57 The Ten

*COUGH* *COUGH* *HUUUH*

I sucked in a huge breath as I shot up from the cot I had been sleeping on. The reason I was waking up so abruptly was anything but pleasant.

The feeling of a lightsaber going through my chest was excruciatingly painful. An extreme heat cooked me from the inside out as I was skewered on that crimson blade. Being conscious as my innards are vaporized was something I definitely did not want to experience again. Despite having never been turned into a force kebab, I could understand why people who get stabbed by a lightsaber become unable to move.

*Whish*

Footsteps sounded in my tent as someone rushed in. "Commander! Are you okay?"

I shook my head and held my hand up at them. "Just a bad dream."

*Haaah*

An audible sigh of relief came from the entrance of the tent. I looked over and noticed that it was the trooper that I had messed with on my way to the camp. She was a guild member, right? What was her name again?

Ah, that's what it was. "Sheema, how long have I been out?"

She checked her comm, still appearing extremely stiff and nervous. "Fourteen hours, s-sir."

I chuckled. I really did sleep for a long time. "You can relax, you know? Take a seat. There's no need for you to be so nervous."

Internally, I was sighing. Violet probably told her about my actual identity apart from being one of the handful of force sensitive players. She most likely felt embarrassed and guilty. She basically tried to recruit a guild leader to their own guild. How fucked is that?

Honestly, I couldn't blame her with how I intentionally messed with her and led her to believe that I had actually never heard of my own guild. If anything, I owed her an apology.

I shook my head and gripped my knee gently, using my right arm to prop myself up. "Sheema, I owe you an apology."

She quickly shook her head while closing her eyes. She opened them and looked at the ground next to me. "That's not necessary. It was my own ignor-"

I cut her off quickly with a stern expression. "No. It was for my own enjoyment that you made such a mistake. Honestly, I don't even see it as a mistake. I respect the hustle."

Sheema's face turned beet red as she looked away. Her mouth opened slightly and closed repeatedly as if she was at a loss for words.

I put my hands to either side of me and pressed off of the cot to stand up. "Hup. Come on, let's go for a walk."

*AWhhhhhh*

Letting out a beastly yawn, I stretched my arms upwards while balling my hands into fists. "Ah, that's the stuff."

She nodded shyly but still refused to look at me. "O-okay."

Sighing, I approached the flaps to the tent and parted them, revealing the surprising sight of the outside world. Upon arriving on Kuat, I learned that it was currently their rainy season. This meant that it would rain for weeks at a time across the entire planet. Fortunately, it didn't get cold here. Otherwise we'd be buried in several meters of snow.

Currently, it wasn't raining. In fact, I would go to say that I had never seen such a beautiful sky in my life.

There was not a single cloud overhead. Beams of light pierced down from the heavens above, shining upon my face and forcing me to scrunch my eyes.

From fierce battle to peace. From rainy darkness to warm sun. It felt so cinematic that I couldn't believe it. I wasn't able to believe that this didn't happen for a reason.

Honestly, I felt better now that the battle was over. I could also feel that those around me were less stressed. Especially the locals. The force felt cleaner… less clouded by negative emotions.

The warmth didn't just come from the sun. It also came from the force. As I became more and more attuned with it, I'd find my state of mind ever so subtly nudged in a certain direction based on the emotional state of those around me.

A voice came from behind me, breaking me out of my pondering. "Commander?"

*Achem*

I held my fist to my mouth and cleared my throat. "Excuse me, sorry. And please, just call me Soryn. I don't want to be a commander or a guild leader or a Jedi. I just want to be me. It is merely circumstantial that I find myself with all of these titles. So please, spare me the formalities."

Sheema was silent for several seconds. Instinctively, I glanced back at her just in time to see her nod. "Very well, Soryn. It must be a lot of pressure, I'm sorry."

*Haaaa*

I sighed as I started walking. "Come, I need to stretch my legs. I'd also like to get to know you better. Tell me about yourself."

She nodded and quickly started following after me. "Well, as you already know, my name is Nohara Sheema. I-"

I ended up cutting her off again. "Japanese?"

She paused for a moment and nodded. "Yes. That is… was my home for some time. I was born in France but moved to Japan around when I was ten. Then I moved state side for college and never left."

I smiled, gazing up at the green sky. The slight tint affecting the rays of light as they came to rest on my face, causing an odd color to overtake the periphery of my vision. "Your studies?"

Sheema chuckled, her expression becoming much less tense as she began to relax. "I never finished them actually. A good opportunity presented itself and I dropped out, becoming an executive assistant. The starting salary was significantly higher than what I would have gotten had I finished my MBA."

I scoffed. "Heh, business. Everyone goes into it thinking that they'll do well but little do they know that it is a long road to the top. Well, that's how it is in any field. I unfortunately never even got to start working."

Sheema tilted her head slightly as she wore an inquisitive expression. "What do you mean?"

I smiled wryly as I turned my focus back to the gate that was in front of us. I came to a stop, waiting for the troopers guarding the gate to notice me. "Well, I just graduated and was actually set to start at Boeing this coming week."

Glancing at her, I noticed her eyes widening in surprise. It would seem that she never would have pegged me as the book smart type. "Wow. That would have really been something."

"Sir!"

Turning back to my front, I noticed that the squad guarding the gate was standing at attention. I waved my hand. "At ease. I'm just going for a walk."

The CO nodded and started glancing between his squadmates. "I'll organize an escort immediately, sir."

I shook my head. "There is no need." I gestured towards my companion. "Sheema here is more than enough. Besides…" I then gestured towards the lightsabers on my hips. "I can take care of myself."

The CO sighed but nodded nonetheless. "Very well, sir. If anything happens, please let us know immediately."

I smiled and nodded. "I'll do that. Excuse me."

The troopers stood to the side as Sheema and I passed through the gate unimpeded. "Ahhh, it's much less stuffy out here. Have you been out of the camp much?"

Sheema shook her head. "No, I have not. It's mostly swamp and forest out here so there wasn't much to see… WAIT SHIT!"

My head snapped to her as I stopped walking. We had barely made it a few hundred feet out of the camp. "What is it?"

Sheema looked slightly panicked. "There was a message for you."

She was speaking very quickly so I shook my head. "Sheema, slow down. Who is it from?"

Sheema took a few breaths as we came to stop under a tree. The shade seemed to help her cool off both physically and mentally. "The Grand Elder, he had an important message for you."

I rolled my eyes. "Ugh, what is he scheming."

She looked at me sideways for a moment before proceeding. "He said that it would be best if you visited the capital before you left. Something about The Ten."

I furrowed my brow upon hearing that name. "The Ten? The aristocratic clans of Kuat?"

It took me a few seconds but I quickly caught on. "OHHHHH! I see. This man… I'm just glad he's on my side. Very well. Let's get back to camp. Get me a transport while I inform my master."

Sheema nodded. "I'll get it done."