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Chapter Thirty Four Stowing
some gear into the underside compartment of The Burn, Jae-Lee Reklaw
turns when he hears someone enter the bay.
“Hey, Mees, so what’s the word?”
Looking into her eyes he can see something is up, but not wanting to
start another fight, he lets it go. “Um,
Jae, I need a favor.” “Sure,
ki-, Mees. What is it?”
He slams the compartment door shut and turns to face her full on. “I
need to borrow The Burn for a coupla hours.
I have to fly out to a meeting point and have it out with Toman over all
of this stuff and then high-tail it back to the ship so we can get out to
Chandrila to drop off Nija and to get Xana where she needs to be in time.” Jae gives her a puzzled expression. “Sure,
but why don’t you just take the SkyDancer out and head out to Chandrila
from there. Seems a lot less
complicated.” “Look,
I would but there’s an awful lot of ‘cargo’ on this trip and taking it
through the route I need to take is not what I had in mind as ‘safe
passage.’” Jae
thinks for a moment, “Well, if you’re expecting trouble, maybe I should come
along, too. . . I mean, I
wouldn’t want anything happening to my ship now that’s all back together.”
He winks at her, trying to loosen the tension in the air. “Thanks
for the vote of confidence, but I need to do this solo.
No offense, but I’ve got some things to talk to Toman about, and I
don’t need any extra ears. I
start bringing a crew and he starts getting suspicious and I get screwed over. .
.” Mees realizes that he may not be buying her story.
“Seriously, it’s either this way, or I have to try and chance an
encrypted code transponder and pray that no one has sliced his transponder
relays.” Jae
takes a deep breath, “All right, Mees. If
you say so, I guess I have to trust you on it.
Just remember, not a scratch?” Her
smile lets him know that he made the right choice.
Maybe
this will be the one catalyst that will allow her to finally open up to him.
Finding the facts behind her mysterious behavior has become Jae-Lee’s
all consuming quest at this point. His mind then turns to one of the other
passengers on the freighter… Well, maybe not ALL consuming. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Using
the opportunity to try and work out some of those still sore muscles, Jae-Lee
Reklaw puts himself through a session of shadow sparring in the empty docking
bay. With each dodge and parry
against his invisible opponent, Jae begins to feel a peace flowing through him. He
swings and thrusts, plowing his sapphire blue blade through the open air of the
bay. Getting into a rhythmic cadence, Jae finds his actions being
guided by something: something familiar and something comforting.
A voice begins to come through the clouds of Jae-Lee’s mind.
The
voice is deep and commanding, but also soft and full of caring.
Almost hypnotic: “Now
remember, boy, don’t fight the blade. Let
it guide you. In this blade you can
always trust.” A man of medium
build, with a thick beard upon his face instructs his young son: a boy who is
trying desperately to wield the grown man’s lightsaber.
His hands quiver from the gyroscopic effect of the energy crystal
ignition. “But,
Poppa, how will I know that my actions are true?”
The boy blows a lock of stray hair from in front of his eyes as he
struggles to continue through his father’s prescribed routine. “When
you maintain your focus, Son. When
you’re at peace. Then you will
know the truth.” Jae
opens his eyes from the shock of the memory.
“Where in the name of Corel did THAT come from?!” “Where
did what come from, young one?” Master
Mussiri has entered the docking bay. “You
appeared to have found your center, and then you broke contact with it so
violently. Are you all right, young
one?” Flustered
and confused by his memory, Jae struggles to regain his focus and respond to
Master Mussiri’s questions. “Um,
ah, yeah I’m fine. I just had a
weird image come to my mind while I was going through my routine… Just an old
bit I learned a long time ago.” “Many
different things bring us comfort when we are ill at ease, young one… But
perhaps you are in need of some physical exertion, to stretch those injured
muscles and regain your strength. If
you would so desire, I would be honored to oblige you in a sparring session?”
Master Mussiri bows slightly before the younger man, parting his tunic to
reveal his intricately designed lightsaber. “Really?
. . I, ah, I had no idea, I thought
you were just one of those mystic guys who believe that violence in any form is
wrong.” Jae is astounded at this
revelation. “Perhaps
you have mistaken me for a pacifist. I
believe in the protection of those unable to fight for themselves.
In our universe, pacifists have very short life expectancies, and as you
can see, I have had a very long life.” The
smile on Master Mussiri’s lips, causes Jae to feel something familiar, but he
cannot quite put his finger on it. When
Mussiri’s amber blade is ignited, Jae is shaken from his thoughts and
immediately goes on guard. “It is
me who will be honored, Master Mussiri.” Launching
into an offensive strike, Master Mussiri’s agility betrays his strength, and
Jae realizes that the master’s age should not be considered a factor in this
duel; else he might lose a limb. Reaching
across his chest from the right, Jae parries the strike and spins into a left
turn in the process. Finding
himself nearly split at the knee by a low blow he leaps over the swing and
forward flips to the right of the older man. Suddenly
seeing that his passive reactions to Master Mussiri’s strikes will only tire
him out so that he makes a mistake, he quickly changes tacks and goes on the
offensive. Swinging wide and high
Jae tries to feint the man into going in for the thrust, but instead Mussiri
plays a dodge and meets with Jae’s blade in a fiery clash.
Both men (faces aglow in the light of the sabers) smile, and the battle
is on. Reaching
into himself and focusing his energy on a forward assault, Jae moves left and
then swings low and right, forcing the older man to leap from the attack.
Jae sensing a weakness in the man’s defense reaches out to gain the
location of his landing, and seeing it appear before his eyes, he lunges his
blade for that spot. However,
Master Mussiri feeling Jae’s grasping at the Force, wills himself to land just
past the original point of impact. With
Jae exposed to his thrusting blade, Master Mussiri de-activates his blade and
raps the younger man on the top of his head in jest. “You
must learn to control your projection, young one.
Especially when your opponent is an adept.”
The gray one, breathes with some difficulty, but is barely taxed from the
exchange. Jae, on the other hand,
is dripping from head to toe in perspiration, and hangs his head in defeat. “I
can see where Mees has been learning to fight so well.”
Standing and bowing to the man, “Thank you for the lesson, and the
match. It was deeply appreciated,
Master Mussiri.” Returning his blade to its clasp and bending over to rest his
hands on his knees, Jae continues to breathe heavily. “There
is no need for thanks, young one. I
have had little time for exercise myself, and this was a wonderful change of
pace for me… Meesahran is a much faster opponent, and we have had to reduce
our sparring to technique alone.” Master
Mussiri expects a poor reaction to his jibe. “Hey,
are you trying to tell me I’m slow? Well,
give me a chance to put my lung back inside my chest and we’ll have a
rematch.” Jae begins to laugh at
his own admission of defeat. “I
guess I really need to take some time out to get back into fighting shape.”
Jae stands upright once more and stretches his arms above his head with his
hands clasped. “Weak
body, weak mind.” “Weak
body, weak mind.” Their
simultaneous recital of the ancient proverb (spoken to him by his father) causes
Jae-Lee to stop instantly. His mind
a blur to the possibilities that this event implies, Jae struggles to regain his
focus once more. “I
see you have studied some philosophy, young Master Reklaw.
It is always good to keep ones horizons open to the possibilities that
abound in our universe. It enables
us to be able to see reality through another’s eyes… Now, if you shall
excuse me, I believe Meesahran shall be returning shortly and I wish to have the
proper coordinates laid into the computer before she arrives.”
And in a silent flourish, the gray one is gone, leaving Jae to consider
what has just happened. Creator: PtrsonsZOO (Jennifer)
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