Chapter 16

Valin sent a message to Corvus for him to pick them up with the freighter they still have in the hangar, to keep most of his cards close to his chest for the moment. They could use the teleporter again when Fay left, or he got a complete read on her. His knowledge of her appearances in his old world's fiction showed her in a very favourable light, but he couldn't take this as a basis for everything.

She was described as a stunning, striking, beautiful or even ageless woman, something Valin could confirm without objections. She really looked stunning and fit those descriptions, easily putting her in the same league as Zeltrons and Hapans, both of whom were known for their outstanding attractiveness.

The more distinctive features of hers would be the tattoos on her left cheek and forehead and her pointed ears. Together with her pale complexion and blond hair, she fulfilled all the requirements to be called a space-elf. Well, the good kind of space elf, not the hedonistic 'Chaos God'-creating kind of elf.

While she probably knew how to wield one, she never felt the need to use a lightsaber in combat, rather relying on her superior connection and control of the force. Courtesy of her old age, she went to many war-torn planets and did her best to help them bring harmony and peace. From what he could gain of their short conversation this was most likely true, as she seemed to let the force carry herself.

If his memory served him right, even Obi Wan once commented that no one hated Master Fay and that was something that spoke for her diplomatic nature and experience. And since it was no secret, that many of the Jedi were extremists in their ways and their headquarters were stationed on one of the most corrupt planets of the galaxy, he thought it commendable that she was rarely there and actually tried to help worlds that weren't close to the security of the inner rim.

In conclusion, he would judge her as a trustworthy person and potential ally for the future. In case he would decide to save part of the Jedi, he would need someone experienced to lead them and with her cooperating, it would become a lot easier. Aside from that he would visit many historical sites and ruins in the future which more likely than not contained artifacts of possibly "dark" origin and unknown effects. Getting her thoughts on them would be a big help.

Those were all theoretical conclusions he reached due to trivia he remembered and a small conversation however and he would need more time to get to know her and come to a final decision. It was a small and calculated risk he decided to take.

After coming out of his thoughts, he noticed the descending freighter, coming to pick them up. Bogo and the others were already on board, and he was the last one missing before they could continue their journey again.

Their reaction to Fay was varied, something he already expected since they didn't know the small bit that Valin knew. Bogo seemed curious about her but nothing else, he didn't really have much of an impression of Jedi since he was never in contact with them. And it was nothing new, that rumours could rarely be trusted when interests of different factions were involved.

While none of the Mandalorians were overly fond of Jedi, they didn't let that cloud their mind and they were sure that Valin wouldn't bring them in unnecessary danger and had his own plans. Corvus was neutral towards her while Freia didn't react much. The twins however seemed excited as always when they met someone, they considered strong.

Fay on her part was as calm as earlier, but he got a raised eyebrow from her when she saw the two hulking brothers turning their attention to her.

"Everyone, this is Fay. She is a Jedi Master that will accompany us for a while, so try to be nice to her." Valin introduced her to them, as most of them nodded in her direction.

"Fay, meet part of my crew, the one over there is Corvus with Freia next to him. The brothers are Brachium and Thwak and our cook Bogo."

"It's nice to meet you." She answered with a smile.

"A Jedi, heh? How about a spar later? It's been a while since I could test myself against one." Thwak said, his gaze never leaving hers.

The statement surprised not just Fay but Valin all the same. He didn't hear the story about that yet.

"You already fought Jedi? I didn't know about that." Valin voiced his thoughts.

"It's nothing big captain, when Thwak and me went around to search for worthy opponents to fight, we met a Jedi knight and challenged him a spar. It wasn't that rare for them to either visit Mandalore for some time after, well, after our planet started to change." Brachium replied this time.

"I'd like to hear that story sometime." Valin answered and it seemed Fay was curious as well.

Mandalorians that respected their old ways were rarely friendly to them due to the Mandalorian-Jedi War. They weren't holding a grudge because of the war itself, they were people that strived during those times after all, what they could not easily forgive was the scorching of their home planet however, that resulted in most of the planet turning into a lifeless white desert.

"What will it be Jedi?" Thwak asked again.

"If it is a spar you desire, I see no reason to refuse." She answered diplomatically.

"Come on, don't make her uncomfortable, she is a guest, and we didn't even arrive back at the ship yet." Valin interjected. He would like to see her abilities as well and experience how it would be to face her in combat, but they would have enough time for that later.

The rest of the way was comparably silent aside from Bogo trying to sate his curiosity. It was his first time meeting a Jedi after all.

When they finally arrived, Fay couldn't hide her surprise at the size of their vessel and the unfamiliar form of it. That part was to be expected at least, Valin could hardly hide the ship they were using.

After deboarding the freighter, they were greeted by Dunn and a few mechanics working in the hangar.

"Welcome back captain. And you must be Master Fay, I hope you enjoy your stay with us." Dunn greeted them.

Fay nodded her head with a smile in response.

"Corvus, could you please show Fay to her quarters?" Valin asked his friend and received a positive answer.

"I will call for you when our dinner is ready Fay, please let us know if you need anything. There should always be some droids around that will contact the person in charge. I still need to deal with a few things before we continue." Valin said.

"I will and thank you." She replied simply before following after Corvus.

Dunn stood next to Valin as they disappeared.

"Do you think it's a smart decision to have her on board?" Dunn asked.

Valin stayed silent for a moment, as he watched them rounding a corner before he replied. "I don't think she is any risk for us, our preparations are mostly done anyway, and she is not one to force her ideals on others. I could gain at least this much from our limited interactions. But just to be sure, instruct the crew and droids not to reveal any vital information, especially about the resequencer and real capabilities of this ship."

Dunn accepted the order and directly messaged the new recruits before doing the same with a droid next to him that would inform the others.

Valin went to deal with his duties until it was time to meet in the cafeteria for dinner. Overall, it was a pleasant experience with most of the crew quickly warming up to their guest, especially the two young ones as they pestered her with question after question that she patiently answered. She even made them float around with the force, something Valin observed intently.

Telekinesis was a very versatile power he would like to have to an extent and if his expectations for his advancements with the resequencer were correct he would gain abilities just like those in the future. Other powers aside from basics like telekinesis and telepathy would be a surprise, he had no idea what was awaiting him, but that just made it more exciting in his opinion.

When they were done with their food, it was a question of Devos that gained the attention of all of them.

"Can you show us your lightsaber?"

It was the most well-known weapon of them, so it was not surprising for a child to want to see it.

"I wouldn't mind, but I don't have a lightsaber, little one." She answered patiently.

"That's a first for me, a Jedi without their weapon." Thwak replied to her statement, a little disappointed that she lacked one of their advantages and already seemed less eager than before.

Fay chuckled at that. "Why don't we have that spar then?"

Valin meanwhile was groaning internally. He was as curious as the rest of them, but he knew that she was far older than she appeared and with the experience that comes with that age, even a seasoned warrior like Thwak would have difficulties. Going against normal Jedi Knights and a Master like Fay was a big difference in the end.

If they used all their equipment and went for the kill with enough fire- and manpower, Valin was sure they could already deal with most force users, even easily against a group of them. If Mandalorians could do it during the war while wielding swords, why couldn't they do it with a stronger physique and better equipment? But in a spar? The most they could do was to stun her or attack with training weapons and Valin wouldn't allow them to use more lethal equipment in this situation.

"Captain?" Thwak turned to Valin for his permission.

"Fine with me then, but I will decide the rules after taking into account your wishes." He compromised.

"Why don't we make it a physical fight then, if you have training weapons?" Fay suggested.

"Are you sure?" Valin asked.

"Yes, I am, I told you I am older than I look, and I picked up a few things on my years of travel." She replied with a smile. She definitely was enjoying this.

"Very well then, please follow me." Valin easily accepted her reasoning, but still asked her as she was his guest.

It didn't take long for them to arrive in the training area again. Valin felt like they spent most of their time here recently. It made sense as they were traveling a lot, but he still had some other things to do that he out on the backburner for quite a while now. One of them was building the ZPM's, something he definitely wanted to accomplish before the clone wars started. It seemed like he had to shift his priorities again after Fay would leave to travel on her own again.

Valin pressed a few buttons at the entrance and immediately a few compartments rose out of the ground. They contained all kind of training weapons used for close combat. Thwak went and took two short swords while Fay chose a staff. Both were made from sturdy wood and would rarely cause more than minor injuries.

"Just some ground rules, I want you to avoid serious injuries. Since it was suggested to keep it purely physical, the use of your force powers is restricted to strengthen your body with it. The winner will either be decided by me, one of you being unable to continue or one of you surrendering. Any more questions?" Valin stated and as both shook their head, he started the match.

Thwak didn't take much time to attack her and while she seemed surprised by his speed, she quickly strengthened herself with the force and easily defended against the onslaught, surprising the audience. All of them knew what kind of monsters Brachium and Thwak had become after going through the procedure.

The match went on for a two more minutes with her deflecting all his attacks and not once retaliating. That was until Fay managed to land a strike onto his solar plexus and flooring him flat on the ground before she put her staff onto his throat.

Thwak took some time to realize what happened until he grinned with a lot more respect in his gaze. "I give up, you definitely are far stronger than you look."

"I don't like fighting, but I am not naïve enough to think that it is always avoidable." She answered as she took away the weapon to allow him to stand up again.

What followed were a multitude of praises and requests to train with them during her stay, which she accepted easily. Like this, their travels gained another interesting element for the foreseeable future.