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Koumi Pikapika was a pretty girl. She had a noble feel about her, as if
she’d been born a princess. No one knew where she came from. Only the Jedi
Masters at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant where she trained knew that. The dark
haired girl never said a word, used only the Force and her expressive eyes to
get her point across. She was very strong with the Force, and could read minds
with incredible accuracy. She didn’t socialize much, and most of the students
kept away from her. Her talent for reading minds was so strong that it scared
the other students. Koumi knew this, and felt the sting of their fear. She
picked fights with some of them just to be noticed. Being a favorite of Yoda’s,
she was also resented by some of the older students, even after being at the
Temple for years.
Waking up with a start, Koumi found she was shaking all over from the dream that had awakened her. It was a common one. Having been only a very little child when her parents died, she had no firsthand memories of the horrible explosion. However, Koumi had an incredible talent for mind reading. It was her corner on the Force market.
When the accident that had opened a hole in the atmospheric bubble happened, Koumi had been afraid. Reaching out to her parents for comfort, she was instead bombarded with the memory-feelings of every dying person in the compound. They had been burned into her memory like acid. Foremost in the wave of fear that had overwhelmed the small child were her parents, but every once and a while another set of memory-feelings surfaced to torment her dreams.
Silent as the dark, Koumi crept out of her sleeping area. She moved like a glit spider, her feet barely clicking on the hard floor. With a smile, the dark girl and her glimmering blue eyes walked out to the gardens. While she loved the exotic beauty of the flowers, her favorite part of the garden was where some forgotten architect had left crystals. They were the purest colors, reds, blues, yellows, and even blacks. The shimmering colors had been shaped into furniture, like a little crystal room enclosed by thick vines on all sides. Her favorite was a clear sculpted chair. She thought of it more as a throne with its high back and sweeping sides.
It was a forgotten part of the garden. No one but herself ever came to it. Koumi put her talent to work, divining this. When the students moved from place to place, they left a mental “residue.” Almost like a ship’s ion signature. Koumi could easily tell who went where, and in that way tell where she needed to keep away from. Here, however there was no one.
“Hello?” a quiet voice called, in keeping with the ambiance.
Koumi stared at him harshly. She hated being disturbed in her secret place.
“Hey, don’t be mad.” The boy stepped out of the shadows into the light that the one glowrod provided. “I sensed you were upset and I knew no one would come and comfort you.” He shrugged, but she could tell he hoped his offering of good will would be accepted.
Koumi pondered this different attitude. Most students shunned her, or at the least ignored her. It puzzled her that this boy should be different. She reached out to get a feel for his mind, and found no hidden motives or anything negative. He truly wanted to be her friend.
“I’m Kirran,” he said, giving her a rakish grin. His tousled brown hair and roguish green eyes made her smile as well. “I’m Corellian.”
Koumi nodded. His confidant manner and the fact that the odds were stacked against her saying anything to him had told her that much.
“I don’t remember your name,” he continued, “and I don’t think you’ll tell me.”
She shook her head. As nice as he was, she still couldn’t really trust him.
“Well, that’s ok,” Kirran smiled. “The others kids call you ‘Spice’ because they think you’re a glitbitter.”
Koumi’s eyes flashed at that accusation. She’d seen what the gilttersim of her home planet Kessel did to people. She’d never take it. The semi-legal drug could heighten mental powers and let people read minds. The girl was offended that anyone would even suggest it of her.
Kirran saw this and held up his hands in surrender. “I don’t think you’re a glitbitter, trust me!”
She smiled at him.
“Ok, good. If you won’t tell me your name, I’ll call you ‘Spice’ too. Only, when I say it, it’s because you’re the different one here. In a good way.”
Puzzled, Koumi reached out with the Force to see what he meant. As she did, her mind brushed against another presence. Recoiling from it, she dashed through the vines.
Kirran called after her. He was puzzled at her sudden flight. Suddenly he knew what had made the pretty girl fly.
“So, nerf herder, did your pretty little glitbitter run off?”
Trying to get his anger under control, Kirran turned to the biggest bully in the Temple. “Hello, Sajaa.”
Sajaa laughed. He was cruel to the other children, but never where one of the Knights or Masters could see. He was 12, almost 13. There was a Jedi Knight who had been observing him for some time, and it was general knowledge that the Knight would take Sajaa as his padawan learner.
Kirran turned away from the bully and walked off. He hoped that he would see Spice again soon.
The man that the students tended to think of as Sajaa’s was at the Temple again. This time he was watching the students duel with their lightsabers.
Koumi couldn’t see anything, but that didn’t faze her. She knew it was only a training exercise, and if she were hit by the other’s lightsaber, it wouldn’t cause any permanent damage because they were set on training.
She stood with her deep blue lightsaber at the defensive. Reaching out with her mind, she got a feel for who else was in the room. The usual masters and Sajaa’s. This led her to conclude that she was fighting Sajaa. Reaching out to him, she focused. Moving carefully to one side, her fluid grace kept her on her feet when the other swiped at her. The broad saber stroke left him unbalanced and she counterattacked. Parrying an invisible attack, she ducked under his real one and came up inside his guard to score.
His grumble of defeat confirmed her suspicions. It was Sajaa.
They circled for a minute, testing each other’s reflexes. An attack that should have caught her off guard was again parried. Bringing her lightsaber closer to her in a low guard she reached out and felt his mind again. He was planning something…but what? She pressed harder on his mind, and felt him reaching out with the Force to tip over a stack of boxes. The action was hidden, and she guessed no one else knew that he’d caused them to fall. She flicked her lightsaber off and tried to leap out of the way, but to no avail. They crashed down on top of her.
She went down silently, never making a sound. Koumi winced as the hilt of her lightsaber jabbed her side. A rush of adrenaline let her shove the boxes off and a nudge with the Force sent one in his direction “accidentally.” He sputtered indignantly as he took off the helmet that blinded him. Likewise, Koumi took off hers. Her eyes bored holes through him.
“Unsportsmanlike that was,” Yoda chastened. “Confined to quarters you are.”
Sajaa smiled and reached out a hand to help Koumi up. She refused it. “Master Yoda,” he asked, “Can I duel with someone else?”
Yoda looked him straight in the eye. “Confined to quarters I said you were.”
“What?”
“Knocked the boxes on Koumi you did. Unsportsmanlike that was.”
Insulted, Sajaa stormed off.
Koumi pushed another box off of herself and felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Kirran. “Let me help,” he suggested. She ignored him and stood up.
“Excused form fighting you are,” Yoda told her. “To the medical bay you will go.”
Her eyes told him that she thought she was fine. The Jedi Master shook his head. “Fine you are not. Hurt your ankle is.”
Bowing to the inevitable, she went to the medical bay and got her ankle fixed up. On the way back, she met someone in the hall.
“Spice,” the boy called out to her.
She stiffened and turned to look at him.
Sajaa looked at her from the shadows. He seemed to be sincerely sorry as he apologized for knocking the boxes on her. “I just wanted to impress that Jedi. I don’t want to be a farmer or a teacher! Please forgive me.”
His sincerity was carried over in his words and she thought it was real. A nod of her head forgave him as she walked off.
Koumi sat in her room thinking back over the past few days. Two people had singled her out and spoken to her. The dark haired girl wondered if they had something else in mind, and if they were planning anything. She thought that Kirran with his openness was above the table, but she wasn’t sure about the motives of Sa'jaa. The Jedi who had been interested in him was also looking at other students. Most noticeably, Kirran. The blue eyed girl decided to take a walk in the garden. It had been about a week since her meeting of Kirran in the crystal room. As she walked that way, she wondered if he would be there again. When he saw her, he always stopped and talked to her, even if she ignored him like she usually did. Koumi had to admit that she was listening more to him, and hoped he didn’t notice. Kirran, for all his good intentions, could hurt her terribly if she let him get too close.
“Hey, Spice!” she heard someone call. Sa’jaa ran up to her, panting. “Hey, I was looking for you. I wanted you to know that I was really sorry…” his voice trailed off, sadly. Koumi gave him a tight smile. What he took for annoyance was only her normal state of indifference.
“Anyway, I wanted to give you this.” He handed her a little crystal rose. “As a token of friendship.”
Koumi looked surprised as she took the crystal object. It was very pretty, and she thanked him with her eyes and a smile. He walked off with a grin covering his face. What Koumi didn’t know was that he was using her. Somehow, Sa’jaa had found out that Kirran really liked Koumi, and was watching and waiting to use it to his advantage. Koumi didn’t know anything about the boy’s affection or how she was being used. It was a good thing, because if she had known, she would have pounded Sa’jaa. The silent girl had a talent for provoking fights with other students.
Someone approached her and she jumped. The person hadn’t touched her, but his mind was very forceful. Koumi turned and looked. It was the Jedi who had been looking for a padawan.
“Hello,” he said smiling. “I’m Jedi Knight Ka’rebb. Who are you?”
Koumi looked up at him and thought for a second. She didn’t want to say anything to him, really. She had no need of a master, but didn’t want to offend him.
“We call her Spice,” Kirran spoke up from beside her. Koumi turned and smiled at him, glad he’d solved her problem.
“Spice? Why do they call you that?” Ka’rebb addressed Koumi.
She shook her head and gestured at Kirran. The Corellian grinned and explained for his mute friend. “She doesn’t talk. And I call her Spice because…”
Another student yelled out an answer. “She’s a glitbitter!”
Koumi’s eyes flashed with anger. She wasn’t very strong with telekinesis, but it never took much to nudge someone at the edge of water into it.
“Why you little!” the student growled. “I’m going to get you for that, glitbitter!”
Bring it on, Koumi’s eyes taunted him. She stood ready to defend herself. Kirran had seen what happened when she got mad, and stepped between them. “Don’t do this,” he told them. “We’re Jedi. Keepers of the peace, remember?”
Sighing, the girl relaxed. She knew it wasn’t right to fight, but couldn’t help herself sometimes.
Ka’rebb had watched with interest as tempers flared and were cooled. “That was a nice handling, young man. What’s your name?”
“I’m Kirran,” the boy grinned. “Back to what we were talking about, I call her spice because she’s different from everyone else.”
Ka’rebb nodded. He had seen that she was different in the way that Yoda had told him not to choose her as his padawan. The calm Jedi Knight had wondered why he’d said that the girl couldn’t be his padawan, but chose to abide by the Jedi Master’s ruling.
The girl had crept off, leaving the Jedi Knight to talk to Kirran. The Corellian boy was energetic and friendly. Ka’rebb smiled as they talked.
Sa’jaa glared at Kirran. Kirran was oblivious to the other boy’s annoyance. ‘I’ll show him,’ Sa’jaa thought. ‘He’ll be sorry he ever messed with me!’
Silently, Sa’jaa stalked off to his room, plotting.
Koumi stared at the other students. The whole Temple was practicing at levitating. She wasn’t the best at it, but wore a smug half-smile, knowing she was the Master’s favorite.
After they had worked for an hour or so, the students were dismissed to practice on their own, or whatever they wanted to do. Koumi “practiced” a stone down on one of the crueler student’s foot. He shoved it off and ran at her. Bracing herself, Koumi accepted the attack and used the force the boy had rushed at her with to flip him over her shoulder. He landed in huff, then got ready to rush at her again.
“Hey, leave Spice alone.”
Surprise registered on the face of the student as Sa’jaa stood up for the silent girl. He stood, looking like a holovid actor. The other students were as silent as Koumi. No one quite knew what to make of this new development.
Kirran watched, unhappily. He was afraid that Spice would like Sa’jaa more than she did him. He decided that telling her he loved her would be the easiest way to resolve the conflict. Kirran froze. He’d just admitted it to himself! He loved Spice! She’d never said a word to him, even ignored him at times, but what was welling up inside of him couldn’t be denied. He loved her!
Walking slowly, Kirran went to Spice’s favorite place. He sat in one of the chairs and waited. After he’d waited for a long while, he felt someone watching him. Turning, he saw deep blue eyes penetrating through the vines. He grinned at the girl as she walked in and sat down.
Koumi sat down and rested her head in her hands. She’d had a bad time recently, and was glad to see Kirran. He started talking, and she picked up on intense nervousness.
“Spice…” Kirran paused to gather his thoughts. “Spice, I just wanted to tell you that I…”
“Keep quiet! Can’t you tell someone else is here?”
Kirran stared at her with surprise. “Did…did you just say something?”
She nodded, and reached out with her mind. The presence was gone. She wondered who it was.
“I have no idea. Wait, maybe it was Sa’jaa!”
Koumi let surprise register on her face. She tested the theory that ran through her mind thinking, ‘I didn’t say anything.’ Confused, Kirran looked at her. “But I heard you!” ‘I thought it. I think this means you can pick up my thoughts.’ She sounded scared.
“Wow!” Kirran grinned. “But what are you afraid of?”
Koumi’s reply was as soft as a spring breeze. ‘What you almost said.’
“Oh.” He paused, then let his words come out in a rush. “Spice, I just wanted to say that I love you.”
Koumi winced as if his words had hit her and closed her eyes. She hadn’t wanted to hear that he loved her, even though she knew it. The dark haired beauty was afraid to face what she felt for the boy.
“I just wanted to tell you…because it seemed like you…” Kirran shrugged, unhappily. He thought about what he wanted to say, and tried to project it.
She still had her eyes closed, but Koumi could feel what he was trying to tell her. He really cared for her, and was afraid that she liked Sa’jaa more than himself. It made something inside of her leap with happiness. She felt like a flower had blossomed inside of her and its existence could never be denied. Koumi bit her lip, looking annoyed, and motioned for Kirran to leave, shooing him out. He left, feeling that he was making progress, but very discouraged. Kirran was afraid that she was just playing with him, and maybe she wasn’t really right for him.
“I love you too,” Koumi whispered when he was gone.
Later on in the week, Koumi was sitting in “her” chair playing with her lightsaber, turning it over in her hands and polishing it. The soft rag she was using to shine it fell on the ground and she reached for it. She stretched out her hand, trying to pick up the rag. Koumi growled as it moved out of her reach under the influence of the Force. She looked up and glared at the boy who was holding her rag. Holding a hand out, she silently demanded her polishing rag back. The girl’s eyes flashed, when she saw who it was.
Sa’jaa grinned at her. “Hey Spice. How are you doing?”
Koumi silently ignored him.
“What’s wrong, Spice?” Sa’jaa asked. “Are you ok? Is something wrong?”
Her eyes were angry. She had reached out with her mind to see who it was, and Sa’jaa was gloating. About what, she wondered, silently.
“Spice, listen to me!” he demanded. Sa’jaa shot her a look that immediantly made her suspicious. Koumi reached out with her mind to see what he was feeling and picked up on the tail end of a thought.
‘need her. What if she guesses she’s being used…?’
Koumi backed off from him in horror, letting none of it show on her face. A harsh thought crossed her mind, and she was tempted to speak it.
“Rimkin like you don’t care. You only use people.”
Refusing to be surprised at Kirran’s entrance and speaking of her thought, Koumi turned and glared at Sa’jaa.
“What did you just call me?” Sa’jaa demanded angrily. He faced the two in a classic defense posture.
He had a right to be mad. When peacekeeping officials heard the word “rimkin” it was usually preceded or followed by a violent fistfight.
“Going on in here, what is?” Yoda asked.
All three turned mostly innocent eyes on the Jedi Master. He looked them over and shook his head. “Good news for you I have,” Yoda said to Kirran.
The boy looked puzzled. “What, Master Yoda?”
“Chosen as a padawan you have been. Leave the Temple with your new Master you must. Pack you will, hmmm, yes?”
“Pack? Oh, yeah, I guess so.” Kirran looked stunned at his good fortune. Sa’jaa just grumbled.
Koumi let Kirran see a rare smile. She smiled to hide the tears that threatened to come. Why she didn’t want the boy to leave would have been clear to her, if only she’d let herself see it.
Koumi shuffled through her few things. She didn’t have much, but wanted to give Kirran a going-away present. Finally, she found something. At the bottom of her drawer there was a tiny crystal. Clear and pure, this kind was her favorite. The Kessel girl smiled. Closing her eyes and tuning into the Force, she reached out with her mind. She moved the molecules around in the crystal slightly, making it more pliable. Then, with the accuracy that comes from practice, she used her mind to mold it into the shape of a heart. Moving under the directions of her subconscious, the girl would not know what she’d made until her eyes were opened. She kept them closed because it took so much concentration to work the crystal.
She peeked through one eye. Koumi’s creation was beautiful…a perfect heart with a small hole in the top for a chain or string. The girl wondered why she’d made it. Well, Koumi silently hoped Kirran would like it. Please like it.
Kirran heard a rap on his door. “Come in!” he called, muffled.
Koumi walked in on winged feet. She was so silent that Kirran turned around, wondering who had come in. The girl laughed musically when she saw him. The Correllian Jedi had a pair of socks between his teeth and three more in his hands. He dropped the pair in his mouth to talk to her.
“I’m just packing,” he explained with a lopsided grin.
She nodded, understanding. As an experiment she sent a thought to him, wondering if he could still hear her. ‘I know.’
Kirran grinned again. “Wow. That is so neat.”
‘It’s disconcerting,’ she muttered mentally.
He laughed. “Maybe for you, but I like it!” Kirran dropped all four pairs of socks in his bag then closed it.
‘I came here to say goodbye, and give you this.’ Koumi pressed the package into his hands and crossed her fingers as he opened it.
Silence fell over the room, and Koumi ventured a look in his direction. Her timid deep blue eyes met his surprised green eyes. “Do you like it?” her mouth formed the words she couldn’t even think.
“Spice…it’s…it’s beautiful!” he murmured, holding the small heart in his hand, wrapping his fingers around it as if he never wanted to let it go.
“Really?” The girl found she was at ease speaking with him, now.
“Thank you,” he whispered. “Does this mean…?”
Koumi nodded hesitantly. ‘I love you too,’ she thought.
Kirran laughed out loud, a joyful sound that Koumi wished she could hear all day. But he was leaving. What would happen?
The boy threaded the heart onto a thin silver chain. It was small enough for him to wear around his neck and keep out of the way. “I don’t know,” he answered her unspoken question. “But I’ll keep in touch with you no matter what. Let me see your lightsaber.”
Willingly, Koumi pressed it into his hands. She would have never done it for anyone else, but Kirran was special.
Diving a hand into his bag, the Corellian pulled out a coin. He held it up to the light and showed it to Koumi. “See this man?”
She nodded.
“This is a Jedi Credit. On my home planet, they make them to commemorate a padawan’s acceptance into the Jedi Order. This was my grandfather.” As he spoke, Kirran unclipped the hook that hung from the coin, and snapped it into place on the hook of Koumi’s lightsaber.
Handing it back, he spoke again. “You don’t have to leave it there, but I want you to have it. Remember me, Spice.” Then with a jovial smile, he teased her. “You know the power of Correllian and her influence...”
“Hey!” Koumi laughed and holding her lightsaber at about chest level, she pointed it at Kirran for emphasis. “Kessel’s power makes up…”
The rest of the girl’s words were cut off as a change came over her. Light spiraled around her, seeming to emanate from the saber’s black hilt. The Jedi weapon itself lengthened into a blue and black scepter topped with a black star.
Koumi found herself in a sleeveless white suit with a short blue skirt the color of her eyes. She had a black bow and blue collar accented with black. Surprise rolled off her like the last fading lights.
“What just happened?” Kirran whispered.
Koumi paused before answering thinking that she had no idea.
Yoda looked up from his meditations. “Found out she has. Call the others I must,” he said to himself. The Jedi Master nodded his head, remembering that one of them was near. “Afraid this would happen I was.”
Another knock came to Kirran’s door. “I have a bad feeling about this,” he sighed.
‘It’s Sa’jaa,’ Koumi told him. ‘I guess you should just let him in. I’ll hide in the closet.’
Kirran shut the door after her and let Sa’jaa in. “Hello Sa’jaa,” he said pleasantly.
The other boy sneered. Koumi could feel it. “I just wanted to tell you goodbye…on a permanent basis!” Sa’jaa growled.
Koumi felt Sa’jaa activate his lightsaber. Kirran was surprised, but refused to fight him. “I can’t fight you!”
“You have to, or I’ll just kill you!” Koumi felt a rush of fear—her own. Sa’jaa was trespassing on every principal of the Jedi Code she knew of. And Kirran wouldn’t resist. The dark boy would kill her best friend if she didn’t do something…soon!
‘Use Kessel Spice Surround!’ she heard.
‘How?’ she asked.
The voice replied urgently, ‘Just point you staff and yell ‘Kessel Spice Surround.’ But remember; point it at the bad guy! I’ll be there in a few minutes.’
Having nothing else to do, Koumi opened the closet door and pointed her staff at Sa’jaa. “Kessel Spice Surround!” she yelled.
She didn’t think she could be surprised anymore. But this did it. A stream of jet-black glittersim shot from her staff and wrapped around Sa’jaa.
He froze. Knowing how sharp glittersim was, Koumi didn’t blame him. She just glared at the boy.
Suddenly, a less than polite knock came at the door. Without waiting to be invited, the black suited girl strode in. “Starbred Senshi of stone, defense, and redemption! The pretty Sailor Jedi Sailor Asteroid! For the stars, I’ll punish you!” She looked around. “Sorry, I love that line.” Her grin matched that of Kirran. “Looks like you have everything under control.”
Koumi nodded. “Who are you?” she asked.
“I’m Sailor Asteroid,” the blonde girl said confidently.
Kirran looked her over carefully. “What are you? A smuggler or something?”
Sailor Asteroid shrugged. “Or something,” she agreed. “Look, let me get this guy out of here and we can talk.” Asteroid turned on the Sa’jaa. “Asteroid Null G Power!” she said. He floated up in the air and the girl shoved him out of the room.
“That was easy. Now, what about you?”
Kirran shook his head fiercely. “I’m not leaving.”
The girl shrugged. “All right. I really need to talk to you,” she said, pointing at the black haired girl. “Yoda told me that you found out your Sailor identity. You’re Sailor Kessel. Your attacks are ‘Kessel Spice Surround’ and ‘Energy Spiders Surround.’ You’ve used the first, and the last is very deadly. You know that though.”
“I know energy spiders,” the girl said quietly. She sat down, hard.
“Does he”—Asteroid pointed to Kirran—“know who you are?”
The two nodded.
The older girl sighed. “Then I guess it’s ok if he knows who I am.” She turned on Kirran. “However, if you dare tell a single being, I will personally hunt you down and kill you.” The look in her eyes told him that she could do it. Easily.
Sailor Asteroid’s sailor suit faded out into a black flightsuit.
Koumi watched carefully, but still had to ask. “How did you do that?”
The other girl shrugged. “Just think about it.”
Sailor Kessel did, and smiled as her clothes returned to normal. “How did I change into Sailor Kessel?”
“Easy. You hold your lightsaber like this”—the blonde showed her, holding it at chest level, pointing out—“and say ‘Kessel Power, Make-Up!’ Then you change.” After a pause, the girl introduced herself. “By the way, I’m Seijoutai Priire. You’re Koumi, but who’s he?”
“Koumi?” Kirran asked, rolling the name on his tongue.
“No, that’s her,” Priire laughed.
‘He’s Kirran,’ Koumi thought at Priire as an experiment.
Priire nodded. “Nice name, Kirran. Koumi, can you leave here? Or will you?”
The girl looked down. She saw the lightsaber in her lap and smiled. ‘Yes, anytime.’
“Great! My ship is outside, waiting. Can I help you get your things…” Priire’s voice trailed off. “No,” she decided. “I’ll go get your things, and you say goodbye to Kirran.”
All of Koumi’s things were in the storage compartment of Priire’s starfighter, the Black Fire Talon. “Ready to go?” the blonde asked, smiling at Kirran and Koumi.
‘Yes,’ Koumi thought and Kirran said.
“Lover boy,” Priire called after Kirran. “Here’s the code for my ship, the Black Fire Dreamer. Feel free to call or drop by anytime!”
Kirran waved at the ship as Priire took off. He hoped to see Koumi again soon.
“Where are we going?” Koumi asked.
“To other Sailors,” Priire said. Then more reverently she added, “To the stars.”
