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Master Lumiani stood at the edge of the long bridge behind her private temple stronghold on Yavin 4. Eyes closed, the toes of her slippered feet clutched at the crumbling stone beneath them. Her balance was carefully teetering between falling into the canyon below and falling back to the safety of the wide, raised ledge. Her senses expanded until she could sense every plant and animal, and the stirring of wind and water. She sighed and smiled as the wind made her loosely-tied robes flutter.
“Scares the hell outta me when you do that, princess,” came a mechanical voice from behind her.
“Remove your helmet Kol’ar Kressh,” she instructed. “And don’t call me that. I gave up all title and rights to House Melantha when I became a Jedi.”
There was a pause, then a click and rustle as Private Koma’tose moved to comply. “Yeah, I know ma’am. But you are what you are. You don’t wanna be called that? I can respect that. It don’t change a thing.”
A small piece of rock broke and fell away from under Lumiani’s left foot. Koma gasped and instinctively reached to grab the Jedi master away from the ledge, but it was unnecessary. Lumiani simply shifted slightly and retained her balance.
“This is so unnecessary,” Koma’tose muttered. “Get yerself killed doing this.”
“You are mistaken, Kol’ar,” Lumiani replied. She cracked open one eye and turned her head to glance toward the trooper. “Every Force user lives on the very edge, every moment of every day. Temptation lies on all sides and danger lurks in the most seemingly benign of choices. I stand on the edge when I meditate as a reminder, as well as to hone my senses. And to remember what being alive is all about.”
“Yeah, sure,” Koma replied. “Whatever you say. You also get weird like this when there’s something on your mind. Wanna talk about it?”
Lumiani looked away so Koma couldn’t see her face. She smiled to herself; the trooper was more perceptive than most would expect. But she was not interested in sharing something that personal with the sith recruit. “Kol’ar, why are you here? You can see I’m busy. Don’t you have… trooper-ing to do?”
Koma’tose began to pace. It was a habit she picked up rather recently, as if she was full of energy and didn’t know how to focus it.
“Well ma’am, I –”
“Do I work in a brothel?” Lumiani interrupted.
“Uh… what?”
Lumiani waited.
Koma said, “Um… not that I’m aware of.”
“Then drop the ma’am stuff. No princess, no ma’am. You call me Master Lumiani, or Lumiani, or some variation of my actual name,” Lumiani ordered.
Koma was a little taken aback. The Jedi master was testy today. She muttered, “Wasn’t callin’ you a madam.” She shook her head and answered at a normal volume. “Yes, Master Lumiani. As you wish.”
“Continue.”
“Well, see, I like this place. Good people here and –” Koma stopped. “Look, it’s hard to talk to the back of your head, master Jedi.”
Lumiani stepped back and then turned around so she was facing the trooper. “Better?”
“Yeah, thanks. Anyway, I know I’m very loosely on loan to VI through the Tapani Empire’s alliance treaty with the Republic.” Koma offered the neatly folded clothes she was carrying.
Master Lumiani dropped her robe and let Koma quickly dress her. “You seem anxious, Kol’ar. Are you concerned you might be called home to Soterios?” She began to walk toward her Temple of Peace, her personal quarters separate from the main temple. Koma’tose kept pace with her, now carrying the discarded robe.
“Yeah. I don’t want to have to leave. I just got used to this place.”
“What’s his name?”
“What?”
“Or her name?”
Koma stopped. “Master Lumiani, I never said nothing about anybody else.”
Lumiani continued walking and Koma had to hurry to catch up. The Jedi master said nothing while Koma looked uncomfortable.
“Okay, there is someone. But I’d prefer to keep the name to myself.”
Lumiani smiled and nodded. “See how much more productive being honest with yourself is? I know I put you on the spot, Kol’ar. I want you to understand that beauty is beauty and attraction is attraction, regardless of gender or physical appearance. There is no wrong choice.
“You’ve been rather anxious lately, so I assume something has been on your mind. You’re the right age, attractive, and it appears that despite your fears, no one here wants to kill you.”
“Uh… yeah?” Koma was finding that being knocked off stride around Lumiani was a perpetual condition. “Well, partly. I don’t have nobody in mind or nothing.”
“It’s just ‘I don’t have anybody in mind’,” Lumiani corrected.
“What?”
“Never mind. Kol’ar, pursue whomever you like. I’ll see to it you are not transferred home to Soterios so long as I’m here.”
“How long would that be, if you don’t mind me askin’?” Koma asked.
“Indefinitely. I have no intention of leaving Vanquished Illusions. But my father still thinks I’ll return one day. He can believe what he wishes. In the meantime, we’ll use those connections he’s left in place to keep you here where you need to be.”
“Thanks, princess!”
Lumiani threw Koma a scathing look, but the sith trooper was grinning.
“So what was on yer mind back there, master Jedi?” Koma asked.
Lumiani stopped in front of the doorway of the Temple of Peace and turned to Koma. “My own thoughts were not so different from yours, Kol’ar.” She smiled.
“You like someone?”
“I like everyone, trooper.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Koma responded sourly. “And you know it. You don’t wanna talk, that’s fine. But say so if that’s the case so I’m not wasting nobody’s time.”
“Anybody’s time,” Lumiani corrected automatically. “Yes, I do think I like someone. More than one, unfortunately. I’d rather not choose.”
Koma was entertained. “Oh really? Pick the cutest guy and just see what happens then.”
“Why not the cutest girl?”
“Uh… what?”
“It’s not as simple as just choosing someone,” Lumiani said.
“Sure ‘t is.” Koma paused as Lumiani threw her an irritated look. “Okay, whatever. Look you don’t even need to choose anyway. You’ll see. He or she will come forward.”
“Kol’ar, I’m not a pretty maid at a barnyard dance waiting for someone to ask for a dance. I’m a Jedi Master first and a woman second. People don’t just walk up to me and ask personal questions. And it’s unseemly for a Jedi Master to approach someone for companionship. It’s not done.”
“You bein’ honest with yerself here?” Koma watched Lumiani turn toward her and saw the expression on her face. Koma smiled. “Guess jedi don’t know everything after all. Here’s your robes. I gotta get back to work.” Koma put the robes in Lumiani’s hands and walked away, having managed to get the last word in.
Felt rather good for a change. Koma grinned to herself and kept walking.
a.k.a. Lumiani in The Old Republic:
Informational:
- Tapani Empire
- House Melantha, a coalition of noble families of which Master Lumiani is part and that sponsored Koma’tose
- Soterios, desert world and home of House Melantha.
- Koma’tose is a call sign. Actual name is Kol’ar and her family name, prior to defection, was Kressh. (Distant relation to the long-dead sith lord, Ludo Kressh.)
a.k.a. Lumiani in The Old Republic:
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