Private A Hidden Life

[Kai Bamarri]

Kai accepted the offer of more tea, and like before, proceeded to guzzle it like he would die without another drink.

He lowered the mug, wiping his upper lip on his sleeve, and beamed at her approval. But she had to know there was more to it than just deciding he would be a Jedi, and following the Code. Jedi had to be trained, and to be trained they needed to be accepted by other Jedi who could serve as teachers and mentors, peers and friends.

<Only because I pretend I’m someone else,> he said. With a flick of his wrist, Kai produced a holographic ID, complete with a picture of his current face. <I tell people I’m a slave rescued from the Maw pens on Lao-mon, and they feel so sorry for me they just let me be a Padawan, and don’t ask any more questions.>

He wasn’t a prisoner anymore, at least—barring the strict curfew imposed on underage Jedi learners at the Temple.

<I was supposed to have a master named Yenna. But the Council swapped Padawans at the last minute. So now I don’t have a master.> He shrugged nonchalantly in a rather unconvincing effort to hide his sadness over this new development. He had liked Yenna. She rode around on his back like Yoda during the brief time they had trained together.

Aeris Lashiec​

 

[Aeris Lashiec]

Kai Bamarri

This was not an unfamiliar emotion to try and talk their way through. Aeris had seen others go through it when she was the guardian for a bunch of younglings in her teens. This dissatisfaction with how the world was shaping up to be, the realization that nothing was fair.

“I am sorry to hear about Yenna.” Aeris said and frowned. “I am not aware that I was part of any form of shift in padawans, but I can speak to the others if you want me to try and get you back to this… Yenna?”

That wasn’t a familiar name. Weird.

“And hey, this is a dumb question, but have you considered maybe being honest instead of going with the lie?” Aeris asked and leaned against her desk. “You are by all accounts your own person, an individual with your own set of challenges and opportunities, and I think the reality of who you are could help disprove certain prejudices these so-called Jedi have against who you are.”

“If anyone gets in your face about it, you can send them to me and I will help put them on the narrow again. Remind them of their primary duty to respect all life.”

 

[Kai Bamarri]

<Okay,> Kai said. <Thanks.> But he had little hope that Yenna would be his master again.

Kai inclined his head and shrugged his shoulders. <That would be cool and all, but some of the people who have found out I’m a Sithspawn have tried to kill me for it. I’d just rather not die.>

It was a nice thing to say, though.

<I can think of a few people right now that need reminding.> He began counting on his fingers. <Ishida Ashina, Michael Sardun, Rhis Fisto, Xashe Tistya…>

Aeris Lashiec​

 

[Aeris Lashiec]

Kai Bamarri

Her fingers found her brows with a frustrated rub. Of-fething-course those were the names. The psycho squad of the New Jedi Order, the part she would have preferred if they shunned. There was no way in hell she could get through their dense skulls unless she had a jackhammer, and that point it was really more a case of murder. The names that rolled off of Kai’s metaphorical tongue were ones that Aeris held in no particularly high regard at all.

“I see.” She said and shook her head. “When it comes to those names in particular I will try to get it through their skulls, but I am not a miracle worker.”

She sighed.

“Ever feel like you are in the wrong place doing the wrong thing?” Aeris asked, more to just get the question off her chest. “I swear there are some who would sooner seek peace by destroying discord than seek to understand it.”

“I am sorry that these people have been a bother for you, Kai. I will do my best.”