5.05- Aka bal Burc'ya (Mission and Friend)

[Shuku Bralor]

48 ABY
Naboo, Isolated Countryhouse

Dramatis Personae:
Shuku Bralor
Aniri Veila
Baar'Atin Rau

Despite the picturesque landscape of Naboo, Shuku could never quite relax. Not that this was a new sensation for her. She could never feel even remotely comfortable in a situation until she'd checked for all potential dangers. Even then, she continually kept her guard up. This was part of what made her such a good bodyguard for Aniri. Aniri's force sensitivity was helpful for picking up on risks that she might have even missed herself, but she was far too trusting compared to Shuku. Of course, practically everyone was more trusting than her. Unsurprising considering her childhood on Rattatak before being "rescued" by the Mandalorians. Few people in this galaxy were ever so bad off that being raised on Mandalore was a better and safer option than their previous life. Fortunately Shuku had caught their eye when she disposed of a mark some Mando bounty hunters had been pursuing.

The sun was rising and painting the sky with a lustrous rainbow of colors. She'd already completed her morning check of the premises, unpacked and repacked her kit in case a rapid exit became necessary, cleaned and polished her blasters, and sharpened her blades. Aniri would likely be finished morning meditations soon and then they could have breakfast. For now, Shuku waited on the deck, her deep onyx eyes continually scanning the perimeter, only momentarily delayed by the sun's rays dancing of the ripples of the lake. She had been trying to learn to appreciate the beauty of certain aspects of life at Aniri's behest. Nature was one of the few things she would occasionally admire, but she remembered too many nights being caught out in the elements to let herself forget it's dark side. No, give her the beauty of a curved blade sharp enough to pierce iron armor, a sniper rifle capable of piercing an eye at 500 metres, and pair of boots that could keep your feet comfortable from Tattoine to Hoth. Those were the types of beauty Shuku could really sink her teeth into.

They hadn't been at this house long, but she was already growing concerned. The longer they stayed in one place the easier it would be for others to find them. There hadn't been any immediately pressing threats recently, but that was not a guarantee of safety, even Aniri knew that, hence keeping Shuku around. She could hear her friend's light footsteps from inside and turned her head back towards the door.

[Shuku Bralor]

Had the warmth of the rising sun not brushed her upward tilted face and reminded her of the time Aniri could have stayed seated in meditation all day. She was completely unused to the calm they'd found on Naboo since the trial's end nearly a month before. Moments like this, of pure tranquility, were generally a rarity in her life. Experiencing this kind of lasting peace, let alone for almost a month, was something she hadn't had since her teens and she was acutely aware of how lucky she was. She had her children, all of them, the Mera'din seemed to be finally done with her, the trial was over and she was a free woman once more. Completely free, not a sith slave, and not under house arrest, and not with every eye in the galaxy watching her every move.

"Free."

The word was more beautiful than even the Nabooian sunrise.

Lifting her arms to the sky she let her back stretch out after sitting for such a long period of time. She was almost never able to sleep the night through. More often than not she'd leave the lavishment of her bedchambers to sit in the grass fields surrounding her country estate and mediate. Meditation always seemed to give her more rest than sleep did. It had become routine and Shuku, whom was by now waiting to begin their breakfast together, would know where her employer was, if she hadn't physically walked by and seen Aniri on her rounds as Aniri expected she had.

Their existence was a comfortable one on Naboo. Money hadn't been an issue for Aniri since the death of her adoptive mother 'Aunt Ryoo', during Aniri's mid-teens. She'd let the majority of her inheritance sit and grow in investments while she'd attended the Jedi academy, then later during the war. Even growing up in the luxury that accompanied being 'daughter' to a Nabooian Senator and 'relation' of one of Naboo's most famous Queens Aniri had always remained frugal and insisted on using the credits she'd earned from her various acting jobs before using any of her Aunt's, causing there now to be a more than substantial sum in her accounts. If need be Aniri could stand to pay her Mandalorian bodyguards for a few years without having to worry. Though she desperately hoped that someday soon the galaxy would be safe again but for now, when it came to her children, the extra credits spent were more than worth it to know that she had two more pairs of eyes looking out for them.

Instead of walking the perimeter of the rather large country house and having to balance on the slim walkway that bordered the river that ran to the lake Aniri cut through the house and was pleased to hear nothing but soft snores emitting from the children's room Like herself, Cassie often had trouble sleeping through the night and it was getting common place to find the little blonde sitting outside her bedroom door, book in her lap, when Aniri came in from her morning mediation. But it seemed that this morning Cassie had found a peaceful rest. One more thing for Aniri to be thankful for.

After checking in on the children, and saying a quick hello to Branko, she headed toward the deck where she knew Shuku would be waiting for her and where any minute Hadi, the old family maidservant, would be out with their breakfast.

Aniri pushed the glass door open and once again stepped out into the sunlight.

"Good Morning Shuku." She said giving the other woman a warm smile.

[Shuku Bralor]

"Morning Aniri. Restful meditations, I presume?" She didn't really need an answer. She knew the quiet here was one of the biggest attractions for Aniri. Shuku still didn't know how she felt about it though. It was nice in that it would be easier to detect any threats, but it often had the effect of dulling one's senses, lulling one into a false sense of security. Plus, in the event of a situation it was not as easy to disappear into the beautiful landscape as into a crowded cityscape. She certainly didn't begrudge Aniri her times of meditation and peace. It was Shuku's job to be concerned with threats, not hers. Heavens knew the woman took enough on herself as it was. For her the idea of sitting and thinking and reflecting was distinctly unappetizing. There was a plethora of aspects of her life that she'd rather avoid thinking about or ever remembering if she could help it.

She preferred to spend her time training her body. In that way she could understand the relaxation that Aniri got from her meditation. She could only achieve that same freedom of mind during combat. Physical training could do wonders for clearing her head. Attuning her body to instantaneous motion. Her body became a fluid vessel, working on muscle memory and reflex. The more she learned to silence her thoughts, the better. In a fight they only slowed her down. That was likely part of why she was getting twitchy. The quiet and the sitting still. She'd have to convince Branko to extend their sparring matches today. She couldn't afford to let her nerves tense up like they were. Aniri might be able to release her tension in Force meditation, but Shuku had her own ways.

"Breakfast must be ready by now, shall we?" She didn't want her own tension rubbing off on Aniri. She knew how sensitive she was in the Force and the last thing she'd need was to feel her bodyguard's nerve's grating on what must be for her a welcome respite. She just wished she could get rid of this nagging feeling she had that something was wrong. She'd been especially thorough during her rounds. Everyone was present, accounted for, safe, and behaving as usual. Everything in her kit was in top condition as always. All her backups and escape plans were valid and secure, yet still she could not shake this nagging feeling.

Hoping some conversation might distract her, she sat down at the table that Hadi had so kindly already laid out for them. "After breakfast I'm going to be doing our weekly check-in to the comm hub. Obviously there haven't been any emergencies or we'd have been directly contacted by one of your closer friends. But it's best to make sure you continue to respond through the off-planet web to the relatively time-sensitive messages to avoid too much suspicion about your... absence."

[Shuku Bralor]

She was absolutely right of course but Aniri would have rather allowed themselves to be cut off from the outside world completely. Checking that comm hub was just a way to invite problems. And there were two people she knew had left messages that she wasn’t ready to respond to. So far they both respected her plea for time and distance but that hadn’t stopped them from calling weekly. She needed to sort out her feelings about Karter and Javed and to do that she needed time.



She still loved Javed. She would probably always unreasonably love the man but she didn’t trust him. During Lokiana’s rampaged revenge attack Javed had saved her life by ending the life of his former lover, and she was grateful to him for that but there were too many mountains of lies between the two. Xurxo’s praise and taunts regarding his son were still too fresh in her memory. What she’d lived through at the hands of the Mera’din was not something she could easily sweep under the rug and pretend had never happened. Every time she looked at Javed she saw the betrayal. Every time she heard his voice she felt the phantom pain of Xurxo’s whip on her back, his nails digging into her face, or heard the sweet mocking tone of his voice as he whispered to Naomi, telling her what her mother had done to encore his wrath. Why she lay bleeding on the floor.



No, those wounds were too recent to try and let Javed back into her heart. And of course there was always the chance that he was again, lying to her, that he’d known his father had kidnapped her. There were times Aniri awoke in sweats fearing that Javed had stolen Naomi away in the night. If Javed wanted to take Naomi she knew there was little she could do to stop him. He was a force of nature. The fact that he hadn’t, that he was trying to win her trust gave her hope.



And then there was Karter. Sweet, dependable Karter. She knew he was in love with her. His proposal before her departure had been shocking but not entirely unexpected. She certainly cared for him deeply but love… With Karter it wasn’t the same as it had been with Ja’es, as it was with Javed. The undeniable passion, heat, and uncontrollable need just weren’t there. They had an easy friendship. She was certainly attracted to him, she’d have to be insane not to be, and what she felt for him could probably one day grow into love but it wasn’t all consuming. He didn’t invade her thoughts the way Javed did. But he was safe, he cared, and she knew he could love the children as his own. He would make a wonderful, stable, father.



Aniri took at seat across from Shuku and looked down at the food. Her stomach was tied in knots, appetite gone.



“Sounds good.” She said and forced herself to pick at the fresh fruit Hadi had laid out.



“After, if you wouldn’t mind, Naomi is looking for another one on one session with you. She hasn’t stopped talking about the last one.”



Her youngest daughter sometimes seriously worried her. After spending a few years under the tutorage of her grandfather she’d grown used to the constant training and strength building. She feverently learned everything she could about fighting, whether it be force training, or physical training. She was only five, almost six, but she was hungry for the thrill training and fighting gave her. Aniri just hoped that learning from the right people would make all the difference.

[Shuku Bralor]

Shuku mulled over Aniri's request as she chewed her bland breakfast grains that Hadi always wanted to spice up for her. After all her years of borderline starvation she could barely get used to actually having a full belly, let alone one of rich foods.

"Yes, I think that could certainly be arranged."

She had been impressed with the girl's aptitude last time. She understood Aniri's concerns regarding Naomi but for Shuku the girl's drive to fight just meant she was a survivor. She knew that to most of the civilized worlds that urge for confrontation was frowned upon, but at the girl's age it demonstrated a fierce confidence and strength of will in Shuku's eyes. Manners and social niceties were aggravating to learn, but they were still much easier to pick up than the conditioning of years of physical training. She'd hoped to really be able to work out her nerves with Branko, but perhaps it would be better for her to practice a more controlled release through her instruction with Naomi.

Breakfast was filling, but with little happening day to day, there was little for Aniri and Shuku to discuss. It was pleasant to be sure, but Shuku wanted to really get started on the day, especially training so she could get her own relaxation. But first checking for messages. She knew Aniri had her own reasons for disliking it; they often interrupted her peace of mind. Shuku just knew from experience that it was a wise precaution. Her messages were usually just job offers that she'd have to decline because her current position was becoming more permanent than anyone had really expected. It was nice to know her services were so sought after, but tedious to send her denial replies. But she'd some day return to the open mercenary market, and it certainly wasn't wise to offend the potential clients.

Going through the layers of encryption and security through the holoweb she retrieved all the messages from their dropbox. Bouncing it off several satellite mirrors she left ghost trails that would make tracking her back to source extremely difficult and complicated. She didn't hold any false beliefs that it was impossible to track them, there was always a way, but she could make that path as roundabout as possible so they could detect any threats before they arrived. She scanned the messages for any tracker viruses and then shunted Aniri's to her own commpad. She knew who the more pertinent comms would be from without even looking, but she respected Aniri's privacy and wouldn't dare to open them. If there was anything of note she need be aware of, Aniri would tell her. She sent Branko's few comms to his pad as well, not that she imagined he'd be too concerned about them. Scanning through hers there were the offers she'd expected, but one of a more personal nature that caught her attention.

[Shuku Bralor]

It didn’t take long for the commpad at her belt to emit a soft beep. Shuku had sent Aniri her messages. Unclipping the commpad Aniri held it in her hand for a moment and let the sun reflect off of it’s black metallic surface. As she’d expected there were messages each from Karter and Javed, one from her cousin Tahiri, and a multitude of messages from magazines and holo stations all still trying to get an interview with her about the trial.

She swiftly deleted the publicity messages. As far as Aniri was concerned her life dealing with the media was over. There would be no more holos on her horizon, no more talk shows, and no more interviews. With any luck the universe would get bored with trying to reach her and the name ‘Aniri Veila’ would be largely forgotten by the time her children were to enter school. She knew that it was unrealistic but she still held onto the hope that if she ignored them long enough eventually they’ve disappear and her children might not get harassed because of their mother’s fame.

She opted to see Tahiri’s message first. Since her return the two cousin had been working very hard to mend their relationship. Their different opinions on Jacen Solo’s character had driven a rift between the two the same time the Order spilt. Tahiri had suggested the Jacen was connected to Ja’es’s death and that was an opinion that Aniri just couldn’t believe. They’d hardly spoken more than five words to each other leading up to Aniri’s disappearance but upon her return both Veilas agreed to put aside their differences. Now they just didn’t talk about Jacen or Ja’es and so far the system seemed to be working.

A small blue image of her cousin appeared hovering inches above the top of her comm. In her arms she held a very small baby girl, Aniri’s new niece Angelique. Tahiri’s face looked happier than she’d seen it since the academy. Aniri had been there for the birth right before leaving for Naboo and had been willing to stay and help Tahiri get adjusted to motherhood but her cousin had insisted that she go on with her plan and insisted that she and the father would be fine, were even looking forward to having some alone family time. No matter how hard Aniri pressed she hadn’t been able to get Tahiri to admit to who the father was, and it drove her crazy but as talkative as Tahiri could be she was even better at being close mouthed when she wanted to be.

I swear, three minutes ago she was wide awake and playful. Figures it would take me just long enough to set this thing up for her to fall asleep. Tahiri was smiling ear to ear.

She’s so… vibrant ‘Niri. Always smiling, always pulling at my hair. I think I might have to cut it, but at the same time I don’t want to because she likes playing with it and I don’t want to take anything away that she likes! How silly is that? I might not fix a discomfort for myself because my daughter likes to pull my hair. And her eyes are so big! I never realized their eyes were so big, it’s weird and cute all at once.

Aniri started to laugh, she hadn’t seen her cousin ramble like this in a long time.

But anyway, I just wanted to say that we miss you guys. I hope the little ones are adjusting to things okay. Gives the twins and Nay our love. And tell Naomi that I expect her to teach my little girl how to tumble properly just as soon as she’s old enough. She’ll know what I mean. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you need anything.

And with a wink her cousin’s image disappeared.

[Shuku Bralor]

Staring at the sender's name Shuku hesitated before playing the message. The transparent blue statue of Baar'Atin Rau balanced in her hand. She knew there was no way she could avoid it, but she felt extreme caution with regards to its contents. One of the mandos she had been first introduced to he was a figure in her reborn life, but not always a good one. This could be a gentle nostalgic message of greeting, or an antagonistic prod at her and her current position. Exhaling a deep sigh, she pressed play.

Oya cyar'ika.

She couldn't help but let a smile slip. In her youth, she would never have thought to hear someone use a petname for her.

You know it's cruel to go so far away and not tell me where you're going. Not that I couldn't find you, but you wound me darling.

She skoffed at his continually over-dramatic attitude and ever constant ego.

I know you've got your whole "steady work" thing going on but you must be bored with that by now. I know of several jobs that would be fantastic for us. High-paying, dangerous, exciting! I could really use you on some of these. Don't pretend you don't want to test yourself again. Your whole bodyguard foray must be completely boring you, and I bet it's dulling your senses too.

Rolling her eyes, she let him keep jabbering on. This was more along the lines of what she'd expected from him. Being born on Mando'a he always thought he knew what was best for all Mandalorians, including her. He barely heard it when anyone else gave their opinion. She'd hoped he'd have at least figured out that he couldn't change her mind by now, but he was perpetually iron-headed (in an almost endearing way except when he was being especially aggravating).

There's something I'd really prefer to discuss in person anyway, but since you refuse to tell me where you are, you need to come home. It has to do with your gar'buir.*

Her heart skipped a beat at that. Growing up without her birth parents hadn't hurt her as much until she realized what she'd been missing. And if her father needed her, she would have to go, extended position or not.

Can't say more in a holo, but I think you need to know.

And with a blink, he was gone. For moments after his image disappeared she could still do nothing but stare into the empty space above her palm. Life was much simpler when she didn't have anyone to care about.

*gar = your, buir = father, or mother.