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Seijoutai Priire, the other girl, wrinkled her nose. “I don’t like Alderaan.”
Why not? the newest Sailor asked. The black-haired girl’s name was Pikapika Koumi. She almost never spoke out loud, choosing instead to communicate through the Force. It made for interesting encounters with people who didn’t know her.
“It’s too peaceful!”
The Senshi wandered around Alderaan looking for things to do. For Ippin,
that meant a good book from one of Alderaan’s famous libraries. For Kirin,
it meant looking up the martial arts school. For Zyta, it meant finding a
speeder bike. For Kumoko, it meant finding a good restaurant with Kyoko and
Mara. For Numako, it meant finding a computer shop. For the Jedi, it meant
trying to keep Priire and Koumi out of trouble.
“Oh give me a break,” the blonde said. “How much trouble can I get into on a planet that won’t let me carry a blaster?”
The Jedi put a hand on Priire’s arm and slid the vibroblade out of the concealed sheath where she’d hidden it. “A lot.”
Priire gave him a roguish grin. “Touché.”
Laughing, Koumi shook her head. You’re incorrigible.
“And you’re invited to ‘incorrige’ me all you want!”
The sandy-blonde haired man shook his head. What had he gotten himself into?
“No! NO!”
“You have no sense of adventure, Jedi.”
“Yes, I do,” he protested. “I just left it at the last place we got kicked out of!”
Koumi reached over with the Force and pulled on the man’s arm to get him inside the building. Come on. She was enjoying herself. At the Jedi Temple, everyone was always so proper and reserved. Koumi loved Priire’s wilder nature. This is great!
“Sabacc,” the man across from Priire said with a gap-toothed smile. “Beat
that, little lady.”
“Oh, trust me. She is not a lady,” the Jedi muttered. He stood up and walked around, hoping there wouldn’t be another fight.
Priire nodded. “If you insist. Idiot’s Array.” The blonde scooped up her winnings into a big bag. “Your snowspeeder is at the shop still, correct?”
“You can’t have it!” the man growled. He pulled back his arm to hit Priire, but stopped when Koumi spoke.
It’s not right to hit a lady, the black haired girl mouthed as she sent the words.
Nodding, the blonde agreed. “Common decency.”
He hit her anyway.
Priire stepped back, letting the punch fall lightly on her chin. With a delicate, gloved hand, she wiped off a touch of spittle and stared at him. Her disturbing green eyes ate into him like fire. Her next, sudden movements caught him off guard. Her foot lashed out twice, hitting him once in the head and once in the gut.
Koumi had gotten a box of popcorn and was watching the fight while others took bets on the outcome. The odds were in Priire’s favor.
A spin kick slammed Priire’s booted foot into the man’s chest. He fell backwards against the wall…and then the odds changed. The cold, black mouth of a blaster stared Priire right in the face.
Her green eyes showed no fear. Her roguish grin showed no anxiety. “Just try it,” Priire said.
An evil bolt leapt from the barrel of the blaster, travailing faster than the eye of a normal being could follow it. It was a good thing that Jedi were not normal beings.
“It’s not nice to hit girls or cheat at sabacc. Perhaps this has taught you a lesson,” the Jedi said.
“Yeah,” the man said. “Never fight against a girl who has everyone on her side.”
“This is Audra,” Zyta said. “Sailor Alderaan!”
Hi, Koumi said.
Priire grinned. “Hey, Audra, I’m Seijoutai Priire, the pilot.”
“As well as Sailor Asteroid and all around trouble maker,” the Jedi added.
Audra smiled. “Where are we going next?”
Ippin shrugged. The redheaded pilot was still fairly new to the Senshi and wasn’t quite sure of their normal procedures. If anything involving Priire could be considered normal.
Spinning around in the pilot’s chair, Priire faced the controls. “Hapes,” she said. “Then we’ll head on over…well, I suppose we’ll go to Ednar III for some R and R.” Priire had her own reasons for wanting to go to Ednar III, but the Senshi wouldn’t know until later.
Silence flooded the ship. Koumi thought it was a welcome reprive from the
bustling that had gone on earlier in the day. She settled in a corner of
the Black Fire Dreamer’s above average mess hall and held her lightsaber in
her hands. It was shiny, almost iridescent black from years of practice.
The faint light from hyperspace that flickered through the window glinted
off its black surface and the face of the sliver coin that hung on the
saber’s clip. The coin was a gift from her boyfriend, Kirran, and she
smiled just looking at it.
“So you’re Koumi.”
The black haired girl looked up at the intruders upon her silence. It was Priire and a few other girls. Audra had spoken.
“I thought maybe you’d like to meet the other Sailors,” Priire grinned. “Koumi, these are Zyta, Sailor Tatooine; Kirin, Sailor Hoth; Mara, Sailor Vjun; Kumo-chan, Sailor Bespin; Numo-chan, Sailor Dagobah; Coru or Ippin, Sailor Yavin; and our Fearless Leader herself—Kyoko, Sailor Naboo.” She paused for a second, then added the newest Sailor to the list. “And lastly, Audra, who’s Sailor Alderaan. We just discovered her on Alderaan.”
Hello, Koumi thought quietly.
Ippin looked at her, surprised. “Are you from the Jedi Temple?” she asked. Koumi nodded, scattering locks of blue black hair around her face.
“That must be why I recognized you. I was at the Temple for a while, myself.”
“Tell stories of theirs lives, our new Senshi should,” Numo-chan smiled. “Get to know them we can.”
Audra grinned, and started talking. She told a funny story, dealing with some of her pets and a boy down the street. The Alderaanian girl’s playful manner and singsong voice kept everyone laughing. The she relinquished the floor to Koumi.
Shyly, the girl shook her head. Priire had explained what Kirran had told her about Koumi never speaking.
“What if,” Ippin said, slowly.
“Careful! Coru’s thinking again,” Priire said in a wide-eyed stage whisper. She was rewarded with an evil look from the redhead.
What if I tell you stories and you say them? Koumi finished for her. That’s a great idea!
Kessel wasn’t the kind of place young ladies of good breeding frequented.
Which was why no one would call Pikapika Koumi a lady.
“You want to say that again?” Eaen snarled at the black-haired miner’s daughter.
Koumi’s hair was half up and half down. The half that was up was done in two braids that started at her temples. They came together in the back of her head to flow down her back. The clip that helped hold the two braids into one was the same crystal blue as her eyes. The barrette, however, was not flashing with anger like her eyes. “Sure. You’re mother’s a cutter.” The boy seethed. A “cutter” was someone who cut glittersim, Kessel’s almost legal and addictive export drug, for someone else. It was an insult in the highest. “You’ll pay for that one!” he yelled and lunged for the girl.
She was ready for him and they grappled. He tried to push her over, but Koumi’s small frame hid strength. The girl shoved him over onto the dusty ground. Eaen stood up and started to leap at her again, but a strong arm held him back. “Young man,” a deep voice said.
Eaen slumped. It was Koumi’s father, the leader of Kessendra. Not only was he the most powerful man in the town, he was easily the most powerful man in the world. “Mr. Pikapika,” Eaen sighed.
The powerful man in front of him caused those he chose to focus his attention on tremble. Everyone, that is, except his daughter. She met his icy blue gaze with her own crystal blue ones. Eaen chose not to participate in the oncoming conflict. Instead, he slid out of the father’s grasp and ran.
“Koumi-chan. What were you doing.”
It wasn’t really a question, so Koumi just glared at him. They both knew what she had been doing. The girl had been picking a fight, like she did almost everyday.
Shaking her head, Koumi’s mother put her hand to her forehead. “What are we going to do with you?”
“Kick her out!” Kumo eagerly supplied. Koumi glared at her brother, silencing him.
The two parents shook their heads. “No, Kumo. Whatever we do with Koumi is not your business.”
“Why me,” Koumi said, glaring at the ceiling. The punishment for her
fighting had been to spend the next week locked in her room. It was harsh
punishment for the six-year old. However mature she appeared, the girl was
still just a child. She reached out with her rudimentary Force abilities to
grab a chunk of glittersim. She twirled it in the air and grabbed a pair of
gloves. The spice, as it was called, had sharp edges and it would cut her
fingers, something she didn’t want.
Koumi pressed the strands of spice together, forcing them into a cylinder. Her own special talent was being able to manipulate matter into various shapes. Sometimes it took all of her concentration to mold a single atom, and sometimes she could do it with little thought.
Bored with her toy, she stared out the window. Stunned, the child could feel danger coming. But she had no way to tell who was in danger or how to earn them of the coming catastrophe. Then, just like she’d felt it happen a few seconds ago, the child watched disaster unfold. The atmosphere vented itself into the cold of space, exposing the city of Kessendra to space.
“Mother! Father! Kumo!” she screamed. It was no use. All the words in the galaxy could not bring back her dead family.
Even though she had been telling the story, it still moved Ippin to where
she was sniffling. “That’s sad!”
Priire nodded.
“Waaaaah!” Zyta agreed. “That is sad!”
“Guys, we’ve got trouble.”
Immediately, Priire’s hands were on the controls, flying over them like a pulsar skate through Corellian seas. “Sithspit,” the blonde cursed. “We’ve got a merc on our tail.” The girl lost no time in telling the others to strap into their seats. When she was sure they were safe, Priire started the ship on a sharp left turn.
Ippin slid into the co-pilot’s seat and glared at Priire. “Aster, if you mess up my ship…”
“Hey, Coru, they have to get through the Dreamer’s hull first.” A lopsided grin reassured Ippin, but would have scared the mercs if they’d seen it.
You did good with those mercenaries, Koumi thought to Priire. What
broke?
“Thanks. It was just a part of the hyperdrive. I have a spare, but we’ll need to replenish my supply. It…breaks often,” the other girl replied. “Got anymore tearjerker stories?”
The dark haired girl rolled her head to the side, pondering. She didn’t really have any more stories.
Ippin smiled. "Sure you do."
Koumi’s big blue eyes looked up at the other Senshi. Maybe.
The Jedi Temple was huge. Pikapika Koumi felt that she could walk through it
forever and never find the end of it. She loved the Room of a Thousand
Waterfalls. There was nothing like it on her dusty homeworld. It was like
the fountain she had in her room… but that had been left on the world Koumi
thought she’d never see again. The thought made a tear well up in her eye,
but it never fell.
“Who are you?” a clear voice came. “I’m Mugen Akarui.”
Koumi looked at her with big blue eyes. “My name is Koumi Pikapika. I’m new here.”
“Hi Koumi. I’m surprised that they let you in. You’re a little older than normal,” Akarui mentioned, looking at her. At 14, the longhaired blonde was too old to be a student at the Jedi Temple, but was instead a helper. She taught the littler children.
Nodding, the black haired girl looked away. “Maybe they felt sorry for me.” Akarui flipped through the folder she had in her hands. “Koumi… Koumi Pikapika? Wow, you lived on Kessel. I’ve never been there!”
The two girls traded stories of their homes and places they’d seen. Despite the age difference, it was like they were best friends from the start. Each girl had a significant ability in the Force, but each manifested it in a different way. Akarui’s ability was in empathic skills letting her work with children and understand them easily. Koumi’s was in telepathic and matter manipulation. Sometimes they would work together and put on shows for the little ones.
“Koumi-chan?”
The other girl smiled. Akarui was almost the only one she really talked to. The other students looked down on her because she hadn’t been there since she was born. “Hi Akarui! What’s wrong?” she added, noticing her friend’s red eyes and puffy face.
The other girl sniffled quietly. “I have to…Koumi-chan… imoutosan... I’m leaving. They’re sending me to Alderaan.”
“Can I come?”
Akarui started crying. “Imoutosan, they wouldn’t let you come, I’m sorry. They wouldn’t.”
The year they’d know each other was like an eternity. She couldn’t really be leaving…could she?
The other students tried not to stare, but it was hard to ignore the two crying females. A redhead looked up from her thoughts and tried to remember who the girls were. One, she was sure was a teacher, and the other…she thought that was a student. Oddly, a new one. She resolved to be friendlier to the girl.
Koumi resolved never to speak again. It would only cement friendships and cause her more hurt.
“I’m glad Priire’s flying,” Coru sniffed. “She never cries.”
The pilot shrugged at the questioning looks. “I just don’t.”
Careful, Koumi warned. You lose more than you expect when you don’t do something.
Everyone was quiet for a moment as the approached an asteroid. They had to land there for spare parts. “Home sweet home,” the pilot muttered.
“A bad feeling I have,” Numako said. “Good this will not be.”
“Ah, calm down.”
Koumi raised an eyebrow.
“It’s those dastardly Sailor Sith!”
“Hey,” Kirin joked. “Zyta used a big word!”
“Asteroid Gravity Force!”
Ariel looked at the Sailor with distaste. “Pitiful.”
The other two Sailor Sith agreed. “I say we thrash them,” Emi suggested.
Sand and snow dashed toward the Sailor Sith from Hoth and Tatoonie. It was enveloped by a black hole then responded to by black myst.
Sailor Kessel looked afraid. As a custom of my race when faced with extreme danger…if you need me, I’ll be under my bed!
“Koumi…Koumi! Come out from under the bed, okay?”
Scared blue eyes peeked out from the darkness and met Mara’s green ones. Are they gone?
The redhead nodded. “Yes. We missed you fighting.”
I’m no good. I whimped out. Scared, she sighed. I should just go back.
“No, we need you. You’re powerful and you can help us. Just think about it, okay?”
“You know, every time we get ready to go somewhere…” Sailor Asteroid
growled. They were almost out the door to get her supplies when the Sailor
Sith appeared. What could the Sailor Jedi do but attack?
“Hoth Blizzard Engulf!” Hoth yelled. She dashed the Sailor Sith, but they stood up to combine their attacks.
Bespin put her hands over her face. “This is not good!”
“Kessel Spice Surround!”
“Go for it!” Naboo encouraged. “Go Sailor Kessel!”
A perfect team of Sailors fought the Sith to a standstill. They disappeared into a Sith bolthole and were gone.
“Thanks, Kessel!”
The girl smiled and felt perfectly in place with her friends and the stars.
