Woman without a Country

"Well, it's good to know he does something besides cook," said one of the Mandalorians as soon as Atton was out of earshot.
The others at the table laughed quietly, not willing to run any unnecessary risk when it came to making Atton angry.
"In his defense, though, that Jetii is hung like a gualaar."
Mical froze, his cup of coffee halfway to his lips, and started to turn bright red.
"No lie," said the other Mandalorian who had been with him on the rafting adventure. "You could see it all when we fell in the water. It's huge."
"Oh, hey, Jetii, good morning," said one of the women, and waved to Mical as he stood in the doorway.
"Excuse me," Mical stammered, and walked away from the makeshift dining hall, trying to ignoring the laughter that followed him.
Bao-Dur looked up at him as he walked into the generator room. "What happened to you?"
"I was raised among Jedi and civilized people in the Core Worlds. I am not used to this atmosphere."
Bao-Dur chuckled. "Throwing yourself into avoidable danger impresses Mandalorians, and they like to talk about people they admire."
"I've noticed." Mical sighed. He finished his coffee, and helped Bao-Dur replace the rusted power conduit.
"Thanks." He finished his repairs, then wiped off his hands. He smiled up at Mical. "I still can't get over how normal you are, except for the part where you think the sun rises and sets on Atton."
"Oh, I'm not that bad, am I?" Mical smiled. "All right, I suppose I am. It's just – he's so – Atton. He needs watching over!"
"And kissing," someone added.
"Yes, and kissing. Wait, what?" Mical blushed, and turned around. "Atton!"
Atton smiled, a perfectly innocent smile. "What? We got a message from Kavar, finally. Ludmilla sent me to find you guys and bring you back to the main hall." He started to walk up to Mical, but Bao-Dur grabbed his arm and dragged him away. "Hey! Stop that!"
Bao-Dur tossed Atton over his shoulder. "The General didn't send you to distract Mical, she sent you to get him into the main hall. Let's go."
Atton dangled comfortably over the Iridonian's shoulder, and waved at Mical. "Hello!"
"Atton," Mical groaned. "Why are you - "
"What are you doing, Atton?" asked Bao-Dur suspiciously, but didn't stop walking.
"Nothing," said Atton innocently. "Mical, could you get that for me?" he asked sweetly.
Bao-Dur thought about looking behind him, but decided against it. He set Atton down just before they reached the main hall, and handed him over to Mical. "You deal with it."
Atton burst out laughing, and started pulling his shirt and jacket back on as Mical handed them to him. "If Bao-Dur wasn't so mean, I could have gotten my pants off, too." Atton walked away, laughing, into the main hall, and sat down next to Ludmilla.
Ludmilla smiled at him, and looked around to make sure that everyone was here.
"Should I start?" asked Kelborn, and Ludmilla nodded. "Kavar sent a message during the storm. Queen Talia wants to meet with you, al'akaan, and offered safe passage to the capital. But when we got the message this morning, we checked the situation on Onderon. I don't know how good her offer is anymore."
"What's going on?" Ludmilla asked.
"Well, it seems General Vaklu has seized power and declared the Queen guilty of treason."
"Oh, great," said Ludmilla. "Just what I needed to spice up my day. Civil war!"
"The Queen and her supporters are holed up in the Royal Palace," said Canderous. "It's a heavily fortified building, with really good defenses."
"Still bitter about not taking the Palace last time?"
"Winning through starvation is pathetic," scoffed Canderous. "But if we couldn't take it, then that gizka Vaklu won't be able to, either."
"Except," said Kreia slowly, "Vaklu is working with a Sith Lord."
"Yes," mused Ludmilla. "An incredibly incompetent one."
"Not that scarred guy again!" Atton looked up at her. "He creeps me out."
"No, Vaklu is teamed up with mask guy. There's some irony there," Ludmilla grinned, "but we won't get into that."
Canderous pretended to laugh. "Very funny. Yeah, it's true Vaklu has some Sith on his side. Kavar and the Queen moved fast, though, and the loyalists have a good position."
Kelborn shook his head in disagreement. "She won't make it until nightfall. They haven't the supplies or the firepower to stand up to Vaklu. He's been planning this for a long time."
"So, wait, where is the Sith base?" asked Ludmilla. "Was Vaklu stupid enough to give them a foothold on Onderon?"
"No," said Kreia slowly, "I sense them here, on the moon itself."
"What?" said Kelborn.
"Well, we did pick up some weird transmissions, remember?" said one of the other Mandalorians.
"Yes, they were coming from the east," said Kelborn slowly.
"That's why Vaklu declared Dxun off-limits! He didn't know about our camp, he wanted to hide the Sith!" exclaimed Canderous.
"Well, well," Ludmilla smiled. "He left his allies vulnerable, and he has no bolthole."
"What are you planning?" asked Canderous.
"Dual-pronged assault. Take out the Sith base, and attack his forces on Onderon. At the same time."
"Dividing our forces? Isn't that a bit foolhardy?"
Ludmilla laughed. "We have more than enough to deal with Vaklu, and the Sith Lord."
"Vaklu might suspect an attack by the Republic, or even by some Mandalorians. But he will not be expecting Jedi," said Kreia, with a slow smile. "Especially not more than one."
Canderous grunted.
"You know full well how much a single Jedi can alter the flow of battle." Kreia smiled. "This is no longer a war of common soldiers. Standard tactics no longer apply."
"Is it wrong that she makes me nervous when she smiles like that?" one of the Mandalorians whispered.
"Shh!"
"We'll send a small strike team to breach the defenses of the Sith base," said Ludmilla.
"And then we'll teach those Sith that it's our moon," laughed Canderous. "We might also want to contact the Republic and let them know what's up, but I don't know if they'll listen to us."
"I can do that," said Mical quietly.
Ludmilla grinned. It always amused her when the Force was so blatant.
"Who will you send to do the infiltration?" asked Kreia.
"I can lead the way," said Kelborn.
"Yeah, but you're not the type for sneaking around. You need someone fast for that." Atton grinned.
"You want to do it?" smiled Ludmilla.
"Well, the hacking through beasts and jungle part doesn't sound like my line of work, but stabbing Sith in the back and stealing all their stuff? Yeah, that's me."
Ludmilla tried not to giggle. "Sorry, I'm imagining vividly again. Take pictures." She looked around. "Bao-Dur, you go with him. There might be some technical stuff that needs disabling, or whatnot."
"Er... can I talk to you for a second?" said Mira suddenly.
"Right now?" growled Kreia. "Children today." She shooed the others out of the room so that Mira and Ludmilla could talk in private.
"Wait, she isn't - " Canderous stared. "Dammit!"
"Of course she is," snapped Kreia. "She wants to give her 'old guy' a new apprentice to replace the one that he lost."
"Lost?" Canderous looked at her in confusion.
Kreia gestured towards Atton.
"Oh, wait - you mean that Sith that Atton killed? That was his old apprentice?" Canderous looked at Atton, who was carefully inspecting his nails. "Did you know that?"
"Know what?" Atton stared blankly at him, as if he hadn't been following the conversation at all.
"Right, never mind," Canderous grumbled.
"We're done." Ludmilla waved them back into the room.
Mira smiled ruefully at Canderous, shrugging her shoulders. "Sorry," she whispered, "I had to do it!"
"So, who wants to come to the Palace with me?" Ludmilla grinned. "Mira wants to attack the Sith base." She glanced at Atton, who nodded. Ludmilla smiled gratefully.
"I will go," said Kreia, and then laughed suddenly. "But there will be no dancing."
"I, uh, I have something to offer you. But it means that Visas can't come with us."
"I'd rather she didn't go with the strike team," frowned Ludmilla. "Four is too many."
"She can lead us," suggested one of the Mandalorians. "When we attack the base, after they take out the defenses."
"That works," said Ludmilla, seeing Visas smile and nod in acceptance. "Mical, head back to the ship, and get in touch with your contacts in the Republic. Kelborn, give him a few warriors to help out with the ship. Atton, Bao-Dur, Mira - follow Kelborn to the Sith base, and keep them occupied there until Visas gets there with Bralor and his men. We'll make our way to Onderon." She grinned at Canderous as the group split off to take on their assigned tasks. "So, Mandalore, how do you plan to get us to Onderon? Sneak up in the shuttle again?"
"No," said Canderous slowly, "if we do that, they might notice the strike team too early. Remember those zakkegs you killed for us last time you were here?"
"Yeah, they were keeping you out of some old bunkers. Why?" Ludmilla looked at him, and the Mandalore smiled. "What?"

Kelborn stopped to get his bearings and check that they were still on the right path to find the source of the mysterious transmissions, and presumably, the Sith base.
"Akaan is war, right? So what's al?"
Kelborn stared at Atton. "Are you trying to teach yourself Mando'a?"
Atton shrugged. "I had some time on my hands."
"It's from alor," said Kelborn, curious to know just how much he had learned.
"Uh, so… like Mandalore… then it would be 'leader in war' – General. Right?"
Kelborn laughed. "You have been learning. Planning to marry into the clan?"
Atton looked at the jungle and didn't answer.
"Hey, Atton, I was thinking," said Mira eagerly.
"What are you wearing?" Atton demanded as she ran up to him, almost tripping over the long brown robes.
"Well, see, that's what I was thinking! See, if the Sith just see a bounty hunter and some Corellian and some Iridonian attacking, they'll just carry on as if nothing important is going on. But if they look out and see three Jedi, they'll totally freak!"
Atton frowned. She was right, but he couldn't do it. "That's great, Mira, but I'm not wearing the robes. We'll just back you up."
"No," grinned Mira, "I have a better idea. I knew you wouldn't wear 'em, and the General said that Iridonians don't wear robes either for some reason. Tradition or something about their ears, I forget." She reached into her pack and pulled out two bundles. "But you will wear armor like she does, right?" Mira held them out hopefully to her companions.
"Armor?" said Bao-Dur. "Where did you find this?" He unwrapped the bundle, revealing a set of green and white armor, lighter than what Ludmilla wore for battle, made in a similar style, but with no cloak that would throw off his Iridonian sense of balance.
"Nar Shadaa," Mira explained. "Ludmilla asked to me to check some stall in the square. When I brought those back, she laughed for like ten minutes straight, but wouldn't explain the joke. She said it's from the same place as her armor, but I forget the first part. Shey or something. That's the armor of an Advisor."
Bao-Dur laughed to himself. "Okay, I get the joke now."
Atton opened his bundle and stared at the armor in surprise. "Was this in the same stall?"
"Yeah, it's a little different but she still thought it was funny. She said that it was the armor of a Shadow, but I have no idea what that means. The name sure fits, though."
The armor was black, but not Sith black. It was somehow lighter, with hints of purple and dark brown in the cloth, forming an almost perfect camouflage. Atton touched the flexible plates carefully, fingered the fabric of the heavy dark cloak.
"Go put 'em on!" grinned Mira.
Bao-Dur shook his head and stepped behind a tree to change. He laughed to find that the Advisor's armor had just enough pockets to hold all his tools. With a sigh, he set his rifle and blasters aside, and hung the lightsaber that Ludmilla had given him on his hip before he stepped back onto the path, his old clothes and weapons tucked under his arm.
"Blade and spirits, that is one sexy man," one of the Mandalorians in the escort muttered.
Bao-Dur shook his head, glad that they couldn't tell if he was blushing. Mira was spinning around Kelborn, excited and happy. "Do you even know how to use those?" Bao-Dur asked, pointing to the two lightsabers she was carrying.
Mira stopped spinning, and laughed before she straightened herself and said in a prim little schoolgirl voice, "Modern Jar'Kai : An analysis and assessment of the traditional Two Sword Lightsaber form as currently used in the Core Worlds and beyond. A treatise developed and researched by Jedi Master Zez-Kai Ell and his student, Revan." She looked at him. "It was the only book we had in the house when I was growing up." She held out the bag so that Bao-Dur could put his old clothes away.
"Where's Atton?"
"He's still changing."
"No," said a voice right behind her, "he's done, he's just testing the camouflage abilities of his new armor."
Mira nearly jumped out of her skin. "Don't do that!" She whirled around to face Atton. "You look scary sexy."
Atton laughed. "Wait, which is it?" He was dark and elegant, dangerously graceful, and the armor fitted him like a glove. He pushed back the hood, and put his old clothes away in his own pack, then made the pack disappear beneath his cloak.
"A little of both, I think." Bao-Dur looked him over, and decided to stop before he got distracted. "Don't let the Mandalore see you in that."
Atton laughed again, and Mira spun around happily. "What are you doing?" he asked.
"I'm trying to get Kreia's swirl down. Visas can do it, but I can't get it right."
"Ah." Atton watched her twirl around. "You're not using your hips right."
"What?" Mira stared at him.
"Here," Atton stepped forward, his dark cloak swirling elegantly as he moved. "Don't hit me, I'm just trying to show you something." He put his hands on her hips, and faced her, as if they were going to dance. "Like this." He took a few steps with her, and showed Mira how to set her natural grace to the unfamiliar weight of the Jedi robes. "There, now you've got it," he smiled.
Mira stepped away from his hands, moving her whole body with the robes she wore, and they swirled gracefully around her. "Oh!" She smiled excitedly. "This is awesome!" She paused for a moment, and let her robes settle around her. "So, wait, Kreia can't be that old. Or do Jedi joints never get stiff?"
Atton shrugged. "You got me. Maybe she drains the life out of little Jedi to maintain her youth," he said wickedly.
"Ew!" said Mira, and scampered over to Kelborn.
The Mandalorian shook his head. "Let's get going. I'm looking forward to seeing the Sith mess their pants when they see you three coming."
"Two," smiled Atton. "If they see me coming, they won't have time to mess their pants."

"You are connected to the Admiral's flagship, Councilor," said Goto.
Mical almost leapt out of his skin, but had the presence of mind not to correct the obnoxious Exchange overseer while they were still connected. "Thank you," he said with a calm that he didn't feel. "My name is Mical. Is Admiral Onasi available?"
The technician who had answered the connection request stared in awe for a moment before responding. She was a young Selkath, half-suspicious and half-awed by the serene man in the hologram. She stood and bowed respectfully, then quickly verified Mical's Republic contact codes.
Mical tried not to blush under her scrutiny, fully aware that with the soft brown robes, the lightsaber, and his strictly controlled calm demeanor, he looked exactly like what everyone expected a Jedi to look like.
"Of course, sir, please wait a moment."
The young Selkath disappeared, and Mical tried not to grit his teeth. "I will get you for this, Goto," he muttered without moving his lips and too quietly to picked up by the transmitting device.
"I'm sure I don't understand your concern, Councilor," said Goto, struggling to hold back a laugh, as was the HK unit.
"I know you put him up to this," Mical whispered, and then the familiar form of Admiral Onasi walked into the communications room of his flagship.
"Admiral Onasi here – oh, it's you, Mical. Finally," the Admiral grinned. "Haven't heard from you in for a while. You're in the Onderon system – can you tell me what is going on there? We're totally in the dark, here."
"Yes, of course," said Mical, slightly flustered by the fact that the Admiral wasn't questioning why he had been announced as a Councilor and was wearing Jedi robes. Admiral Onasi picked up a datapad, and got ready to take notes, and Mical gave in with only a slight shake of his head, quickly and efficiently outlining the situation on Dxun and Onderon. He supposed there was someone else in the room, and that the Admiral didn't want to question him with an audience present. Admiral Onasi asked intelligent and pertinent questions about the Mandalorians, about the Exile, about the Sith. Mical answered quickly and fully, knowing that Ludmilla wouldn't want him to hold anything back.
"And this Sith Lord – Darth Nihlus – is he in the sector, too? Or did he just send his underlings to work with Vaklu?"
Mical shook his head. "Nihlus is not here. He may be approaching, but I do not sense him. I suspect," Mical mused, "that he wants Vaklu to finish subjugating Onderon before he approaches. Vaklu wants to rule Onderon, and I doubt that he would work with Nihlus if he realized what the Sith Lord really wants from his planet."
"True," sighed the Admiral, "but we're the last people that Vaklu will believe, so we can't tell him that." Carth grinned. "I guess we'll have to leave it to the Exile to beat it into him."
Mical smiled gently, "That, she can certainly do."
"Well, you'd better get back to work, Mical. We'll keep an eye out for the Sith Lords, and a fleet will be ready to move wherever you need us," Carth promised. "May the Force be with you. Onasi out."
Mical only had time to nod before the Admiral closed the connection. "He treated me like a proper Councilor," said Mical in confusion. "He knows perfectly well I'm not – "
"Not what, Jetii?" asked one of the Mandalorians as he walked out of the bridge, heading for the galley.
"Nothing," said Mical quickly, and sat down at the main console. There hadn't been anyone else in the room, he knew that now. "It's almost as if he was expecting that to happen."
"Perhaps you misheard? I announced you as a Jedi Consular – is that not the correct classification for your particular specialization?" laughed Goto.
"Oh, be silent, you malignant ball of bolts!" snapped Mical, flushing. "I know full well what you did, and I'll never live it down."
"Supposition: Unless it comes true," HK pointed out.
Mical sighed. "That wouldn't happen for years, we already have a Council, and Master Sîvoš – well, she probably won't ever serve on the Council, but they would offer her a seat before me."
"Clarification: Assuming they are around to offer it," HK helpfully pointed out.
Mical glared at the sinister red droid. "Don't even think of trying to harm the Council. They may be shorthanded, but they're still powerful Jedi."
"Agreement: Of course not. Statement: I will happy to serve the duly elected members of the Jedi High Council."
Mical glanced at the droid. "Only Jedi can elect – oh. Will you two stop your political maneuvering? I am not going to – " Mical stopped himself, and considered, counting his companions. "Oh, dear." There weren't enough Jedi left in the galaxy for him not to become a Councilor.
"Councilor, if you have a moment, I would like to update you on the Dantooine repopulation project," said Goto dryly.
Mical looked at Goto without speaking, and the droid started displaying numbers and maps on the console. He sighed to himself, beginning to understand why Ludmilla sometimes complained about the Force pushing a little too hard. Mical shook his head quickly, then resolutely set to work.