Cheeseburger in Paradise

[Kana Truden]

Things that go fast, not exactly what Kana would call her own favorite. With her leg the way it was the ability to use the force to speed one’s self up had never been a good practice. Neither had leaping but that was not really important right now. Unless she would have to jump away from a jetski on fire, but considering all the water nearby that’d be mighty weird.

“Oh yes you are, the basics and then we go.” She smiled, again. “But, I mean, you know, I’ve never been here. Where would we ‘race’ to?”

The suit still felt wrong. The prude alert within her chimed up as people seemed very keen on staring at her midriff, and nearby areas. Head arching down, hand reaching up to scratch her neck. It was the attention. She had never gotten this much of it, the looks of people as if measuring up who she was and taking in what she looked like. The judging eyes of people who spent their days judging others.

Deep down she was still that self-conscious teenager and frankly it’d be a miracle if said discomfort didn’t shine through.

“They’re not looking at me, right?” She looked at [member="Damian Starchaser"]. “It’s the suit, ain’t it?”

 

[Damian Starchaser]

As they walked down the hallway Damian couldn’t help but notice the people staring. He could guess the reasons, a young man like him and older woman. Suddenly he felt very self conscious. This wasn’t a date. [member="Kana Truden"] was an older woman, a Jedi Master. It was valuable to have a friend like that. Besides with her leg she would have little opportunity to have fun on this trip. Damian was sure that fat useless waste of space of a senator… Damian would have to do… something to him.

Then he looked to his side and saw Kas his own insecurity connecting with her through this magic jedi space bond or was it the opposite way around? “I know a place we can race to,” he’d done some scouting before he came and had planned to use the Wave Skimmers to escape to his ship, so practicing the route wouldn’t be a bad thing.

Then a thought crossed a mind. Kana let him hold her hand… did this mean? No, probably not. But after she spoke nervously about the staring Damian set into action. He jumped forward until he was in front of her, hand still holding hers, and walked backward with her in his view. his free hand snagged her other and playfully he swung her arms to either side. “Of course they are looking at you,” he said with a wide beaming smile meant to reassure her. “You are the most beautiful woman on this ship. Prettier than their wives and girlfriends and paid escorts. And for all their money, and political power here you are… with me.” Okay maybe he could have laid off that last bit, “And the suit... “ Damian spared an apraising glance, “makes you look even more stunning…”

 

[Kana Truden]

Red cheeks burned hot as she was told she was the most beautiful woman in the room and with a suit that reaffirmed it. The kid had grabbed her other hand as crooked smile spread on her lips. An ego boost before the impending actions of dashing across the waters and racing to be the first to reach… Whatever place it was that [member="Damian Starchaser"] had in mind.

“Thank you.” The smile went on. “I bet you say that to every Jedi Master who offered to take you with her to live a life of seclusion and space magic.”

Humor was her thing. The mechanism that’d take away the edge she felt, make fun of herself or the situation she found herself in. In this case she was hanging out with a boy who by the sound of it, and she did not want to assume things, had a budding crush on her. The way he stared, insisted she was the most beautiful woman around, it was all innocent enough.

Besides, he had saved her a lot of trouble the night before. The very least she could do was entertain him with a few jet skis and an offer to come with her at the end of the trip.

“Well without further ado we’re going to set out on an adventure unlike any I’ve ever been on.”

“By which I mean doing anything related to water and not related to Manaan. So for all that it’s worth, get up there and show me how to do it, kiddo.”

She laughed and got onto her own craft. The temptation to press every single button and lever was great. Great but held back, which was probably for the best.

 

[Damian Starchaser]

When she jumped up onto the wave skimmer Damian played it cool. His own was deposited next to hers but that didn’t matter. “I think you deserve some fun,” he said. Between being a Jedi, and the last nights horrible affair. And then she invited him to show her how the machine worked. He jumped onto the back of her wave skimmer awkwardly wrapping his arms around her. “Throttle,” he said pointing to a nearby lever, “These buttons control the repulsorlift. You steer.” he said wrapping his arms around her waist, “by leaning into it…” He tilted his body. “And the skimmer will do everything else…”

Damian reluctantly hopped off the skimmer and onto his own. “These things are capable of skimming above, and in the water as well as under it.” He loved to go fast. “We can start out slow… work to the other side of that island chain,” he pointed off to the distance. “And then make a break for it.”

And with that he jetted off. Perhaps a little faster than [member="Kana Truden"] might have considered ‘taking it slow’ but still not as fast as the craft could reach. He hit the button letting the repulsorlift field drop him into the water and felt the splash on his face.

He laughed loudly as the waves crashed about him and leaned hard to the right performing a circle and splashing Kana with a wave of water before resting in at her side. “The engines are quiet too,” he said as he drove just parallel to her. “So are you getting the hang of it?”

 

[Kana Truden]

Pull the lever for throttle, lean back and forth to steer. It seemed simple enoug, but hey you never knew what would happen. The kid went off and without much else to do she followed close-by as best she could. The sight of a young woman, a jedi master, going as fast as someone twice her age must have been dreadful. The stuttering back and forth as the throttle messed up threw her off-balance like a nerf bull that didn’t want that one lone farmer sitting in top of it.

The skimmer stopped and she ran her hands through her hair to calm the nerves. She was being outstyled by a kid. She used to know how to handle these things. Just grab the throttle. Her hand placed itself on the steer bar. Gently accelerate, her hand pushed the throttle to slowly go forward. Step for step she increased the speed of her skimmer. The kid showed up next to her, asking if she was okay.

“Yep.” Little else she could have said before promptly pushing the pedal to the metal. A quick look over her shoulder to look at the kid as she for at least a brief moment found herself with a head start on the race for the tiny little islands.

Water splashed, leg chimed up. A small spark followed by another before a fizzling sound called out.

“Oh no.” Kana stopped the skimmer and tried to rotate her foot. Nothing happened. “Great, just great.”

The kid passed her by, shrugging it all off she leaned into her craft and followed close-by.

“You’re going to have to support me when we get off.” She looked at the kid. “Leg being a pain, but there’s no point in crying about it. Got anywhere, or anything to show me while we’re still on these things or did you just want a joyride?”

[member="Damian Starchaser"]

 

[Damian Starchaser]

Damian turned on the speeder and stared at [member="Kana Truden"] his eyes narrowing. The suit should have protected her metallic parts. That was part of the reason it was skin tight, the amount of water that made it through any seams should have been minimal. Shoddy construction. That was the only reasonable explanation. “Yeah,” he said finally. “I’ll support you.” Okay that sounded weird, but she knew what he meant. “But hey, follow me….” he said hitting the throttle.

Damian sped as fast as he could toward a nearby island. He bobbed up and down in the water hitting the repulsor controls lifting the craft up and down to create large waves and splashes which sprayed water into his face.

As the island approached he didn’t slow down but maintained his breakneck pace. There was a rocky cliff in front of them at an angle concave to the water. As he came in the shadow of the cliff face he dove under the water holding his breath.

Still going fast he opened up his eyes seeing the entrance… an underwater cave. He had found it scouting earlier. After about two minutes his Wave Skimmer popped up on the other end of the cave. He broke the waters surface and gasped for air.

A small hole in the roof shined a light down and on the far end stairs led away into the islands interior which was otherwise not accessible.

Spoiler

 

[Peyton Steele]

She’d been watching. That was what Peyton did. It was almost as if she had done this before. Working for the man, perhaps the devil, if she wasn’t careful, the one who wanted it all, and would sacrifice everything. She was doing her best to not concern herself with this whole learning the Force thing and where it could take her. Someone told her she was able to touch it. Not something she’d done in the past, in fact her father worked with a group that was decidedly Force blind in order to help Force users, the Jedi, she believed.

But they didn’t pay nearly as well as their counterparts. And Sombra Corporation the private sector. The blonde stayed logged into the cameras aboard the liner and was watching her quarry. She was trained to track, and was really good at it, but this just made it… easy. And that was fine by her. Could almost enjoy her sort of vacation. Cushy little trips like this were something she could get used to.

Watching the pair, both blonde, both good looking, if you were into those types of things, were making their way off ship, and to the planet. Seemed they weren’t going to be mucking with the Bright Star operations? Who knew… Anyway, there was water.

And she was… meh about the water. She could watch and track them from here. Macrobinos and all. That made things a whole lot easier.

She liked easy.

 

[Kana Truden]

Unbeknown to Kana Her suit had been torn. A small cut that pierced the upper half of her swimsuit's leg. As the island approached there was little she could do but follow her friend under the water. Breath control came in handy (for once) as they descended through the surface of the water and popped up inside of a small cave, an underwater cave.

“So, where exactly are we?” Her voice echoed around with the stalactites. “I mean, if we’re going for that whole cozy-creepy feeling you did a great job.”

The way the light played around the room, the cyan-teal hue to the glow that spread onto the ceiling and walls. The calm it radiated despite the, as mentioned, creepy acoustics. The gentle hum of the sound playing with the one small hole letting in a fragment of sunlight. Kana looked off into the dark of the cave where the sun did not shine.

“We’re all alone in here.” The force wanted to tell her that much. “So is this what passes for a bachelor’s pad in today’s economy?”

She snickered. “Or is there something you’re not telling me?”

[member="Damian Starchaser"]

 

[Damian Starchaser]

Damian shrugged a little bit. “I thought this place was pretty,” He shrugged a little as the sun intensified shining light throughout the cave. Stalagmites reflected the light shimmering as a cool breeze ran through. “My grandfather used to take me here. He was a smuggler and this is the only way to get into the interior of the island from the outside. Well besides coming in by ship that is.”

He looked around and walked out of the water stepping onto the staircase. “I always liked it here, I have good memories. I learned to swim in this pool.” He looked back at [member="Kana Truden"]. “And that ship, it was like a home to me.” He clenched his fists a little. “But that was a different life. Grampa is gone now.” Courtesy of a rival smuggler who took advantage of the unfortunate incident around Corellia. Although he was angry he felt a twinge of calm seemed to wash over him. Damian seemed to know it came from Kana. He turned and gave her a glance and wondered how much this bond really let them shared.

The light shimmered over Kana as the water reflected it. It gave her an otherworldly appearance. “You really are beautiful you know.” Damian said. “You should have more self confidence.” Looking up the stairs he realised his ship was there. Around Kana, given options, he suddenly felt guilty. He didn’t need to rob the Casino now… well outside of the fact he spent all his money preparing for the operation. “What’s it like being a Jedi?” Damian asked finally. What would he be gaining? What would he be losing? He had to know how in order to proceed.

 

[Kana Truden]

The boy’s grandfather? Must have been nice to know them, Kana had long since gotten over the fact that she never knew hers, but the small moment of contemplating silence certainly had her entertaining the thought. Even if very briefly. The more important thing to focus on were the feelings in rapid swing that fell upon her. Troubling to some, understandable to Kana. People had them, denying them was pointless. It was acting on them that was dangerous.

“I used to have a ship that I called home too, you know.” Kana got off her skimmer. Her leg submersed itself in the water and she pushed herself onwards in a stagger. “Back when I was still just a kid, around maybe fourteen years old.”

It was her attempt at skirting around the subject as she came up with a good way to describe the ‘life of a jedi.’ Planting herself on top of a rock she quickly grabbed her foot and got it into a more walk-friendly position. The fabric of the suit flickered for a second and she ran her thumb up and down her shin to expose the cut.

“Figures.” She muttered bitterly before setting her eyes on [member="Damian Starchaser"] again. “Life as a jedi ain’t not easy, I am not gonna lie to you about that.”

“You spend a lot of your time in practice and preparation for a war you may or may not even be sent off to fight. It used to be we were guardians of the light, but lately it seems all we do is fight for The Republic without much of a thought of what we’re doing it for.” Yes, she had been growing bitter of the war over the years. “Yet they offer you amazing opportunities to help grow as a person. You learn to respect life, help communities.”

“It’s a pretty good life, if you have the patience for it.”

A note to ask about the guilt was added for later. “I can’t give you the good pitch, you deserve better than that.”

“How about you ask me your questions and I try my best at answering them instead?”

 

[Damian Starchaser]

Damian wasn’t sure at all about how any of that sounded. Truth was it terrified him, he wasn’t much for wars and fighting. The destruction of Corellia had been enough conflict for him. But better yourself? That sounded a decent plan. There was something else though, a sense Damian had when he mentioned his grandfather in front of Kana, and then again when she touched upon her past a little.

Normally Damian would have pressed the issue trying to learn more, but that felt wrong now. “Life is rarely easy,” Damian waxed philosophical. It was a dangerous galaxy. “But at least…” He paused. Stopping for a moment he thought about his next words. “At least I’d have you around if I went with the Jedi.”

There was another pause as he walked up to the woman and kneeled down in front of her to examine her leg. He pulled at the tear a little and examined the metal underneath. Then Damian stood up and walked over to the wave skimmer. In the compartment on the top there was a basic repair kit. Damain took out some sealant designed to stop hull leaks. He walked back over to [member="Kana Truden"] and pulled the cloth together spraying the sealant on. “And you’d have me…” he said while looking up from his kneeling position.

 

[Kana Truden]

… Or no questions at all. She knew she had scared the kid but it was best he went into it with a clear head which had him aware of might happen to him along the way. A small reassuring smile spread across Kana’s face as Damian made the point that they’d be there for each other. If the bond between them was anything to go on such would always be the case. A Master and her Padawan, a sacred tradition, apparently.

“And I would have you.” She repeated with a nod. “My very own mechanic and gentleman, should the need for either arise.”

With no questions sent her way she soon found herself with a question of her own. A look of worry set over her. Kana opened her mouth to speak but didn’t really know what to say, did this thing really concern her?

“Damian,” She lingered in hesitation. “What's on your mind?” Too late now. “I could feel the conflict within you. Are you worried about something?”

[member="Damian Starchaser"]

 

[Damian Starchaser]

Damian frowned a little. It worked both ways apparently. “I am not sure what to do.” HE couldn’t tell. Well he could, but really what would she think. “About the Jedi, about people. I don’t know.”

He bit his lower lip and thought for a few more moments. “I don’t know what to do. Where would I live as a Jedi? Ruusan? I don’t know if I’d want to live on Ruusan. I’ve lived most of my life on Starships with the home port of Corellia.” He lamented the loss of his Grandfathers ship. Perhaps one day he could get it back, out of impound. If he had the money from the robbery surely. “What does it mean to be a Jedi? Or for me to go with you? Are you my teacher?” [member="Kana Truden"] had a lot to answer for.

 

[Kana Truden]

“It’s a lot to take in.” Kana nodded, again. “There are other places to take up residence, but mine is on Ruusan with my friends. Well, most of them anyway.” The Grandmaster still lived on Ossus after all which was the only real downside to Ruusan in Kana’s mind. “And yes, if you came with me, and wanted to, I would be your ‘teacher’ though that doesn’t mean you will learn everything from just me. Other masters, that’s what we call teachers, usually fill in when others lack ability.”

Slowly but steadily her foot began to accept input again. She rotated her foot for a bit as she thought of a good way to tackle the boy’s questions. “Being a jedi is about selflessness. Treat people with respect and never turn away from helping someone. Some see it as about servitude and duty but there are so many interpretations of our code that it’s hard to truly keep track anymore.”

“They all draw the same conclusion though: Be the good guy.” A biased opinion, but the right one. “Not all of these ‘good guys’ live in temples though, there are many who travel the galaxy and just helps where they’re needed. Me, personally, have always wanted to do that but find that solid ground provides a much more steady work environment.”

“So yeah, it’s about self-control and regulation. To never act on emotion, but see the logic in things and act accordingly. Does that make sense to you?”

[member="Damian Starchaser"]

 

[Damian Starchaser]

Damian was still on his knees watching as [member="Kana Truden"] rotated her foot under the suit. Instinctivly he brought his hand down and rested it on the artificial ankle supporting it as she moved it about. He tilted his head up a little to look her in the eyes but was distracted by the the naked flesh of Kana’s abdomen. “Self control,” Damian said as she talked, entranced by the rhythmic motion of her breathing. Her chest rose and declined and her abdomen contracted.

“About that….” The little clone said snapping himself out of it. He wasn’t sure he could be selfless, or if he could never turn away from helping someone. The truth was the way he knew how to help also hurt. It was a numbers game for him. “What does Jedi training exactly? Waking up early at an academy, running, setting watch?” He grimaced. “I don’t know if how fit I am for that.”

 

[Kana Truden]

“It grows on you.” Kana stated calmly. “I could have you sent on tasks. Minimal contact with the world on remote planets or the opposite. We don’t always sit around in temples, but for some of us it’s simply been a part that we got used to.”

The rock had served its purpose and she gave [member="Damian Starchaser"] the opportunity to let go of her foot before she rose up. With only minimal hissing the leg found itself functioning again. Maybe a little bit in a jittery fashion, but it was working and that was good enough until the sensors picked up the proper signals again.

“Look, we train in how to protect ourselves and others. We seek understanding in the ways of the force and that is really all we do. You don’t have to spend your days in a temple, but as I said, a lot of us just find it easier that way.”

“We have groups like the Levantine Sanctum, of which I am loosely associated, that patrol the Tingel Arm. I helped them secure Tion back when everybody disappeared.”

“Never want to go there again.” A small look of disgust spread across her features. “I am not a fan of all these ‘hoity toity rich guys’ that just… Blegh.”

Her face scrunched up as her head shook back and forth. “Sorry, just… No. I had enough of them as a kid.”

 

[Damian Starchaser]

Damian knew about rich people, he’d met his fare share. Stolen from more than a few of them, or else otherwise cheated them. The difference, at least from his experience, is when you cheated a rich person they generally thanked you afterward. At least if you did it right. Mentally he shrugged off the thought as he considered the rest of her words. “A Jedi doesn’t need to be associated with the Republic then?” he’s never had the best relations with the Republic.

“You aren’t really good at selling the Jedi Order you know,” he said with a little smirk. “But protecting myself, and others… finding understanding. I can see the appeal.” And then he thought about her other words. “You know our ship left from Lianna which is a world in the Tion Cluster right? We’re on a ship filled with people who have had every advantage. There was another guy my age who has actually had surgery done to get rid of pimples. Met him at the pool before I met you.”

Rolling his eyes he continued, “I heard from his older sister that he plays Gravball. Isn’t very good, but his father paid for the courts so he got on his school's team. You should hear him talk about it. He thinks, like really truly believes, he’s good at the game.”

“Lets get out of here…” he said finally convinced that Kana’s foot was well enough for travel. He jetted out into the water leaving the cave behind. The sun was setting, boy would this extended rental fee cost him. Damian stopped his wave skimmer and waited for his elder to catch up. He looked over the woman and felt a warm sensation through his body. “[member="Kana Truden"],” he said finally deciding. “I’ve only known you for twenty four hours and I’m seriously considering running away from everything to go with you….”

Thats when the pirate ship flew overhead. Damian looked up at the armed vessel and saw it depositing skimmers just ahead. His heart skipped a beat. He had paid to disable the communications during his robbery, a robbery which was scheduled for now. The man who sold him the codes for the time must have sold the information to these… pirates… “Kana, they can’t call for help.” he said quickly checking the wave skimmers operations. “We need to help…” and then he jet off back toward the cruiseship...


[member="Peyton Steele"]

 

[Kana Truden]

The republican shook her head at [member="Damian Starchaser"]’s first question. Granted that it was wrong of her and most likely frowned upon by others in her order she couldn’t exactly lie to the kid. Because doing that in itself would have been to break a pillar or cornerstone of ‘the way of the jedi’ after all.

As the kid went on to tell his story there was little she could do but turn the headshake into a nod reinforced with fake calm as she held back her snickering. It was the average tale of the rich people trying to quell nature. She wasn’t really one to give two cents or a nickel about such things, but just this once it struck home. Kana was well-aware of these treatments, Ilyana and Calista both had gotten them. Heads had been wrapped like mummies for what felt like weeks, laughs were had and images which totally-not-Kana had ‘leaked’ to their friends.

It was an oddly good memory. Possibly because of the revenge it involved.

“Well, Damian Starchaser,” Kana would begin in an effort to provide a very funny retort of her own. Not that it happened, the pirates made sure of that much. “Agreed.”

What would he mean by ‘They can’t call for help’? Surely they could, a ship like that was bound to have communications devices available, right? Her skimmer followed close to the kid in a race back to the cruise.

Wonder what that Senator was thinking of this untimely escape of hers. The thought hit her like a train. The senator! If anything happened to him it would be her fault and/or responsibility! Worrying thought indeed.

“To the senator!” Kana sped up.

 

[Damian Starchaser]

Damian started to think as Kana shot forward. Thankfully he still had a lead on the woman as they neared the vessel. He took a deep breath tasting the brine in the sea air. This would get someone killed. “Kana.,” he yelled over the sounds of the ocean. “I’m sorry…” he turned the wave skimmer in front of hers at the last moment and watched in slight horror as her speeder crashed into the back of his.

The engine puttered out of existence. “We need a believable excuse of why we are late. Pirates with a manifest could be problematic.” Damian grimaced as the little wave skimmer he was on started to sink. He jumped into the ocean and started to tread water. Amongst the flotsam was a piece of jagged debris. Damian reached for it and used the piece to slice a little gash into his leg. Nothing sold the story of an accident like blood.

Face contorting into a grimace he continued his thought, “If we rush in and try to fight these people off we are just going to get hostages killed,” he crawled up the back of the wave skimmer and wrapped his arms around Kana’s stomach. Flesh touched flesh in a moment that would have tantalized and mesmerized Damian a few short hours ago… but this wasn’t then.

 

[Kana Truden]

“Sorry for wha-” A question she never asked, nor had to ask. [member="Damian Starchaser"] trashed his craft in front of her. This was all just getting more and more getting weird for each passing moment. First a lack of communications, now pirates with a manifest? How would he know that? Things were treading into Assumptionland, and none of the rides looked particularly fun.

She sped off towards the cruiser again. “I will help you with your leg later but do you mind telling me exactly what is going on here, Damian?” The water shimmered underneath the skimmer. She wanted to look back and face the kid but such a move didn’t feel very clever. “No communcations, pirates with manifests…”

She took a deep breath, this would suck. “Just exactly how do you know all this?”