Клаудия Грэй: Into the Dark

“I wasn’t impressed, either,” Affie said. “We didn’t get to go around a whole lot, but still, Scover made it sound like this was the greatest place in the galaxy.”

“Great in terms of scale.” Leox nodded toward the surface of the planet as they soared away from it. “Not so much in charm, if you ask me.”

Affie couldn’t help feeling disappointed. She’d hoped to come back to Scover Byne with some insight or impression that would prove her worthiness to be one of the first members of the Guild to travel to the Galactic Core. There had to be something significant and fantastic about Coruscant, or it wouldn’t be the most important of the Core Worlds, would it? Whatever that was, Affie had missed it. Maybe their passengers would be interesting; if this “Jedi” thing meant much, at least she’d be able to tell Scover about that.

I just want to make you proud , she thought to the Guild’s owner, and her foster mother.

The atmosphere thinned. The sky darkened. The Vessel escaped Coruscant and slipped into space. Leox grabbed the hyperdrive levers and said, “Can’t wait to get away from civilization.”

With that he pulled them into hyperspace, away from the Galactic Core, into the wild.

The makeshift bunks aboard the Vessel weren’t luxurious, but then again, neither were the Padawans’ quarters in the Temple. Reath noted the small cot, the thin partitions, and the bare-bones ’fresher without complaint.

Nor could he complain about the Vessel itself. All right, its crew was…eccentric, and maybe it was more ramshackle than the average ship that landed on Coruscant. However, the engines hummed along easily. The internal temperature remained within a range comfortable for humans and most near-human species. The Jedi had plenty of room to relax, either in solitude or with others in the mess.

Was there any information center? Any way to access histories or fiction? Of course not. It would be silly to expect anything like that on a small transport. But Reath noted it anyway, as the first sign of the deprivations he’d no doubt face on the frontier. Probably it was better to go ahead and get his sulking done now, before he made it to Master Jora and had work to do. Reath still had hopes of changing her mind, but he would rule out that faint possibility before he’d even started if he showed up at Starlight at anything less than his best.

So he wasn’t in the mood for company. However, he was in the mood to eat, as usual. Growing as fast as he was—twelve centimeters the past year alone—sometimes it seemed as if it were physically impossible to stuff in as much food as he actually needed.

To Reath’s relief, the Vessel ’s mess was completely silent. He could have privacy and lunch. Under his breath he muttered, “The best of both— gahh! ”

At the far end of the mess stood Geode. Had he moved from the cockpit? Had Leox and Affie moved him? Did he walk, or crawl, or roll, or teleport? Reath squinted at the rock, trying to determine whether the being was friendly, irritated, or even awake. Trying, and failing.

“Sorry,” Reath began. “You, uh, you startled me there.”

Geode made no response. Reath felt silly for expecting one.

“Oh, hey,” said Affie Hollow as she trooped into the mess. “So, how do you like her? The Vessel , I mean.”

“She’s perfect for what we need,” Reath admitted.

The word perfect made Affie’s face light up like a Naboo lantern. “I love this ship. It’s my favorite in the whole fleet.”

“What fleet?”

“The Byne Guild,” she said, opening up a packet of pale pink powder and tapping it into a small bowl. “Scover Byne is the owner, and she says she’s grooming me to help take over someday. If I take on just a little more responsibility, she’ll give me a ship of my own—I just know it. And I’d pick the Vessel .”

Reath silently downgraded his thoughts about the size and influence of the Byne Guild. The Vessel was serviceable, sure, but if this was the pick of the fleet, he had questions about that fleet.

His expression must’ve betrayed his thoughts too clearly, because Affie laughed. “Scover doesn’t get why this is my favorite, either. But I feel like certain ships…they have an energy, you know? Maybe even a little bit of a soul. The Vessel has more of a soul than any other ship I’ve encountered. And that’s what I want to travel the galaxy in.”

“I understand that,” Reath offered. Maybe the ship grew on you, after a while. “It does have, um, personality.”

Affie stirred a little water into the bowl, and the pinkish powder puffed up into a sticky bun. “So, okay, tell me what the Jedi are in two sentences or less.”

For the first time in what felt like days, Reath smiled. “Those two sentences might be pretty long.”

“We’ve got nothing but hyperspace and time.” She settled herself into a chair and took a big bite of the sticky bun, through which she mumbled, “Ready for this, Geode?”

Geode said nothing and did nothing.

Reath sighed. Best to begin at the absolute beginning. “Do you know what the Force is?”

Affie gave him a withering look. “ Everybody knows about the Force, come on .”

“All right, all right.” He held up his hands in mock surrender. “Sorry. Just making sure. So, the Jedi are Force users united in our quest to understand the mysteries of the Force and to serve as guardians of peace and justice throughout the galaxy.”

“I’ve heard of Force users before,” she said. “But why does that make you monks?”

“I still have one sentence to go. Um, we ground ourselves in a spiritual existence and give up individual attachments in order to focus entirely on greater concerns.”

Affie chewed thoughtfully on her sticky bun for a moment before saying, “So, that means no sex.”

Should he give her Master Jora’s whole speech about the difference between celibacy of the body and true purity of the heart? It was a very long speech. Reath decided to skip it. “Basically.”

She nodded. “Definitely monks.”

“Now, see, that I just don’t get,” Leox said later, when Affie and Geode tried to explain the Jedi to him. “How are you supposed to prove love to the galaxy at large if you don’t know how to love any one individual person?”

Affie shrugged as she double-checked their readings. The wavering blue light of hyperspace glinted off every bit of metal in the cockpit, making it look beautifully electrified. Even Geode sparkled slightly. She said, “You don’t have to have sex with someone to love them. You should know that if anyone does.”

“Indeed I do. But other beings seem to value copulation as a form of bonding.” Leox then made a face and swore. “Not appropriate. Sorry.”

He meant well, she knew, but Affie hated it when he treated her like a kid instead of as an equal. Fortunately, he didn’t do that much. “It’s okay. I think I heard of sex once already.”

That made Leox laugh. “Just make sure your mom knows I’m not the first person who talked to you about it.”

Every time someone described Scover Byne as Affie’s mom, it warmed her through. “You know, it would be easy to get Scover to like you more. If you’d just wear the Guild coverall once in a while—”

“Up with that I cannot put.” Leox shook his head. “A man’s gotta have standards. And since I lack the financial wherewithal to declare my independence from the Guild, my personhood must be asserted sartorially. In other words, you can take my beads from my cold dead body.”

Affie suppressed a smile. “You know, the Jedi would probably say you were putting too much emphasis on worldly things.”