, I want to adopt her.” Shiona muttered next to him.

“So do I.” Shiona turned to eye him up an down, eyes narrowed.

“Oh? Am I going to have to fight you for the honor?” With her full attention on him he felt his face heating once again. He shrugged.

“Who says we can’t both adopt her?” He joked. Dual custody of a child wasn’t uncommon, even if two adults who wanted to mentor a child weren’t interested in one another.

“I-you-what?” He blinked in confusion as her skin darkened in color across her face and her eyes widened.

“…what? We can both adopt her?” Her face darkened further and she suddenly stood up from the couch as if burned. Without another word she left the room.

Cole sat there wondering what he’d done to cause her to react so strangely before shaking his head and forgetting about it. There was no use thinking about it when he had work to do.

[Jaster]

It had been two long months since the last conversation he’d had with the girl who’d saved his life. Normally the girl waited until Jango called to speak with him, citing the fact that he was a busy man and how she didn’t want to disturb his work. She was a polite little thing, that was for certain. But instead of the bright smile he had become used to he was shocked to see a look of deep concern on her face.

“Ad’ika, what’s wrong? Don’t tell me the jetiise did something-?” Shaking her head she wrung her hands, looking over her shoulder as if worried someone would catch her.

“Mand’alor.” She said, and it made his heart sink to hear that kind of formality from her. “I have some questions about the Mando’ade.” He leaned forward on his chair, elbows on his knees.

“I’ll answer whatever questions you have, Lie’ika. But please, tell me what happened?” She stared at him for a moment, as if her force powers could sense whether he was lying or not all the way from Coruscant. The fact that she was even wavering made him worried that someone had filled her head with enough nonsense to doubt his sincerity.

“There is a jetii in with the medics right now. They… they aren’t sure whether or not he’s going to make it.” She looked down at her hands for a moment, frowning. “I did all I could but I’m not…” She took a deep breath and let it out again. “His partner was less injured and told the medics what happened. I was working so I overheard their conversation, I don’t even think they noticed I was in the room, all their focus was on their partner.”

“…what does this have to do with Mando’ade?” Jaster wasn’t sure he was going to like the answer.

“They said they were attacked by a group of Mando’ade.” His hands clenched into fists and he scowled.

“I’ve put a ban on that sort of thing, Lie’ika. No one is to hunt or attack the jetiise unless the jetiise attack them first. Even then I’ve ordered my people to use as many non-lethal skills as possible if it comes down to a fight. Whoever attacked the jetiise will be declared criminals and dealt with.” The girl’s shoulders relaxed slightly and she looked relieved. “What color was their armor? What symbols were they wearing? Anything that can help us catch the criminals would be helpful.”

“Their armor and flight-suit were black and the detailing was yellow, or possibly gold. Their helmets were… strange, and they had a claw-like symbol.” Jaster stiffened in his seat and had to bite back a string of curses. “I don’t remember anyone like that on your ship and I know that you aren’t someone who would go around attacking people randomly… but I also know that there is a lot of bad blood between the Order and the Mando’ade.” He could see that the very idea of the two groups fighting was distressing to her.

She was such a sweet child.

“The ones who wear that armor are a part of a group called Kyr’tsad, Death Watch. They are a radical terrorist group we’ve been trying to take down for years. But the Senate doesn’t recognize them as a threat because the Mandalore Sector isn’t a part of the Republic.” The girl remained quiet, listening to his words with eyes far too old for a child her age. “I should have thought of this before. If we’re going to build bridges between our people then the jetiise need to know that not all Mando’ade are neutral. Tell your superiors that Kyr’tsad is a threat to the jetiise.”

“I’ll tell them. But… I’m just a padawan. They may not listen to me. Perhaps you could talk to them? I’m sure they would take more notice if the warning came from you.” Jaster wanted to smile. Even after she had been returned home she was still trying to negotiate peace between their people.

“I’ll call your Master of the Order about it, jet’ika.” Finally she smiled at him.

“Thank you, Jaster. I am in your debt.” He smiled in return.

“It’s nothing, Lie’ika. There is no debt between friends. Now,” he said hoping to change the topic to something more pleasant, “what have you been learning? Made any friends?”

As she started to talk about everything that had happened since their last call Jaster sent a message off to Myles to warn everyone that Kyr’tsad was targeting jetiise, and to be on the lookout for possible retaliation. This kind of misunderstanding didn’t go away immediately but at least he could head it off by warning his people that the jetiise should be approached with an extra amount of caution until the situation could be cleared up.

[Jango]

Looking at his schedule he was surprised to realize it had been just over four months since Liera had left them. With her sending frequent updates and comm calls it almost felt like she was still around. Almost.

If anyone had asked him if he missed having her around he would have mentioned how it was nice to have a sparring partner who could keep up with him, or how she was invaluable as a medic. He kept the thoughts of her bright smile, pleasant voice, and delicate hands to himself. Or he tried to. His buir and Shiona were more than happy to tease him when given the chance and although Cole didn’t say much the amused look he always gave Jango when talking about Liera said it all.

Picking up the comm he shoved those thoughts aside as his friend’s face appeared in the holo. “Jan’ika!” The grin on his face widened into an actual smile.

“Hey, Lie’ika.” The girl leaned forward.

“Did you cut your hair?” He rolled his eyes and reached up to run his hand through the close cropped curls.

“Had to, it was getting in my eyes.” She hummed, head tilting this way and that as if trying to see it better. As she leaned to the left something slid over her shoulder and hung down her chest, the movement catching his attention. Seeing the long braid he sat up straighter. “Is that what I think it is?” He asked, motioning toward her right ear.

“What? Oh, right! I have news!” He chuckled at the eagerness in her voice.

“Lemme guess.” He said with a cheeky grin. She huffed at him in amusement, like he knew she would.

“Shush, you.” She said, pointing a finger at him in mock annoyance before her expression brightened again. “I’ve been assigned to a field jetii! His name if Brevan Tolwyn and specializes in bodyguarding missions.” Jango frowned slightly. There was something in her expression that almost seemed… strained.

“So what’s wrong with him then?” Her eyes widened and he could have sworn her cheeks darkened in color for a moment.

“Well, it’s not what I thought I’d be doing but… my master was a bit unconventional, even for my original time.” She said honestly. “Although Master Tolwyn is a bit… strict, when it comes to following orders to the letter, he is a well respected Master of Niman who has the skills to complete my training.” Jango raised an eyebrow at her and she pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. “It’s like you said before, Jan’ika- he’s not my old Master, and that will take some time to get used to.” Rather than reply he nodded in understanding.

“Okay, so this means you can leave the jetii’yaim now, right?” Her pleased expression was all the proof he needed. “So when are you going to come visit?” He joked, though his heart thudded in his chest at the very idea.

“I… don’t know. It depends on the missions we’re assigned. I know we have an escort mission coming up, something simple to see how well we work together. After that?” She shrugged. “It’s up to the Council.”

“Maybe I can convince Jas’buir to acquire himself a couple of jetii’cabure.” She giggled.

“Oh no, don’t give him ideas! The Council look harried enough whenever I mention his name.” Jango snorted.

Trust his buir to pester the jetiise enough that it would disturb their supposed serenity.

Leaning back he listened to Liera complain about some of the changes in the jetiise that she thought were particularly irksome. He hoped that she would be free to come back to Manda’yaim soon. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and make sure she was alright with his own eyes.

The moment the holo ended he let out a dejected sigh, wishing she had just stayed with them.

Chapter 11: Ignition (Part Two)

[Shiona]

The last six months had been hectic to say the least. Ever since her little warrior had gone back to the jetiise Shiona had felt a sense of loss that surprised even her. Cole, much to her surprise, had been her rock through the feelings of grief at losing a child. Even if that child was not truly hers, and the girl was still alive, she knew that it was highly unlikely they would ever see the girl again in person. Eventually Liera would be too busy, would stop calling, and would forget all about them.

During the first month Cole stayed by her side and shared in her near-grief. He hadn’t prodded her to talk about her feelings and he never overstayed his welcome. He was a balm to her aching soul. He gave her comfort without ever expecting anything in return. So when she finally realized that he had feelings for her, that he wanted to share the raising of a child with her, it had come as a complete surprise.

She honestly hadn’t handled it well.

Thankfully after a few days of confusion and avoiding the man she finally got up the courage to confront her own feelings and make the first move. The way the medic’s face had burned red as he stumbled and dropped the datapad he’d been holding had been as hilarious as it had been adorable.

Since then they had grown much closer. His things had been moved into her home and only Jaster had the guts to comment on it. Since it was to express his approval she let him off the hook for talking about her love life. Mand’alor or no, no one was allowed to talk about her choice in romantic partner.

There had been no real snags in their relationship so far. Cole already knew she was unable to bear children but with their shared investment in their not-quite-adopted jet’ika it was clear that adoption was an option with them.

The only real argument they’d had was over who should take whose clan name when they finally decided they wanted to say the vows and share the rest of their lives with one another. Shiona mentioned not caring about it but it had made Cole anxious, even angry. Which was odd for the usually mild mannered medic.

It took some work but after a particularly easygoing day she finally confronted him about it.

“Why won’t you let me take your name? Am I not worthy enough?”

“Cyar’ika…” He mumbled, looking away from her in shame. “You don’t want to take my name… you don’t want to be one of them.” She huffed and grabbed his face gently between her calloused hands. She forced him to look at her.

“All this time we’ve known each other I have respected your wish to use only your first name. I don’t want to bring up old hurts but… I don’t care who you used to be. Cyare, I care about who you are now.” She smiled. “You are who I want to spend the rest of my life with. We can’t have any secrets between us if we want this to work.” Cole swallowed hard as he grasped her wrists, as if he were drowning and she were his only salvation. He was no coward but she could feel his hands as they began to shake.

“…only for you, cyare.” He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and steeling himself. “My name isn’t Cole.” She blinked in mild surprise. “It’s Kal of House Mereel.” He took a shuddering breath and the words come out in a rush, as if he were desperate to get it over with. “Clan Vizsla.”

Shiona remained silent for a long moment, looking up at him as he closed his eyes as if in pain, no doubt waiting for rejection. She waited until he finally cracked open his eyes before she spoke again.

“I would still take your name. Maybe together we could bring honor to the name once more.” She stepped closer. “Regardless of who you are related to you chose differently. You chose us.” Tears spilled from the corners of his eyes. “But… if you really want, we can always go with mine.”

“Cole and Shiona of Clan Moru’teh, House Mereel.” He chuckled wetly. “That sounds a lot better in my opinion.” She smiled at him and rose on her toes to kiss the tears away.

“Then that is what we’ll do.”

---

The news had spread like wild fire amongst the Haat'ade. Both Jaster and Jango had come to express their congratulations and asked when they planned to speak the vows. “Whenever you can get our little jet’ika here to witness them.” Shiona had stated sweetly. Jaster had given her a look bordering between understanding and frustration.

“I’ll try.” It was all he could do and they both knew it.

Both Shiona and Cole knew that Lie’ika was on a mission and that there was a chance that calling her might cause an incident. So they decided to wait until she called them to tell her the good news.

The comm rang and Shiona rolled out of bed to grab it, making Cole look up at her with a disgruntled look. “It’s Lie’ika.” His sleepy eyes widened and he quickly slipped out of bed to throw on a tunic. Shiona was already dressed and sat down on the couch when he came up behind her to place his hands on her shoulders. She answered the call.

Her smile dropped when she took in the girl’s appearance. Her hair was disheveled and her face was smudged with something that might have been soot or blood. Her normally pristine tunics were a mess of stains and muck. “Sh-shiona…” She looked as if she was about to cry.

“Lie’ika! What happened?” Cole leaned over her, eyes narrowed as he tried to tell whether or not their pseudo-daughter was injured or not. The girl let out a small sob.

“Master Tolwyn is dead and no one at the Temple is responding to my calls. I don’t think they’re getting through at all!” There was movement behind her and the girl whipped around so fast it almost made Shiona dizzy. There was another voice, speaking with urgency, and Liera nodded. “I’ll be there in a moment. Get the children and the worst of the wounded out first. I’ll follow with the read guard.”

“Ad’ika, what the hell have you gotten yourself into?” Cole asked, voice carefully calm, even if she could feel his hands trembling against her skin. She reached up and placed a hand over his, grounding him.

“A mission gone wrong, and it’s all my f-fault.” She wiped furiously at her face. “I need help.” Cole stiffened and she looked up at him. His eyes had gone hard and she felt a small thrill go through her. It was rare that Cole’s anger matched her own in ferocity. But in that moment they were of the same mind.

“We’re coming ad’ika. Stay strong, we’ll be there soon.” The relieved and grateful look on her face made Shiona want to hurt someone.

“I’ve sent the coordinates and set up the beacon you gave me. We’ll be on the move, trying to keep ahead of the local army.” She looked behind her again when someone yelled. “I have to go, there are innocent people here who need my protection.” She looked at the two of them and smiled. “It’s good to see you getting along.”

“We have a lot to talk about when we see you in person, ad’ika, stay safe until then. Manda watch over you.” Their little girl nodded and the call ended. The two of them shared a look.

“I’ll comm Jaster, you get our things.” Cole nodded and headed back into their room, moving with purpose.

The comm connected and she heard the low growl of the Mand’alor on the other end.

“D’you know what time issit? Better be an emergency.” He grumbled. Shiona wasted no time.

“Liera called us, her mission went to hell and she’s on her own. She asked for back-up.” There was a long pause.

“I’ll wake Jango and throw a team together. Meet you at the hangar in an hour.” The call ended abruptly. Shiona took a moment to collect her thoughts.

Someone had tried to hurt her daughter.

The perpetrators were about to learn there was one undeniable truth in the galaxy; you do not mess with Mandalorians. There would be no mercy from her and, judging by the furious faces of the warriors that greeted them at the hangar, there would be none from any of them either.


Mando'a Translations;

Jetii'yaim- Jedi Home, the Coruscant Temple.
Jetii'cabure- Jedi Bodyguards
Cyar'ika- Sweetheart
Cyare- Beloved
Haat'ade- True Mandalorians

Chapter 12: Explosion (Part One)

-The mission she and her new master had been sent on was a simple one. At least- that’s what it was supposed to be. They were tasked with guarding the leaders of a planet known as Salvara from the sudden violent attacks made by a new group of terrorists.-

-It had all been a lie…-

Standing beside her master Liera bowed her head politely when the lord they were tasked with guarding walked past them and onto the shuttle. The man was named Hektor Bonivigh and he ruled the south-western sector of the planet. From the moment she met him she knew she disliked him immensely. His spirit was a riot of colors she could only describe as dingy and hard to look at.

“Master?” The elder man turned to look down at her and she felt his attention through their newly made bond. On his end he remained partially closed off, distant. But Liera had always created strong bonds, whether she wanted to or not. She could feel his mild annoyance with her and had to fight not to duck her head in defeat.

“Yes, Padawan?” She bit her tongue to hold back a flinch of discomfort.

It never sounded the same when Master Tolwyn said it. There was no pride or affection in his voice, no warmth at all.

“I was wondering if there was more information on the planet we’re going to? Any recent reports about the state of things? Lord Bonivigh briefly mentioned that there was a sickness going around recently.” If she knew more about the illness she could help protect them and the lord.

“Salvara is a very private planet, they do not often seek help outside their own system. Perhaps you might speak with the lord’s aides? I’m certain they will have information.”

She smiled and bowed her head. “Yes, Master. I’ll wait until they have a free moment to speak with them. I wouldn’t want to disturb them during their duties.” There was a mild feeling of acknowledgment and something faint that may have been acceptance before the man turned and walked away.

Liera sighed to herself and tried not to let his almost cold demeanor get to her. Their bond and relationship as teacher and student was still new and her grief from losing everyone she had known was still quite strong. Even if she had accepted that everyone returns to the great river of the force eventually that didn’t mean she missed everyone she had lost any less.

Standing alone in the hall of the diplomatic ship she had the sudden strong urge to call Jango and talk with him about all this. He was a good listener and even if it took him a while to find the words he always knew what to say to help cheer her up. But… she knew she couldn’t. Her master had made her promise that she wouldn’t comm ‘the Mandalorians’ until after their duty was complete. Just in case it jeopardized the mission.

Liera bowed to Master Tolwyn’s greater experience and kept her special comm unit carefully hidden in a pouch on her belt.

-She’d been an idiot. She could see that her new Master had flaws… but she’d been so focused on trying to be a good Jedi she had ignored her instincts.-

Liera didn’t learn anything from the lord’s aides during the journey. They were all very closed lipped and after her initial questioning she had decided not to bring the topic up again. They were all so scared but she had no idea why. Was it the sickness? Did they have some kind of superstition about such things?

She didn’t have enough information. So she put it on the back burner for the time being and performed her duties as instructed. She spent the rest of her time meditating and trying to lift the metal orbs she had been given to practice her telekinesis on.

-She knew something was wrong immediately. Her senses crawled and the air felt stifled with fear.-

The night they arrived they were invited to a banquet being held in Lord Bonivigh’s honor. Liera sat next to her master, although she could feel the displeasure from their hosts as she did so.

“I insist that my padawan remain with me for the time being. She is a student in my care.” Her shoulders relaxed and she sent along her gratitude. She wasn’t the most diplomatic of Jedi and didn’t want to cause a scene if she was parted from her new master.

“A young woman should not be sitting this far up the table.” One of the nobles stated with disdain. “She should be with the other ladies, as is proper.”

“We are Jedi first, before we are anything else. Please treat my padawan as you would any other Jedi.” Master Tolwyn’s words silenced any other arguments but Liera knew that the nobles were not pleased.

-They had wanted to separate them from the very beginning. All for the sake of their own sense of propriety… their prejudice and pride.-

Later then they meditated alone Liera agreed to sit with the young ladies at any further meals. “Maybe I can get information about current events from them.” After all- teenage girls loved to gossip. Especially when there was someone younger around they could take under their wing.

“A good idea, padawan. While you’re at it keep an eye on the servants. There have already been threats from inside the manor aimed at the lord and the other nobles.”

-Of course the threats had come from inside the manor. In hindsight it was all so clear now.-

The young ladies were more than welcoming of her when she sat at their table for the next meal. They had all manner of questions about the Jedi and in return for answering she was given snippets of information in return.

“You practice medicine? At your age?” Lady Sylthea asked with wide eyes.

“I do. I’ve been studying for four years now. I’m no surgeon, but I do know a lot about first aid and force healing.” The young ladies grew nervous suddenly, glancing towards the head of the table where their fathers and Master Tolwyn were speaking in hushed tones.

“What do you know about… illness?” Lady Enise asked, hiding her lips behind her delicate drinking glass.

“Enise!” Lady Kuini hissed under her breath, glancing at the servants standing nearby with carefully blank faces.

“I know a lot about it.” Liera said calmly, keeping her voice low. “I’ve helped other Jedi on planets that were plagued with illness.” She waited a moment, making sure that the nobles weren’t paying them any attention before speaking again. “Is there an illness going around? If there is anything I can do to help I will do all I can. After all; I am a Jedi.”

The young ladies dithered for a moment before Lady Enise spoke up again.

“There is an illness on this planet, and it is affecting both the populace and our livestock. But the nobles… you need only look at the nearest village to see all that is happening here.” The young woman bit her tongue, gently shaking her head.

Liera knew she’d get nothing else from her. Or the others.

Turning to Lady Kuini she complimented the lovely shade of her hair accessory and the topic quickly changed to the most recent trends in fashion.

-It was obvious they were afraid, and they had every reason to be.-

Liera left the next day on a ‘scouting mission’ for her Master. It was false, of course, but what the nobles didn’t know couldn’t hurt them.

She traveled to the nearby village and what she found there made her stomach churn.

The livestock wasn’t just ill, they were dead. So were the fields.

Half of the village was sick, a third of those were just well enough to continue taking care of others who were ill.

Liera spent an entire afternoon aiding the villagers and using the force to heal their sick doctors.

She was heralded as a hero, although she told them it was only her duty as a Jedi.

“The nobles took everything when people started to fall ill.” The village headman told her, anger and grief warring within him. “All of the healthy livestock and the last of the good produce from the field. We were struck with this plague and a famine all at once.” The man went quiet. “I lost my two sons and my wife to this illness. Now my people starve while the nobles gorge themselves in their sheltered houses.”

-Liera had always been a shield for the downtrodden, the hurt, the sick. This time was no different.-

“Master this is wrong!” Although they had only been together for two months Liera thought she and her master had come to respect each other as teacher and student. That the man would listen to her concerns. “We should be helping the villagers and taking the nobles into custody!”

The treatment of the people by the nobles was absolutely barbaric to her, and the force agreed.

-But her concerns fell on deaf ears.-

“We have our mission, padawan. Handed down to us by the Council on behalf of the Senate. Do not let your emotions rule you.” Liera wanted to yell but she kept herself calm and released her frustration into the force. No good would come of her panicking or lashing out.

“I can’t stand by and do nothing while innocent people die.” She stated calmly, feeling the force as it warmed around her.

This felt right.

“We have our orders.” Came the stubborn reply.

“Is that all the Jedi are now? Orders?” Her eyes bore into him but all she felt down the bond was a solid wall of immovable conviction. “I’m going to the village, master.”

The man let out a sigh. “No, you are not. You will stay in this room until I deem you acceptably contrite for your behavior. I took you on because you are in need of discipline. I can see now that you are unruly, ruled by emotion rather than calm logic. You have little self control and speaking with those Mandalorians has only clouded your mind further.” The man stood and stared down at her.

His disappointment cut deeper than it should have.

“If you leave this room you will suffer the consequences. Do not test me, padawan.” And with that he was gone.

Off to speak with the nobles and guard the lord.

-Maybe if she’d listened… if she had stayed… Master Tolwyn would still be alive.-

Chapter 12: Explosion (Part Two)

She closed off their bond as much as possible that day, choosing to meditate on the force.

By the time night came around her master’s side of the bond went cold, his focus squarely elsewhere.

Liera snuck out of her room, down the hall, and out through a balcony. To someone with the force who loved Ataru as much as she did the five story drop to the ground was nothing.

She made her way to the village and was welcomed with open arms.

-They warn you every step of the way, how it feels to have a bond suddenly break. But it can never truly prepare you.-

It happened suddenly. One minute the bond with her master is still there and the next- there is a feeling like a white hot poker in her chest as a piece of her soul is torn open and left bleeding. She gasped and fell to the ground, crumpling like wet paper.

Four hours later the army arrived. They demanded that the ‘terrorist leaders’ show themselves or else they would attack.

They barely escape with their lives.

-She was out of her depth and drowning. Unable to see the ocean floor in the midst of the raging storm.-

She tried to call the Temple but her comm wasn’t designed for long range communication. Master Tolwyn had kept the official comm for the mission with him on his belt. Even when the calls did manage to finally connect- no one answered.

Pulling out the second comm she kept on her at all times she took a deep breath and hit the call button.

She had been calm so far, acting as a defender and a medic as best she could while they all escaped from the army. But the moment she saw Shiona and Cole’s faces her calm broke.

“Sh-Shiona…”

“Lie’ika! What happened?”

Liera let out a small sob. “Master Tolwyn is dead and no one at the Temple is responding to my calls. I don’t think they’re getting through at all!” A sudden flare of emotion and movement behind her startled her and she whirled around, her other hand going to her lightsaber.

“Our scouts spotted some of the soldiers. They’ve spread out and are searching separately.” It was Yhom, the son of one of the rebel leaders.

“I’ll be there in a moment. Get the children and the worst of the wounded out first. I’ll follow with the rear guard.” The man nodded and hurried to do as she said.

“Ad’ika, what the hell have you gotten yourself into?” Cole asked her, voice gentle and calm.

“A mission gone wrong, and it’s all my f-fault.” If only she’d listened to Master Tolwyn, been a better padawan, maybe then… “I need help.” She admitted, looking down at her boots.

“We’re coming ad’ika. Stay strong, we’ll be there soon.” She smiled in relief.

“I’ve sent the coordinates and set up the beacon you gave me. We’ll be on the move, trying to keep ahead of the local army.” She looked behind her again when someone yelled. “I have to go, there are innocent people here who need my protection.” She looked at the two of them and smiled. “It’s good to see you getting along.” She teased gently.

“We have a lot to talk about when we see you in person, ad’ika, stay safe until then. Manda watch over you.” Liera nodded in understanding and cut the comm.

She had innocent lives to protect. But she had faith in the force and faith in her friends.

-Not everything had been lost. And she was never alone as long as she had the Force.-

Eight hours of hiding from the army and Liera is running on fumes. She had never been particularly strong or durable but her control over the living force allowed her to go a little longer before an inevitable collapse. She could feel the force exhaustion nipping at her heels and worried what would happen when she finally succumbed to unconsciousness.

The sound of ships overhead scared the rebels. But to Liera it was the sound of hope.

It took some quick explanations but the rebels had come to trust her at her word. So when she told them that the Mandalorians were there to help- they believed her.

Seeing Jaster in action was a sight to behold. He wore command like a favored cloak and walked like a man with confidence in his own skills. He spoke with conviction and  trusted his comrades to watch his back.

The moment they saw her both Cole and Shiona ran to her, gathering her up between them and hugging the daylights out of her.

“Ad’ika! Are you alright? Whose blood is that?” She smiled weakly in the face of Shiona’s questions as Cole pulled out a diagnostic scanner and quickly checked her health.

“I’m probably going to pass out soon.” Her hands were trembling, so was the rest of her. “Please.” She begged, voice hoarse. “Please help these people.”

Jaster stood behind Cole and Shiona, helmet off and kind eyes watching them. “We’ll help you, jet’ika. But we do this my way.” He stated firmly.

She smiled. “Of course, Alor.”

-She should have asked what that meant. Although she didn’t regret what Jaster had done, it had been out of her hands at that point, she did regret the loss of life.-

By the time she woke up from her force exhausted sleep there had been a regime change on Salvara and they were well on their way back to Mandalore.

She didn’t get the whole story but apparently the majority of the army defected. The force that had been chasing them was made up of those who were fanatically loyal to the nobles. Jaster and his warriors had rallied all the rebels and helped to trounce the loyalists, with help from the army defectors.

-She had slept for almost three days, had worried about five years off of Cole’s life.-

Waking up to Jango sleeping next to her in a chair, his fingers entwined with hers, she relaxed into the warmth of his steadfast spirit. The boy stirred and blinked bleary amber eyes at her before snapping awake.

“Lie’ika! I-we were worried about you!” She squeezed his fingers in response.

“I’m so glad you’re here.” She said quietly, still feeling drained.

Getting out of his chair he let go of her hand and climbed onto the bed next to her. Carefully he put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side, face flushed slightly in embarrassment. It was a comforting gesture and she leaned into him with a tired sigh.

“What happened while I was asleep?” She inquired.

“The Jetiise have been trying to call for the last two days.” He admitted sourly. “Buir found your teacher’s comm and answered them.” There was a brief feeling of satisfaction around him. “Buir told them he’d call them back once he was finished cleaning up the mess.” Liera winced and looked down at her lap.

Jango’s eyes narrowed.

“This isn’t your fault.” He said quietly. “Sometimes jobs just go sideways.”

She didn’t respond. Couldn’t quite bring herself to argue.

Jango let out a small growl of frustration that startled her into looking up. His face was close to hers now, eyes piercing. “It wasn’t your fault.” He said, more firmly this time. “Thinking about what ifs doesn’t bring people back.” She swallowed hard at the flash of old pain. “Lie’ika… I’m just glad you’re okay.” He admitted quietly as he leaned closer. She blinked in surprise when his forehead gently pressed against hers.

It was a multi-layered gesture, she’d learned, and it was only reserved for those someone trusted. Close friends or family and married or romantic partners.

Closing her eyes she leaned into his gratitude, his joy at seeing her alive and well, and let the tears fall.

-She should have known that there would be consequences. She’d gone behind her new master’s back and now he was dead.-

When Cole deemed her well enough he brought her to Jaster’s office. She fidgeted and bit her bottom lip as the man watched her quietly for a moment. “I’m happy to see you well, Lie’ika.” He motioned toward the chair across from him and she sat down.

“Thank you, Alor.” The words almost got stuck in her throat. “For coming to my rescue, for… everything.” She hoped that her stilted words conveyed her gratitude, even if it was only a fraction of what she felt.

“You’re one of us, Lie’ika. Not only because I owe you a life-debt, but because you are mandokarla. Cole and Shiona consider you their ad, and any buire worth their armor would move mountains for their ade.” She felt heat color her cheeks as she ducked her head, pleased in a way she couldn’t explain that two people she respected so much considered her family.

“I’m glad to see them so happy.” She admitted easily. “I hope I can attend their wedding but I’m not sure what the Council will say…”

“Speaking of the Jetiise, they’ve been wanting to speak with you. I told them you were recovering and that I would call as soon as you were feeling better.” He eyed her critically. “Cole said you were feeling better?”

“I still get tired easily, but I’m almost better. I channeled too much of the force, which can make you sick if you go too far.” She was lucky that she knew how to put herself into a healing trance it had stopped the worst of her symptoms from developing. “I’m okay to talk with the Council now.”

“If you’re sure, jet’ika. But I insist on being here for the discussion.”

She bowed to his authority on the matter.

-She never thought that her old life and her new one would clash so terribly.-

After Jaster called and they were connected to the Council she quickly bowed to the Masters before her.

The questioning went on for two hours, with Jaster stepping in to fill in what information she didn’t know. The picture it painted wasn’t a good one and the Council looked torn. But as she admitted to disobeying her new master and going to the village to heal the sick a few of the masters became agitated.

“If you had listened to your master and remained where you were Master Tolwyn might still be alive.” It was so close to her own guilt ridden thoughts that she couldn’t help but to flinch at the words.

“The force was practically crying with pain, Masters, I had to do something!” One of them scoffed.

“A convenient excuse, is it not?” There was some agreement from the others, though she was happy to note that the wookie and the female councilor of Yoda’s species both looked worried. “You were given a direct order on a mission and you willfully disobeyed. Now one of our best is dead and our standing with the Senate is in jeopardy.”

“Enough, Master Drycssal.” She turned her attention to the Master of the Order, whose expression was carefully blank. “Once you return to the Temple you will be reassigned to the Halls of Healing. You will be stationed there for the foreseeable future.”

Liera stared at them for a long moment, taking in their conflicted expressions. Not one of them had truly disagreed with Master Drycssal, though Master Rubrikal had stopped his tirade short.

It all came back to the Senate and that revelation made her stomach clench as her instincts screamed that this was wrong.

This was not the Order she had known. Not the people she loved.

Her heart beat in her chest like a fluttering bird as she lifted her chin stubbornly. “No.”

A tense silence filled the comm room for what felt like an eternity before one of the masters finally spoke.

“I beg your pardon, Padawan?”

“If the Jedi are so beholden to the Senate that they won’t even consider compassion over success then I don’t want to be a part of this Order anymore.” There were shocked looks on the faces of the council members and she could feel Jaster’s surprise behind her. “Consider this my resignation.” She took a deep breath and bowed deeply. “May the force be with you, Masters.”

Before she could lose her nerve she turned and ran out of the room, refusing to look back.

Any Jedi who spends too much time outside the echo chamber of the Temple soon finds the Jedi Code and the orders strictures and hierarchies fail in the face of reality. The call to compassion is at odds with the demand for obedience...though without the structure of the Order you would have a chaos of Jedi running around probably at cross purposes. Essentially its left to each individual Jedi to try and reconcile the competing demands that drag them in different directions, the majority seem to fall in line with the need for 'Order'...but a few especially those with more lived experience outside the order like Liera here break away. 

This was always what the order was (perhaps to a lesser degree in the past), even before her time skip, she just needed the experience with the Mandos to see it.  Good job, Chapter 12 is really a highlight in bringing a lot of concepts together in a compact and expressive package.