Danse Macabre/Part 7

Tirien and Narasi stood alongside the Commandant of Anaxes Citadel, the Senator of Anaxes, a Bith Jedi Knight named Dijir F'rat, and a handful of others as six harnessed keffis drew a carriage through the Citadel's gate and into the parade grounds. Narasi bounced on her heels until Tirien whispered, "Calm, Narasi. He'll be here in a few minutes."

Narasi just nodded, beaming and willingly herself to stand still and look up at the sky whence the Chancellor's shuttle would descend until the clatter of claws drew her attention. Two dozen Republic soldiers mounted on keffis of their own escorted a carriage the better part of a kilometer from the gate to the dais, where more formed troops stood ready to open the door. Narasi didn't recognized the first two Humans who exited, though their ornate dress told her they were important enough that she probably should. But the third man was more familiar, and as the trio surveyed their reception, the balding Human grinned.

"Tirien Kal-Di!" he called, making his way up the stairs to shake hands. "Great to see you again."

"And you, Senator Iltek. I hope Taanab is recovering well?"

"We're hardy people, Master Jedi; we don't break easily. Most of the refugees have been returned to their homes." His eyes shifted to Narasi; two years ago he had hesitated, but today he shook her hand at once with a warm smile. "And Narasi Rican. You're becoming quite the legend yourself!"

"I have a good teacher," Narasi said. Iltek beamed, though Tirien retained his disciplined expression. "Is your arm okay?"

Iltek rolled his left arm as if winding up to pitch a scramball. "Good as new. I'm a hardy people as well."

Narasi grinned. "Oh, I haven't seen you since! Thanks for the ship!"

Iltek laughed good-naturedly. "I'm glad it's been useful to you. It was just gathering dust in my father's farm, I hear you've put it to better use."

"It's saved our lives a bunch of times," Narasi assured him.

"I'm glad," Iltek repeated, then laid a hand on each of their shoulders with a more serious look. "I owe you both my life, and my homeworld's freedom too; it was the least I could do."

"We're Jedi, Senator," Tirien said. "You don't owe us a thing."

Iltek smiled, squeezed their shoulders, then went to shake hands with the Commandant while another, much younger man walked over. Blond hair swept back to his collar, but he had dark eyes; Narasi was struck by the contrast in his fine features. Tirien bowed; Narasi was distracted enough that by the time she had copied him, he had already said, "Your Highness."

"Jedi Kal-Di, isn't it?" he asked. "And Narasi Rican?"

"That's me…uh, Your Highness."

"Narasi, this is Prince Taylo Organa of Alderaan," Tirien explained.

"Ooooh." Narasi studied him; those soulful eyes tied her tongue around itself. "Um…are you the senator?"

Prince Taylo sighed. "Junior Representative, I'm afraid. Jerex Antilles has the Senate seat at the moment.  My uncle, the king, thought…well, it's Alderaanian politics, it'd bore you."

Narasi privately thought Tirien would happily dive into the subject given half a chance, so she took the initiative to smile and say, "Well, it's good to meet you anyway! Are you staying for the ball, Your Highness?"

"I am. I enjoy a good calenada now and then; one hopes the orchestra is up to the challenge."

Tirien hadn't added that one to Narasi's repertoire; she scrambled for something on point. "I'm learning waltz?"

"Are you indeed? Alderaanians invented the waltz, you know; you shall have to save me a dance." Narasi's heart skipped once as Prince Taylo smiled, but he continued, "Perhaps there might be a bit less politicking and wheeling and dealing amongst our military elite…although I have a dreadful suspicion that smacks more of naïveté than reality."

Narasi wasn't sure what the right answer was this time, but Tirien said, "Anaxes has its own ancient families, entrenched enough to be a military aristocracy of a sort."

Prince Taylo's smile turned wry. "Just so. For all your warrior legend, Master Jedi, you'd make more than a fair politician; I'll have to remember that."

He chuckled and moved on. Narasi followed him with her eyes, unsure what to make of him, but Tirien spared her the need. Touching her shoulder until she followed his gaze to the third Human dignitary, he whispered, "Khofin of Knylenn, from Kuat. He's the First Secretary to the Chancellor."

The man was older than Tirien or Prince Taylo, though younger than Senator Iltek and probably the most handsome of all of them. His powerful build suggested great strength, but there was no sense of either brutishness or military gallantry in his fine, aristocratic features. Where Senator Iltek's earth tone robes might almost have let him pass for a Jedi, and Prince Taylo favored cream and pale blue like a bright spring sky, the Chancellor's Aide had gone for vibrant green layered with gold brocade and a livery collar of rubies in gold links. His hair was carefully tucked up into his shenyi hat, the tails draped back behind his shoulders. He made Narasi feel underdressed, even though she was wearing her Jedi robes, which was more than she could say for her master; the sun shone down on the parade grounds, and so Tirien had foregone his robe. Narasi counted it as a win that he hadn't rolled up his sleeves.

Khofin of Knylenn took his time speaking to the Commandant and Senator Iltek, but Tirien waited him out, and eventually the Human drifted over. He raised one hand as if he meant to offer it, but as his gaze drifted from Tirien to Narasi and back, he casually turned his palm back in to clasp it with his other hand. Narasi had to admit it was smoothly done, but the remnants of her smile that had lingered in Prince Taylo's wake faded.

Hands still clasped at his abdomen, the Kuati bowed from the neck. "Master Jedi."

"First Secretary," Tirien said; he nodded in return, but Narasi knew him well enough to catch the way his respectful tone had cooled. "Welcome to Anaxes."

"Thank you. It was rather a long way around by keffi, but I suppose sacrifices must be made."

Narasi resisted the urge to snort until she remembered she had complained about it too; it was embarrassing, in retrospect. Tirien overlooked her internal squirm and the First Secretary's complaining to say, "This is my Padawan, Narasi."

"It's nice to meet you, sir."

He looked down at her, and Narasi couldn't fault his composure; there wasn't even a tic as he said, "Just so, Padawan." Returning his gaze to Tirien, he asked, "I've just spoken with Commandant Wermis about the preparations for the Chancellor's arrival; I trust security is in order?"

"It is," Tirien answered. They had gone over it and over it, Tirien forcing her to focus as the days went by and she grew more excited to meet the Chancellor at last. Several of the other Knights were still working out the last details, but Tirien had come along with the reception party—largely to humor her, Narasi thought.

"Splendid. It's vital that the Republic project strength, here even more than in most places." He glanced skyward. "Speaking of which, the Chancellor should be arriving soon. Anaxes was understanding enough to grant his shuttle permission to land here on the parade grounds; an ideal location for a holo-op, don't you agree?"

Tirien studied the austere surroundings, then looked at Narasi. She realized after a moment that he wanted her to speak, so she scrambled for something to say. "Uh…it's kinda…well, kinda grim, you know? Not exactly bright and inspiring."

"These graduation banners are about as festive as the parade grounds ever get, or so I'm told," Tirien agreed. A holoprojector stood on either side of the dais; on graduation day, Narasi was given to understand, they would project the emblem and motto of the ensign class and the graduate officer course.

"True enough, but those who insist on glitter and glamor have their fill from His Excellency's social program on Coruscant," Khofin replied. "Showing his connection to one of the bedrocks of the Republic might be of greater appeal to an altogether different element of the population."

Tirien looked thoughtful; Narasi imagined he had caught some deeper meaning than she realized, but all he said was, "We'll endeavor to make ourselves look presentable."

Khofin of Knylenn looked at Narasi, then back to Tirien; he might have been evaluating what they were wearing for its aesthetic quality. Narasi almost wondered whether she should have teased her master more about the robe…but even as she thought of him, she felt his touch on her mind, the way he prodded her when he wanted her to work harder. She reached into the Force and felt something a little off in the Human's mind.

"Too large a crowd will draw away from the Chancellor himself," the Kuati fretted. "Probably best if it's just the Knights."

Narasi's jaw tightened; Dijir F'rat did not have a Padawan, and none of the other Knights had joined them. Tirien said coolly, "I don't envy you the task of explaining to the Commandant that he shouldn't be in the holo."

Khofin gave a chuckle that didn't reach his eyes. "Well, of course he should be. But Commandant Wermis is a distinguished warrior, whereas Padawans aren't yet full Jedi.  And yourself, Master Jedi—you're a hero of the Republic.  A certain image—"

"Looking for heroes of the Republic?" Senator Iltek asked; he had apparently caught only the end of the conversation, because he still wore a jovial smile. "Look no further than these two!"

Khofin's smile was a little more strained. "We all celebrate the Jedi efforts to shield Taanab, Glavial, none more than the Chancellor. But I feel the image would be better with just the Knights; it's a matter of optics, you understand."

Narasi understood all too well, and a look showed her Senator Iltek did too; he said nothing else, but he was not smiling anymore either. Tirien, however, had narrowed his yellow eyes. "First Secretary—"

"Actually, Master…" Narasi interrupted; she had sensed the faintest flickers of the blizzard as the ice crept into Tirien's tone, and she wasn't sure what would happen if a Jedi Knight got into an argument with the Chancellor's right hand man. They all looked at her, and she faked a sheepish smile. "Sorry. But maybe it'd be best if I check security on the galleries?  I can watch the shuttle come in and…make sure everything's okay up top."

"I commend your attention to duty, Padawan," Khofin of Knylenn said with a gracious smile and another bow from the neck, but Tirien didn't so much as look at him. He glanced once at the roof covering over the highest of the observation galleries, and Narasi thought from the way he half-frowned for a second that he might be persuaded by her logic even if it was partly a cover. But when he looked back at her, she sensed more than she saw enough protectiveness that he would fight it out with the First Secretary anyway.

"Da eniki, Lorda," Narasi promised; It's okay, Master. She had guessed that the aristocratic Khofin wouldn't have lowered himself to learning the Rim's lingua franca, and she was rewarded with the Kuati's look of suspicion and puzzlement. Her smile was tight, but she tried to keep her disappointment inside, knowing Tirien would sense it if she didn't. "Ee…ee no copeesah doa."

Senator Iltek stared at her, and well he might, for the last meant But I won't charge you for this. But though his face stayed hard and grave, a hint of warmth finally melted some of the ice in Tirien's eyes. In Huttese, a language with no words for 'thank you', it was the closest they had found to an expression of gratitude.

"Forza gee'chu, Narasi." May the Force be with you, Narasi.

"An peetch gee'chu, Lorda."

Narasi bowed and turned away, jogging past the towering stelae that formed a wall of monuments on one side of the parade ground close to the dais. She wove around formations of soldiers and junior naval officers being marched out to the parade ground for the Chancellor's arrival—she had learned the hard way not to run through a formation after a company's first sergeant had taken her to task, Jedi or not, and Tirien had let it go on for some time before finally intervening. There were turbolifts inside the galleries, but she took the stairs; it was a good workout, and she needed the time to process her emotions. She couldn't help someone else deal if she wasn't dealing herself…

Two hundred meters up Narasi started to regret her athletic enthusiasm, but she pushed on, huffing and puffing when she finally climbed through an open hatch onto the roof. It was actually cooler here, hundreds of meters up and above the windbreak of the Citadel's walls. The roof covering the highest of the observation galleries had a gentle slope, but even with the wind Narasi moved with surefooted grace; two years of training under a Makashi expert and more than one disastrous instance of tripping over her own feet during that training had taught her the value of balance.

Lying on her back, her robe pooled under her head like a pillow and her flowing blonde hair spilled out in a corona around her face, Kenza might have been a model for eye masks, except she had hers tucked through her belt, exposing her hollow eye sockets. She had rolled her sleeves, and with one knee bent up toward the sky, she looked like she was trying to deepen her tan; the idea made Narasi chuckle.

"Hey you," Kenza said, smiling at her approach.

She reached for the mask tucked through her belt, but Narasi said, "Don't…you don't have to do that."

Kenza cocked her head to one side; Narasi couldn't decide whether the expression was more alien with the mask on or off. "It doesn't weird you out?"

"No, it totally does," Narasi said; with anyone else she would have found the words hurtful, but Kenza laughed. "But you don't have to do that just for me. Just…be you, y'know?"

Kenza considered it, then left the mask on her belt. "Thanks. I wear it so much it's as much a part of me as my tunic, but once in a while it's nice to feel the breeze on my face."

She brushed her fingertips across the skin where eyes should've been; Narasi caught herself wondering how much the skin would bend in if Kenza poked it. She sat down beside the Miraluka Knight, looking at the parade ground far, far below.

"The Chancellor's coming," Kenza commented.

"Yeah, I know."

"No, I mean coming now. His shuttle's through the atmosphere."

Narasi looked up, squinting and shielding her eyes with one hand; in the narrow window that wasn't filled with blinding sunlight, she thought she could see flickers of reflection. "How can you tell?"

"Miraluka have telescopic Force Sight, didn't I tell you that? It's like a built-in 'zoom and enhance'." Kenza tapped her eye sockets indicatively; Narasi watched the taut flesh bounce just a little. Kenza held her look of casual superiority for just moment, then laughed. "Just kidding. Nah, I've met Master Phnyong a bunch of times, I can feel his presence.  Stretch out with your feelings, you probably can too."

Closing her eyes, as much to get the sun out of them as to help focus, Narasi reached out with the Force. She tried to look past Kenza's immediate presence; she felt a mental ping from Tirien and gave him an acknowledgment, but kept reaching. At the far reaches of her senses, when she had gritted her teeth and clenched her fists in effort, she felt a faint register of the Force; the connection actually got easier as she tried to hold it, and she realized he was coming closer.

Opening her eyes with a gasp, Narasi panted, "Yeah…he's coming."

Kenza laughed. "It's easier when you know him better." She cocked her head sideways again. "Speaking of which, why aren't you down there with Tirien? I figured you'd be front and center."

Narasi had momentarily forgotten, but the question brought her annoyance back with a vengeance. "The Chancellor's First Secretary thought it would be bad optics."

"Khofin of whatever?"

"Yeah."

Kenza nodded. "Hate that guy."

Narasi raised her eyebrows. "Um…are we allowed to hate people?"

Kenza smirked ruefully. "Okay, fine, I…feel his concern with appearances and political theater obstructs the natural flow of the Force and weakens what should be the bonds between all lives that blah blah say when… I summarized."

Narasi chuckled. "Sorry."

"Nah, I gotta watch that stuff," Kenza admitted. "It was a fair catch."

"Jedi Consular," Narasi said, gesturing to the parade ground below.

Kenza looked up once—the first, faint repulsor hum was audible now—then followed Narasi's pointed finger. "He agree about the 'optics'?"

Narasi half-smiled. "No, he, uh…well, I volunteered to come up here, let's put it that way."

"Because he would've gone to the mat with the Chancellor's optics consultant otherwise?" When Narasi nodded, Kenza gave her a harder smile than usual. "Yeah, that sounds more like I expected. He's a really good guy, your master."

"Yeah…" Narasi agreed, but something in Kenza's voice drew her attention. "And not just because he's got my back…?"

Kenza looked skyward again, and her smile faded; seeing her sad made Narasi sad too. "He's come to talk to me the last couple days. Told me I shouldn't blame myself."

"You shouldn't!" Narasi agreed. She hadn't had a moment alone with Kenza since the Pols Anaxes Police had found what was left of Antifol's body, and she was determined not to waste this one. "You couldn't have known—"

"You pointed it out yourself, Narasi," Kenza noted. "It was a gamble. I gambled with a man's life…and I lost.  We all lost.  I should've stayed with him, plain and simple."

"There's more to this than meets the…you know what I mean!" Narasi insisted; Kenza's lips twitched. "Tirien said so himself."

"Oh, I agree. Security holos mysteriously blank, Gravo's nowhere to be found, and a touch of the dark side at the spaceport?  Yeah, if that note he left was the whole story, I'm a Hutt.  But that's all the more reason I should've stayed."

"If anything, we should've stayed," Narasi ventured loyally, but Kenza gave her a rueful smile as she shook her head, golden locks shimmering around her face in the sunlight.

"You're compassionate, Narasi; it's part of why you're gonna be a great Jedi Knight." Narasi felt a swell of warmth in her chest, but Kenza added, "But you're a Padawan; I'm a Knight. It was my call, and I made the wrong one."

"Well…" Narasi scrambled for a response, but only found, "…well, even if, you can't dwell on it."

"'Not every misstep is fatal, but self-doubt usually is; a mistake is the shiim that chips the armor, but self-doubt is the shiak lunge through it to the heart'."

Narasi stared. "That was…poetic. Who said that?"

"Padawan Rican, are you implying that I don't have the eloquence and intellect for something as sophisticated as metaphor?" Narasi backed her ears awkwardly until Kenza snickered. "Nah, that was Tirien again. He said the same thing you did, just a bit more…"

"Foofily?" Narasi suggested. "Yeah, he does that sometimes."

Kenza pressed her lips together for a long moment, rocking with silent laughter. "I would've gone with artistically, but sure. He told me not to dwell too."

"See?"

"Well, no, I don't," Kenza teased, touching her eye sockets again; when Narasi groaned in frustration, Kenza gave her a real smile. "But I appreciate it, from both of you. I guess all I can do now is try to protect the Chancellor and hope I didn't make things worse.  And speaking of which…"

She stood, strapping on her eye mask, and as Narasi got to her feet as well she noticed belatedly that the hum of repulsors had become a dull roar, sharpening by the second. The gleams of reflected light had grown into dozens of shapes, flocks of durasteel birds sweeping down on Anaxes Citadel in perfect sync. A squadron of fighters roared by overhead, so close Narasi felt the wind of their passage above and sensed all twelve individual pilots. As they started a protective circle around the Citadel, Narasi at last spotted the armored shuttle at the center of four more fighter squadrons.

"No snipers?" Kenza asked.

"Um…" Narasi looked around hastily; Anaxes Citadel towered over the nearest buildings, so it would've been quite a shot…  "I don't sense anything…"

"Me either, but it's always good to be alert."

Narasi nodded, but her attention quickly returned to the shuttle. Below, rank upon rank of Republic soldiers snapped to attention at commands from their NCOs that Narasi could hear even this high up. The figures on the dais looked like insects from the rooftop, but Narasi still felt a wave of longing mixed with lingering resentment as the shuttle touched down.

"Hey, don't you dwell either," Kenza urged, nudging Narasi with her shoulder.

"Yeah," Narasi sighed. "Maybe another time."