Chapter 12: On The Sidelines

By the time they finally leave Kayora’s chambers and head toward the cockpit, they’re only a few minutes out from Manaan. Nadia finished clipping her last piece of armor on and then stretched her arms up over her head, letting out a long yawn. She’d fallen asleep on Kayora shortly after their makeout session, which is why they were so late in joining the others, but Nadia wouldn’t have it any other way. Even the slight crick in her neck was a small price to pay to still feel the lingering warmth of Kayora’s skin on her cheek, and her scent in her hair. Never before had she felt so fulfilled from a romantic encounter, and it made her giddy to think about future encounters. Following her master out into the hallway and around the corner, Nadia took stock of the other’s reactions as they entered the cockpit. 

As expected, both Qyzen and Zenith had zero reaction. Their facial expressions looked exactly like any other day, though to be fair it was much harder for Nadia to read Qyzen’s reptilian features. Felix glanced over from the co-pilot’s chair, his focus bouncing back and forth between the two of them several times. A small smile graced his face, and then he turned back to the controls, deigning no comment was necessary.

Tharan, of course, made no such allowances. “Well, look who had decided to join the party,” he said, his ever-present smirk gracing his features as he stroked his goatee, which looked creepier than he probably intended. “I trust you’re well-rested for whatever mission we have ahead, even though Master T’ven has yet to tell us what it is? Or maybe you’ve already worn yourself out?”

Before Kayora was able to reprimand Tharan for his commentary, Holiday appeared on the console and beat her to it. “Tharan Cedrax! You stop that this instant! I can’t believe you would be so juvenile as to make such insinuating remarks about another’s relationship, especially given that it is our leader!” Tharan attempted to defend himself but was immediately silenced by a continuous stream of beratement from the pink hologram, which looked more furious than Nadia had ever seen her.

Sporting an amused look, Kayora stepped past a thoroughly chastised Tharan and slipped into the pilot’s seat. Tapping a few commands, she took control and began the landing sequence. Nadia stared out of the front window with the others, watching the watery planet of Manaan increase in size. The surface of the world was mostly water, but there were thousands of structures and settlements that dotted the planet, either on small bits of land or in the ocean itself, buoyed or otherwise secured.

The Star of Ryloth angled toward one of the asea locations, swiftly closing the distance and settling down on a large exterior landing pad. Somewhat surprising to Nadia, it didn’t feel any different than landing at any of the other locations they’d been. She wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting, maybe more of a swaying type motion, but she realized it wouldn’t make much sense if an entire sea base was at the mercy of the currents.

“As Tharan so eloquently mentioned recently, I have not told you why we are on Manaan. Unfortunately, it will continue to be as such.” Kayora let the grumbles die down before she pressed on. “Depending on what comes of this mission, I may have urgent need of all of you, so whatever you decide to do while we’re here, make sure you’re ready if I call. Dismissed.”

Somewhat bolstered by the fact that they still may be needed shortly, the others all headed to their quarters to grab what they wanted before taking some shore leave. Nadia lingered, hoping that there might be something she could do to help her master before she left. Kayora glanced behind her and caught Nadia’s eye, then gestured toward the cockpit door controls. Curious, Nadia toggled the controls, causing the steel hatch to slide shut and seal. A few button presses later and a video call was initiated, with the figure of Theron Shan appearing on the emitter.

There was silence as Theron appeared to deal with something on his end, running a hand through his fauxhawk, then he directed his attention to the two of them. “Master T’ven, I’m pleased to see you. I knew I had picked the right person for the job.”

“Please, Kayora is just fine,” the Twi’lek said, dispensing with the formalities as she always did. “Also, I have not committed to the mission yet.”

“Of course, but the fact that you’re here means you’re at least willing to hear me out, and once you do, I have no doubt that you’ll agree to help.” Theron leaned off to the side, his top half disappearing from view, as he appeared to converse with somebody off camera. “I’m sending you the address to where me and my associate are currently set up. You can bring your padawan with you, but I’m afraid that she won’t be able to be present for the briefing or the mission at all.” Theron gave an apologetic look to Nadia, who was on the verge of protesting before she saw Kayora give her a look. “Think of it as plausible deniability. If something goes wrong here … well I just want as few people as possible impacted by it, until we know for sure what it is.”

“I understand,” Kayora said solemnly.

“Good, good,” Theron replied, hands on his hips. “Oh and one more thing, the intelligence contact that I’m working with, well, she’s Sith Intelligence, so … there’s that.”

Kayora smiled wryly. “Don’t worry Theron, we’ve already worked with Sith several times before now. It shouldn’t be a problem.” With that, the holofeed blinked out and the cockpit was silent. Kayora stood and moved toward the door, but stopped in front of Nadia. She looked at her intently, those violet eyes capturing her attention.

“I know you wish to accompany me, but I trust Theron’s judgment, at least until he gives me reason not to. However, as I mentioned to the others, I need you ready in case something goes awry, and you more than most. That is why I’m bringing you with me. Although you won’t be in the command room, you will be the first contact if we need backup.” Kayora stared deep into Nadia’s eyes, who steeled herself and gave a resolute nod.

“You can count on me, master. I’ll follow you anywhere.”

Her gaze softening, Kayora lifted a hand to cup Nadia’s chin. “I know you will.” She leaned in and pressed a delicate kiss to Nadia’s lips, who had to use all of her willpower to not push it into something more. “Let’s not keep Theron and the others waiting.”

—

It didn’t take them long to get to the address Theron had given them, though it was longer than if they’d walked there straightaway. Deciding to be a little extra cautious, they meandered about, taking some unnecessary loops and cutting through some hidden alleys just in case somebody may be trying to tail them. Certain that they hadn’t been followed, they opened the door matching the address number and found themselves in a small waiting room, similar to what one may find in a doctor’s office. In the room were two other individuals: Theron Shan, who was leaning casually up against the far wall, and a rather petite young woman, who sat on one of the couches in the room, engrossed in a datapad.

“Excellent, now we can get started.” Theron pushed himself off of the wall and walked over to greet them. He stuck out a hand for Kayora to shake, then turned and offered the same to Nadia. “Theron Shan, Republic SIS, but of course you know that already. Kayora, if you would come with me, we can get started on the briefing. Nadia, you’re free to stay in this room, but I ask that you don’t leave the building until we’ve finished.” Nadia turned to Kayora, who placed a hand on her arm and gave a quick squeeze before following Theron into the next room. As the door slid shut, Nadia could hear the lock engage. She let out a sigh, and turned to survey the available seats in the room.

“They do love their super secret shit, don’t they?” The woman who had been, and still was, fully focused on the datapad started chatting casually, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. “Vera’s gotten pulled into some pretty whack stuff, but I think this is the first time I’ve actually been benched because it’s so secret.” Finally she set down the datapad and looked up at Nadia, who was still standing in the middle of the room, quite unsure what to do in the situation. The girl gave her a funny look, then made a show of observing all the different seating options in the room, before focusing back on Nadia. Taking the hint, Nadia quickly shuffled over to one of the chairs near the girl and sat down, only mildly flustered.

“I’m Mako,” the girl said, and now that Nadia was closer she could see a pair of cybernetic implants on Mako’s face, one on each cheek.

“Nadia.” Shifting in her chair to get a little more comfortable, Nadia found herself being observed closely by the cyborg. “Is something wrong?”

“No, you just seem rather on edge for being a Jedi,” Mako commented casually. “Though I admit I don’t have much experience with Jedi. But I’m guessing you’re not used to sitting out either?”

Nadia shook her head. “Since I became Master T’ven’s padawan, I’ve been by her side more often than not. It is an uncomfortable feeling knowing she will be in danger and I will not be able to assist.”

A sound that might have been amusement came from Mako. “Are you afraid that she can’t defend herself?”

“Oh no, nothing of the sort.” Nadia quickly worked to clear up any misunderstanding. “She’s one of the most powerful Jedi I know, but I still feel like I could contribute by being there, you know?”

The cushions of the couch squeaked as Mako leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. “I know what you mean. I’ve been with Vera so long, we feel more like family than partners. She’s like the big sister I always wanted.” Mako smiled broadly, then leaned back, throwing her arm over the back of the couch. “And now my big sister is going to end up in some absurdly perilous situation again, as she usually does.”

“Some people just can’t help themselves, can they?” Nadia laughed.

—

It was a fortunate thing that Mako was easy to talk to, because it was a long time before Kayora or Vera came back. There must have been a back entrance to the building, because it seemed unlikely that Kayora and Vera had been brought here to just hang out in a room with Theron and whoever the Sith contact was. Mako had just finished telling a story about how Vera ended up recruiting one of the targets she’d been sent to kill, when the click of the lock interrupted. The door slid open, and Theron and a blonde woman, presumably the Sith Intelligence individual, jogged through the doorway, concern obvious on their faces.

“Let’s go you two!” shouted Theron, before he dashed through the front door and out onto the street. The Sith kept her cool a little better, but was still hurrying. Exchanging an anxious glance, Mako and Nadia hopped up and got to following. It seemed Nadia’s hypothesis was right, since Kayora and Vera were not currently with them. Theron led them down several side streets and through a pair of alleys before they came to a wide road that extended just beyond the buildings and then stopped, looking out over the water. Nadia was getting more worried as there was no indication of where Kayora and Vera might be, until right at the edge of the street she saw a small submersible pop up out of the water, wobbling back and forth. The hatch popped open as they approached, and out jumped Kayora, Vera, and a large Wookiee that Nadia had never seen before.

“Who’s the new guy?” Mako whispered as they all made it to the docking pond with the sub. Although thrilled to see Kayora back and seemingly unharmed, Nadia noticed that the bottom of Kayora’s robes were damp, up past the knee.

“Master, did everything go alright down there?” she asked. The look Kayora gave her would have seemed calm to anybody else, but Nadia knew the Twi’lek well enough to see the distress hidden behind the serene features.

“Nothing to worry about, Nadia,” Kayora replied, and even her voice had an uneasy quality to it, like she was putting on a brave face. 

“We have to go,” Theron interrupted, and the Wookiee roared, seemingly in agreement.

“Yes, speed is of the utmost importance,” agreed a robotic voice, and only now did Nadia see the head of a droid tied to the chest of the Wookiee. She had so many questions, but unfortunately, it seemed like none of them would be answered at the current moment. She felt fingers wrap around her wrist, and turned to find Kayora very close to her, looking at her intently.

“Nadia, I need you to go back to the Star of Ryloth and gather the others. Take the ship to Rakata Prime, but stay in orbit. I’ll contact you when I can.” There was a moment of hesitation, then Kayora pulled Nadia close, kissing her with an intensity that utterly floored Nadia. She barely had time to react before it was over and Kayora was dashing the other direction with Vera and the others. Her wrist was still warm, and she could see the faint marks from Kayora’s fingers.

“I see somebody has a slightly different master-padawan relationship than the norm, huh?” quipped Mako, looking amused.

Nadia barely even heard her. As she turned to head back to the starport, it felt as though she was moving in a daze. It was the first time Kayora had kissed her in public, which would have been odd on its own, but the kiss itself was also very different from any of their others. It was much more urgent, it felt like it had so much more meaning behind it. Suddenly it dawned on Nadia, and she felt her legs immediately pick up the pace until she was practically sprinting down the street. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes as she ran, the scenery just a blur. She realized why that kiss had felt so different.

It felt like a goodbye kiss.