See the Light
Disclaimer: Once again, they're not mine.
Summary: Bao-Dur looks at Visas in a new light. Will hopefully be a continuing story, with possible romance.
"No no no. You've got nineteen there. And I've already used three of my cards. You should stand."
"But I've got two minus cards left. Why shouldn't I keep playing?"
"Because you'll lose, that's why."
"If you say so. This is a stupid game."
Bao-Dur smiled to himself. The conversation between Atton and the General was easily overheard, and he could not deny he was amused by it. He never would have guessed that the General was the type of woman to throw away her time over a simple card game, but here she was, proving him wrong.
They had been at it for nearly an hour. At first Atton had patiently taught her the rules of pazaak, but by now his growing impatience was obvious. The General was brilliant when it came to military strategy and tactics, but apparently she had a hard time counting to twenty.
A figure walked past, and Bao-Dur glanced up. He was in the security room, checking to make sure all the cameras were functioning. The General had seen him in here, an hour ago when she had entered the cockpit, but she had said nothing to him. One of the benefits of being a tech, Bao-Dur had long ago learned, was that most people treated him like a droid. Invisible most times, and usually nothing more than furniture when he was noticed.
"Excuse me, but I wonder if I could have a word. There is something I wished to show you." The Disciple spoke carefully, unsure of his welcome in the cockpit.
"We're busy," Atton said. "Maybe some other time."
"No, it's all right." The General did not sound annoyed at having her pazaak lesson interrupted. "What did you want to show me?"
The Disciple hesitated, and Bao-Dur found himself leaning forward slightly, not wanting to miss what the soldier said next. "It is in the medical bay. Would you mind coming with me?"
"Not at all." The General's cheerful response did not quite cover the rude noise Atton made.
Footsteps sounded in the hall. Bao-Dur busied himself with the security terminal, but neither the General nor the Disciple so much as peeked at him as they walked past.
The door to the cockpit slammed closed as Atton gave in to his temper. Bao-Dur started in fright, then shook his head ruefully. Ten years after the war had ended, and he still wanted to take cover when he heard a sudden noise.
All the security cameras were working, and now that the pazaak lesson had ended, it was rather boring up here. Bao-Dur left the small room and made his way through the ship, back toward the garage.
The Ebon Hawk was quiet now, but yesterday that had not been the case. The General had been looking for one of the lost Jedi on Nar Shaddaa. Bao-Dur and Atton had gone with her. The three of them had been walking through the Refugee Sector when suddenly the General had stopped still and announced that they needed to return to the ship.
Bao-Dur had not questioned this decision. He trusted the General to know the right course.
And once again, she had not let him down. Slavers had hijacked the ship, trying to take it for their own. A terrific battle had ensued. Bao-Dur had never doubted that they would reclaim the ship, but for a few minutes, he had wondered just how hard it would be.
No one had escaped the fight unscathed. The General had commanded them to stay on board the ship for the night. They needed to rest and heal their wounds, she had said. And there were some things she wanted to talk about. She had looked at Atton as she had said that, and Bao-Dur had remembered the two Twi'leks who had approached them in the Refugee Sector, then he had put it out of his mind.
The fight had been yesterday. By now all traces of the battle had been erased, and Bao-Dur's wounds were gone. The Force was truly a wondrous thing. From time to time he thought that maybe one day he would like to learn its mysteries, then he would quickly put such thoughts from his head.
His remote booped at him as he entered the garage. He gave it a smile and made his way to the workbench he had set up in the corner. He bent over it and picked up a hydrospanner, and then set it down.
"Did you need something?"
She glided from the shadows, her eyes veiled as always. "Why do you stay in here? You spend so much of yourself in these repairs, in these objects." Her voice dropped. "You stare at your tools all day, and you do not even see the world around you. You are more blind than I am."
Bao-Dur looked at the Miraluka seer. He was uncomfortable around her, no matter what the General said about her. "Perhaps if you were less blind, you would see that you are wrong about me," he said.
"Perhaps," Visas said. Her head turned, giving the impression that she was actually seeing the contents of the garage. "But perhaps I see very well."
"Was there something you needed?" he asked. He had not known her to enter the garage before. Only this morning she had still been slightly injured from the firefight with the slavers. He was somewhat surprised to see that she had left her room.
"So many questions," Visas murmured. One hand lifted slightly, her fingrs trailing through the air. "The Exile asks them of me as well. She is genuinely concerned for my well-being."
"Does that bother you?" Bao-Dur asked.
"I am not bothered," Visas said. She hesitated. "But I do not know what to think of it. It has been a long time since anyone cared enough to ask me what I wanted."
She must have lived a very bleak existence, Bao-Dur thought. He remembered the scars that covered her body, seen when she had lain unconscious in the medical bay after attacking the General. They had all stared down at her, shocked into humble silence; Atton had been uncharacteristically subdued, and even Kreia had been less inclined to lecture that day.
"I do not know what Master you served before this," Bao-Dur said, "but the General is a good person. She will look after you, as long as you are with her." He frowned, then added, "You can trust her." He was not sure a Sith would even care about something as fragile as trust, but the Miraluka was not quite like any Sith he had ever heard of before.
And he suspected she was experiencing a conflict, deep within her. After she had recovered from her injuries, she and the General had sat for hours in conversation. Kreia had scowled with disapproval, and for once Bao-Dur had agreed with the old woman. He had not liked the idea of his General spending so much time with someone who had just tried to kill her.
But something had happened during those hours. Visas Marr was troubled now, and unsure of herself. Bao-Dur had watched her drift throughout the ship, her step uncertain. She no longer seemed to know the path before her.
Bao-Dur thought about his own doubts, the way he sometimes yearned to be a Jedi. He wanted to feel the Force and know its soothing power. It was the only thing that could save him from the horrors of the war, and yet it felt very far away.
Visas turned to face him. "I do trust her," she said quietly. "I would give my life for her."
"Then you already know why I spend so much of myself for her," Bao-Dur said.
Visas contemplated this for a long moment, then nodded. "I do know," she said.
Author's Note: Many many thanks to Trillian4210 for providing feedback on this chapter. You're the best, girl.