Woman without a Country

Atton sipped at a cup of tea as he walked back to the cargo hold, carrying a bottle of water for Ludmilla. He stopped to check the security console more out of habit than anything, as he didn't think the Exchange would have bothered to send a message. He stared at the blinking message light in surprise, and started to play the message.
"I guess everyone should hear this," he muttered to himself, and turned to leave the room, and almost ran into Bao-Dur. "Don't sneak up on people like that!" Atton exclaimed.
"How does that thing stay on?" asked Bao-Dur, indicating the silk cloth that Atton had wrapped around his slender hips.
"It just takes a little practice," Atton assured him. "Anyway, the Exchange sent us a message, finally. I'll find T3 and get him to project it where we can all see it."
"I'll get everyone to the main cabin," said Bao-Dur. "And put some clothes on."
"What? I'm dressed." Atton looked down at himself. "I'm totally covered."
"Atton," said Bao-Dur wearily, "just put some clothes on." He walked away to gather the rest of the crew.
Ludmilla pulled on a shirt and pants before she walked to the main cabin, where Atton and T3 were setting up the message for projection. Ludmilla sat in one of the chairs and watched him work. He was still wearing the silk wrap, but he had changed it so that his chest was covered, as a concession to modesty. The cloth was draped elegantly over his slender form, and he looked like an ancient statue come to life.
"Kreia, can you get him to put some clothes on?" Bao-Dur asked.
Kreia smiled. "Why?" She took another sip of her chocolate and sat down at the table.
"Just watch the message, old man, and stop being shocked by Human impropriety."
T3 started the message. It was from someone named Visquis, a crimelord of the Exchange.
"Another Quarren." Bao-Dur noted. "This isn't going to go well."
Visquis invited Ludmilla to a meeting, alone, in a bar where Humans couldn't breathe. Ludmilla shook her head as she listened to the Quarren's offer. She had pulled Atton into her lap, and was idly running her hands over the silk and his legs while she focused on the sounds behind the Quarren.
"He's planning to betray his boss," she said suddenly. "And there's a Wookie in the background somewhere. Probably that bounty hunter someone mentioned earlier. There aren't that many Wookies on Nar Shadaa. Rewind fifteen seconds, and replay that part where he's talking about his private room again."
She listened carefully as the Quarren spoke, not to his words but to the noise in the background.
"What is it, General?" Bao-Dur asked when the message had ended again.
"There's another set of noises in the background. Respirators or rebreathers, I can't tell."
"I heard the growling of a Wookie," said Visas, "and I hear the machine breathing that you speak of, but I cannot tell what it is. There are many of them, perhaps seven or eight."
"Well, it's a good thing it's not a trap," said Atton cheerfully, and kissed her cheek before snuggling closer into her arms. "You're not actually going to go, are you? Of course you are," he sighed softly.
Ludmilla didn't answer. She gave Atton a quick hug to reassure him while she planned out her next moves.
"General, have I congratulated you on finding a way to make monogamy indecent?"
Ludmilla grinned, but didn't bother to answer Bao-Dur's teasing.
"This trap works both ways," said Kreia slowly. "They think to trap a Jedi, but they have no idea how difficult it truly is."
"We have an environmental suit around here somewhere, don't we? I'll take that to their little poison club."
"Why?" asked Bao-Dur. "You don't need it."
"He obviously doesn't know that," said Ludmilla, referring to the Quarren's offer to send an environmental suit for her use if necessary. "Bao-Dur, check in with Vogga the Hutt and see if he knows about Visquis sending for me, then come back here. Everyone else, stay in or near the ship while I'm gone. Keep your guard up. I wouldn't put it past them to try and grab the Ebon Hawk while I'm out of the picture." She gently lifted Atton as she stood, and set him on his feet. "We shouldn't take too long, I don't want them to think I'm not coming."
"Does that mean you two will finally get dressed?"
"You know, old man, I seem to recall a certain doctor with purple face tattoos and long black hair waking me up in the middle of the night to borrow things, and she never complained about my lack of clothing."
Bao-Dur grinned at the memory. "That's because she was more polite than I am." He went to get his armor and weapons.
Ludmilla laughed, and walked back to her room to get ready.
Atton frowned, thinking, and followed her without saying anything.
Visas felt them leave, and knew that she was alone with Kreia and T3, who was busily working with the main console. "Kreia? How is it possible that they can love each other and not fall to the Dark Side?"
"Love is not the trap that leads Jedi to the Dark Side. Weakness, fear, jealousy – the dark emotions that prey on love cause Jedi to fall. Not love itself. She is far too strong to fall through love, and she supports him, keeping him from the worst and darkest emotions. For his part, he is wise and honest enough to know that her judgment is to be trusted. He has no false pride, not in this. He follows her, faithful and trusting, and depends on her to keep him in the light."
"What if she were to die?" asked Visas nervously. She had felt the inner strength of the noble Jedi Knight who had spared her, and knew that Ludmilla would survive the loss of her dear companion.
"That," said Kreia softly, "is a different story. He is strong with the Force, though he has hidden and suppressed it for so long. What do you think would happen, seer?"
"I think that he would be very dangerous," Visas answered quietly. "I do not understand why you encourage her to take such risks."
Kreia smiled, although she knew the blind seer couldn't see it. "What is life without risk? How can a Jedi say they fight to defend life without understanding what it is that they are saving? How can one say they fight the darkness if they have never stood in the light?"
Visas shook her head. "Such strength is not given to everyone. She is special."
"Such strength was not given to her, either. She earned it through her suffering, and by daring to face both the light and the darkness on her own terms. Draw on her strength, seer, you will not weaken her by doing so." Kreia laughed softly. "Indeed, I find it makes her stronger."
"You don't really think that someone would fall in love with me, do you?" said Visas doubtfully. "There are no Miraluka left in this sector, and I am not attractive to Humans." Her face was still and sad as she spoke.
Kreia chuckled. "Whoever told you that was a liar. But I will leave it for someone else to convince you of that, seer. If there is one thing that all Human men – Near or True – have in common, it is the ability to find any female attractive." Kreia laughed again, and left Visas alone to ponder her words.
Atton took her hand as the door closed. "I know I can't go with you, but can I at least walk with you to the docks?"
Ludmilla smiled gently, kissed him and wrapped her arms around him, running her hands over the silk and his skin. "I'll come back, you know that, right?"
Atton nodded without speaking.
She kissed him again. "Yes, you can walk me to the docks. And then head back to the ship."
"Actually," said Atton, "I was thinking we should check on some of the other bounty hunters. See if the Exchange has anything else up their sleeves."
Ludmilla nodded. "Good idea." She didn't like the idea of sending him out on such a mission, but as a leader, she knew better than to refuse. She was proud of him for volunteering, and kissed him again. "Of course," she smiled, "that means you do have to get dressed."
Atton grinned, and started gathering his clothes while Ludmilla watched. "What are you doing?" he asked her curiously.
"It's like a striptease, but in reverse," she smiled.
Atton laughed, and threw a pillow at her. He pulled on the rest of his clothes. "I should probably bring my blasters, huh? No point in letting anyone know you've been secretly doubling the number of Jedi in the galaxy."
Ludmilla laughed. "If Bao-Dur wasn't so stubborn, I'd have even more."
Atton looked at her in surprise. "Bao-Dur is Force-Sensitive too?"
She nodded. "But he'd rather work with machines than people. And he's a much better tech than he would be a Jedi," Ludmilla grinned. "Are you ready to go?"
Atton looked down, and wiggled his toes. "The monster under the bed ate my shoes. I'll be just a second, I'm sure they're in here somewhere."
With a laugh, Ludmilla went to go check on the rest of the crew before leaving.
Atton joined her at the exit ramp, and looked around. "Where's Bao-Dur?"
"He went on ahead," she grinned. "He's still grumpy."
"When is he not grumpy?"
"Well," Ludmilla thought for a moment. "Never, really. But at least he's nice about it." They laughed, and left the ship. She took his hand as they walked.
"Please be careful," he said softly. He was watching the ground, not looking at her. "I won't be able to contact you on the commlink or anything."
She smiled at him. "If you want to contact me, you can. We don't need a commlink now."
"Oh. I forgot," he blushed. "Just… watch yourself. And don't be gone too long." They were at the entrance to the Nar Shadaa docks now, and from here she would have to go alone. He put his arms around her, kissed her again. "Come back to me, please."
She buried her hands in his dark hair, and kissed him wildly. "I will, I promise. Keep watch until I return."
Ludmilla entered the dock sector, turned the corner out of his sight. When she looked back, he was already gone. She smiled to herself, and wondered if she should worry more or less.
"So, you're the big bad Jedi that's got the Exchange going like a cheap reactor core. You look like a Mandalorian out of her battle armor."
Ludmilla glanced at the speaker. A young Human woman in light armor that barely covered her bosom, with bright red hair and a pair of deadly bounty hunter blasters on her shapely hips. "I get that a lot," said Ludmilla dryly. "Can't imagine why."
"I thought Jedi were supposed to be smart," said the bounty hunter with a slight sneer. She crossed her arms, and regarded the Jedi in front of her curiously. "But you've been running around Nar Shadaa like a wild woman, sticking your lightsaber in everybody's business, and riling up the Exchange. Did you not know about the gigantic bounty on your head?"
"Oh, the one no one has collected for almost a full Standard week? Even though apparently everyone and their grandmother knows who, where, and what I am?" Ludmilla smiled. "I think someone overestimated how good the Nar Shadaa bounty hunters are."
"Well, that's going to change. I'm Mira, the best bounty hunter in the system, and that's not bragging, that's fact."
"So I've heard."
"And I've heard that squid-head, Visquis, has sent you an invitation to meet with him so he can take you to meet Goto, the leader of the Exchange. It's a trap."
"I figured that out all by myself. Thanks for the confirmation, though."
"Look, I've heard about the meeting. That means, in a few hours, every other bounty hunter here will have heard about it, too. When that happens, things are going to get very ugly, very fast."
Ludmilla shrugged. "So I should meet with him and get this over with sooner rather than later."
"You're missing the point," said Mira impatiently. "You're not the one in danger."