Ep I Ch 16

1All of a sudden I felt ill, but not in the same way as Qui-Gon Jinn. It was more towards the gut than the stomach. 2My head started to ache, as if spiders had made their home on it, and the electric feeling stayed, shifting towards my neck and shoulders. I felt as if I needed to throw up.

3I tried to look away, but I couldn’t. The Sith’s eyes were glowing now, and it gave me an uneasy feeling all over.

4And then I saw Qui-Gon Jinn’s reflection behind me. He told me to let go, but I was enamored by the absolute grace staring back at me. 5More thoughts filled my head. Those of people, and transport I never saw before, food I’d never tasted, but looked extravagant, and the people smiled and laughed together. Was this Coruscant, or was I wrong?

6The woman in my reflection lowered her cloak and revealed her face. She had big eyes, much like a cat, and did not smile. 7She showed me diadems, and a banquet worthy of anyone who was worthy of such riches. I couldn’t even imagine Queen Amidala would receive an invitation. 8I shook it off and blinked, turning away from the water.

“Why did you stop?” I heard a voice say. The woman stepped into my vision, wearing white spectacles, or what seemed to be. She took them off and showed her hazelnut eyes. They glowed in the sunset. 9Her voice was like honey, but it slurred on the vowels, and hit hard on the consonants. Her hair glistened coppery red. Had I met the woman of my dreams? 10“I am no angel,” she said, lifting the spectacles. “Do you have plastic on your home planet?” I’d never heard of plastic before. 11She looked at me uncomfortably, but shook off the emotion. “Which reminds me, where are we?”

12“Solleu River,” I replied.

She sniffed the air, and shifted her eyes, as if thinking. “Yes, this does smell of nature, indeed. Would you like to tell me where Solleu River is?” and she added quietly, 13“Let’s hope I know the name of this.”

14“Solleu River is near the Great City Theed, on the planet Naboo,” I remarked, and she nodded.

15“Naboo sounds familiar, at least,” she said. “I am not from these planets, as you can see.” She looked down at her reddish-white robe, and held her arms out like a bat.

16“If you are no angel, are you a Sith?” I asked, now wary of her beauty.

17“No,” she answered, “I have seen my Dark Side too well. 18It’s the one thing Jedi seem not to know — how to understand their Sith.”

19“How does one understand a Sith, when a Sith loses all understanding?” I argued.

20“That is untrue,” the woman replied. “All a Sith needs is a little understanding. Ah, and some boundaries.” 21So she showed me a figure in a black coat, but their face was shown — I think it was a man?