Broken Codes

Small Differences

Corellia: 18 BBY
"Mythos"
Lesia Mirri

Les sat on the hard metal floor and began stretching her ankles. She'd taken up the exercises as part of her daily routine. Already, the results were beginning to show. Her dancing had improved a bit and her ankles didn't hurt as often as they once had.

Nakoa was seated nearby, seemingly lost in thought. Oni had left for Kessel the day before and Les had to admit that it was nice not feeling judged with every footstep. Les ran through a few more exercises, then got to her feet.

She switched on some music and began to dance around the room. The sheer purple fabric of her dancing costume swirled around her legs. Lesia grinned and twirled again. The costume always made her feel beautiful, for some reason.

A wave of sorrow brushed past her. Les stiffened and took a wrong step. She gasped as one of her ankles buckled. In an instant, Nakoa was there. He caught her before she went down.

"You're surprisingly good at catching me," she laughed, ignoring the pain that flared through her ankle.

"You always wind up falling," he replied.

Les sensed the heavy weight that surrounded him. "I'm going to take a small break." She got to her feet with a grimace and dropped into a seat. "You seem sad."

"How could you tell?"

"Your demeanor and your voice," Les explained. "What's wrong? Is it Galaar?"

"No." Nakoa sat down with a sigh. He drew his vibroblade and ran his finger down the length of it.

Les scooted closer to him, eyeing the blade. "Whose was that? I remember Oni saying it meant a lot to you when we were on Geonosis. You always mess with it when you're stressed or bored."

Nakoa offered it to her. She took the blade and inspected it. It was heavier than she had expected. There was a signet carved into the hilt as well. It matched the signet that she had seen carved on his necklace. For a moment, Les wondered if he was wearing it.

"It belonged to my mother," Nakoa said, at last. "She gave it to me the day she died. I'm...sad...because that date is coming up soon."

"You never told me about her." Lesia handed the blade back. "Actually, you never told me anything about your past, really."

He clenched a hand into a fist. Les saw his fingers tremble a bit as he relaxed them again. "I don't...like talking about it. I don't even remember it all. I made myself forget."

"Oh." Les knit her brows. "Well, now that we're on this subject, I suppose I can tell you a bit more about my own past. You asked about what happened on Mygeeto. What do you know about that planet?"

"Not much," he admitted.

I have to phrase this right, Les thought. She pursed her lips, then spoke. "One of the last battles of the Clone Wars was fought there. I was near where the fighting happened. A few weeks before the end of the war, some new clones arrived. I met one, Cole, and things progressed between us. I was there during the Purge."

"You saw the Jedi be killed?"

Lesia lowered her gaze and nodded. "That's how this happened." She gestured to her scarred ankles. "I was...mistaken for a Jedi and they tried to kill me."

"Mistaken for a Jedi?" Nakoa asked. His tone was full of disbelief. "What happened to Cole?"

Tears sprang into her eyes before she could stop them. Les blinked, willing herself to stay calm. "I killed him in self defense."