[FIC] The Adventures of Jolee Bindo

[Jae Onasi]

Very good fic-tasticness, I can't wait to see where it goes.

 

 

You misspelled 'sneared' and 'shreiks'

 

Thanks. You have a sharp eye--I proofed it twice and still missed those.

 

 

The redemption theme/saving people is big in the SW movies--Yoda saving Anakin and Obi-wan when he could have struck down Dooku, Luke saving his father, saving the twins, and so on.

 

I'm betting Jolee was a bit of a scoundrel in his young days, eh?

[Hallucination]

You have a sharp eye--I proofed it twice and still missed those.

Thank you, that's why I'm a semi-professional editor.

I'm betting Jolee was a bit of a scoundrel in his young days, eh?

Not a scoundrel, just a tax collector on the greedy.

Again, keep up the freat work.

[Diego Varen]

Another great Chapter Jae. Jolee sure has some interesting stories.

[Renegade Puma]

Fantastic job Jae! Superb storytelling mixed with some good descriptive action in this chapter. I can't say enough good things about your Fic. I really laughed out loud at the "Disarmed" comment by Jolee. Keep up the great work!

[PazaakPrincess]

Hey Jae, I think it's a great story so far and very well written you have a very good literary "voice".

 

I liked the beginning where Vandaar speaks more like Yodo, I could hear that croaky little voice in my head

 

My only real criticism would be from a readability point of view, although your formatting has improved from the beginning. I would just break up the paragraphs more and try and keep dialogue separated as it makes it more effective to the reader. Use more line breaks especially between different speakers. That's it really.

 

I can't wait to read more!

[Jae Onasi]

Thanks all!

 

Yep, the formatting is making me a little nuts--how it looks in Word and how it looks on the forum can be two very different things. The story's very dialog heavy since it's in first person, so I'll have to space just about every line. However, it shouldn't be a problem to go back and edit these to improve it, and I'll try to take care of that tonight. Chapter 5 should be out in a few days, too. It's moving along a little faster than I expected.

[JediMaster12]

I know the feeling I recently posted Ch 3 to Heart of the Guardian. First person is not an easy thing to do because there is this tendency to switch all the way to the third person. Still I like the work you are doing Jae.

[PazaakPrincess]

Don't be too hard on yourself Jae, it's just really different reading on a computer or actually in a browser to reading word, then it is to say reading a book or a newspaper.

 

You also don't have to do exactly like everyone else, I for instance tend to use a lot of line breaks and very short paragraphs and try to seperate dialogue out almost completely which isn't really the way a book, for instance, would be formatted necessarily. I do it though because I am trying to make sure the impact of what I want to get across isn't lost to someone skimming with a browser.

 

Actually posting my fanfics is all new too me anyway so I should probably just shutup

[Jae Onasi]

Oh, I didn't see your comments as complaining at all. You're right, the spacing will improve readability, and that's A Good Thing. I was grousing more about not being able to have it format the same in my word processing as it does online--hubby can attest to the fact that I like to be as efficient as possible, so in my ideal world the format would look fabulous in both places with me only having to format it once. I didn't mean to make it sound like I didn't appreciate the constructive criticism, because I did appreciate it.

 

JediMaster12--yep, 1st person is a challenge, and kind of fun to work in. Most of my writing has been for my history major or reports, and those are never 1st person. I've caught myself more than a few times trying to write 'Jolee thought this...' and then having to figure out how to turn that around into 1st person mode. It certainly makes the creative process interesting.

Thanks, folks!

[Char Ell]

I don't know why I took so long to read your fic, Jae Onasi. You're writing some great stuff here!

I was dodging weapon attacks long before someone ever put the first diaper on you.

Friggin' hilarious! A true "Bindoism" if ever there was one!

If we hadn’t been fighting for our lives, it might have been funny—picture an evil Jedi covered with honey and pieces of hive, dancing around trying to get the bees out from under his armor and robes. Suddenly he started choking and wheezing, and collapsed right in front of us. Turns out this mighty Dark Jedi happened to be terribly allergic to bees. He was dead before we could do anything.

This was some great imagery! Two Jedi and a powerful Dark Jedi fighting each other as they swat at the angry bees dive bombing them. To borrow a word you used, I "guffawed" when I read this passage.

 

Looking forward to more "Adventures" and thanks for sharing.

[Jae Onasi]

Hello folks! Chapter 6 may take a bit--I have to do my taxes and write a long report by the end of the month, and that's going to eat up some time. In the meantime, I'm leaving Chapter 5 for you, because I can't stand waiting for the resolution of cliffhangers any more than you all can.

 

Thanks Hai Wan, and I'm glad all of you are enjoying it. When I started writing ch. 3, the bees weren't even a thought. I was musing about Elorri'ani's penchant for attracting wildlife, and I think hubby and I got into a discussion briefly about beesting anaphylactic shock (we're in the med field, yes, that's normal conversation for us. ), and all of the sudden I could picture poor Elorri'ani looking up, seeing a swarm of bees, and saying to himself, "Oh, sh--, not _again_!". That image plus the irony of something so small taking down something so powerful was too good to pass up.

 

Here you go!

 

Chapter 5: Talin Kayl

 

The darkness completely enveloped me. I drifted weightlessly through it, and saw a light far away. It seemed to beckon to me, warm and inviting. Far away I could hear faint voices through the silence. I couldn’t understand them. They sounded so strange, like murmurs of a river. One voice seemed to carry a little farther, and I strained to hear it.

 

“Jae, it’s me....” it faded in and out. Confused, I moved towards it. Another voice joined the first, drawing me closer.

 

“Jae, come to us you must. Not ready are you to merge with the Light.”

 

I knew those voices, my mentors….

 

“That’s right, Jae, we’re your friends. We want you back with us. We need you here. Come back to us, please.”

 

Jolee! My friend, my master. I heard other noises intruding urgently and it irritated me.

 

“The life signs are still very unstable, but she responded positively to you both. Keep talking to her. It might be our only chance to save her.” I wanted to hear my friends instead.

 

“Back to us now you must come. Care for you we do. Wish for you to be with us we do.”

 

Suddenly, a shimmering figure appeared before me. I had never seen him before, yet I felt like I always knew this man who obviously was a Jedi Knight. He was taller, but height was hard to tell in the murkiness. His hair was dark, but his eyes were a piercing blue that lit up his face. There was a strength in his countenance and form that showed even in his spirit self.

 

“I thought you might be a little lost in all the dark,” he said, gently. His caring spirit radiated out around him.

 

“The man still lives, doesn’t he? I didn’t feel him joining the light,” I said.

 

“He lives,” he answered simply.

 

The news released the burden that weighed on my soul. I felt free again. I asked, “Who are you?”

 

“I’m Talin Kayl. I’m here to help you find your way back. Take my hand, and I’ll lead you out now.” He warmly stretched out his hand, reaching for me in the shadows.

 

I looked longingly at the warm light, but knew in my heart that my destiny was not leading me there now. I put my hand in Talin’s. There was controlled power in his hand, yet he did not grip mine to coerce my compliance. He would respect my decision if I let go of his hand, but I held on. Together we walked back to the world we knew.

 

“Life signs are starting to stabilize, Master Vandar, Master Jolee. Now the kolto will be able to do its work.” I saw Talin’s form start to fade.

“Don’t leave me!” I called to him, fearing that the darkness would overtake me.

Talin smiled. “I’ve been here the whole time. We’ll be near when you awake. Rest, now.”

Finally, I felt a blissful sleep come over me.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

The noise was not loud, but brought me gradually out of sleep. The kolto was starting to drain from around me out of the tank. I sank down with it, too weak to stand.

 

Two 3MD droids came to assist. “Your strength will return as the effects of the kolto wear off. It should only be a few more days,” one of them said. I could hardly lift my arms to put on the fresh dry robe they brought, and one of the droids helped with the soft, tan clothing before they carried me over to a nearby bed.

 

One of the droids inspected my leg where I had been hit while the other droid reviewed some of the monitors on the bed. The extensive wound had completely filled in, and there was fresh skin entirely covering over the wound. Only the pink color of the new skin and the fine lines marking the edges of the injury gave any indication that anything amiss had ever occurred. I slowly moved my leg for 3MD as it requested, feeling the stiffness but no pain. I was amazed that such a simple action could be so exhausting. I laid my head back down on the pillow, my auburn hair still damp from the kolto.

 

“You did a nice job healing the wound,” I noted, my voice hardly more than a whisper from the weakness. “It doesn’t look like it will even have a scar.”

 

3MD commented, “Thank you. Your wound has not caused any permanent damage and your leg should recover full function shortly. It is important for you to rest now. You lost a great deal of blood when the damaged large artery re-opened and the wound started to bleed heavily. It will take a few days more for you to recover.”

 

It finished its examination and pulled a light blanket up over me. My eyes felt heavy, and I gave way to sleep once more.

 

After some unknown time had passed, I heard the 3MD droid speaking quietly. “She will recover fully, Master Bindo. She is awakening now, if you wish to visit briefly.”

 

Jolee peeked his head around the door, and seeing I was awake and waving for him to come in, smiled broadly and walked through the door. “You’re up! I didn’t want to disturb you if you were still sleeping.”

 

“I’ve been sleeping so much, I think I’ve slept half my life away. How long have I been here?” I asked him, trying to sit up a bit. Even that little effort was tiring, frustrating me somewhat.

 

“About 10 days. Lie back. I’ll pull a chair over so you don’t have to crane your neck up.” He brought over a chair and sat down. “How are you feeling?”

 

“Better than when I got out of that tank. I’m just very tired, and I still can’t get that awful taste of kolto out of my mouth,” I answered, making a face and swallowing against the dryness. My mouth was still parched, which didn’t help get rid of the taste, either.

 

Jolee grinned, “Yes, it is rather like having a mouth full of tach fuzz, isn’t it?”

 

I made a mental note to ask him later about his apparent personal experience with both kolto and tach fuzz.

 

His demeanor changed and became more serious. “Your injuries were a little more extensive than either of us thought when we were on the ship,” Jolee stated, the concern of the last week and a half crossing his face, though he tried to suppress the feelings quickly.

 

“The people on the ship—they’re all OK?” I inquired.

 

Jolee recounted the story to share the details he had learned. “Everyone is fine except for the would-be assassins and that one poor pilot. The Twi’lek recovered nicely; he was only slightly injured. The large family is fine—none of them were hurt at all. The pilot, Inali, came out of the kolto tank about 4 days ago and should be going home tomorrow. I didn’t know if he was even going to make it to Coruscant because of how bad his injuries were, but he has a strong spirit and so he pulled through. He’ll make a good Jedi, actually, if cranky old Vrook can be convinced to take in another older apprentice. He’s strong in the Force.”

 

I smiled at the thought of Jolee and Vrook verbally sparring over the possibility of taking on an adult apprentice.

 

He went on, “The two men who tried to seize the ship were merceneries hired to take out the smaller family. Apparently, that family was being transferred to Coruscant on the same charter as us so that they could testify against a particularly vicious Exchange boss on Telos. That boss is bad—practically eats children for breakfast, and with the family’s testimony, the Republic should be able to step in and do something about it finally. The authorities are still trying to figure out how these two assassins managed to slip by all security to board the transport. The man I took out was beyond hope.”

 

 

“That explains why the family was so nervous,” I said. “You know, the hunter I was fighting couldn’t kill the girl. He carried the blaster like a seasoned warrior but the good in him wouldn’t allow him to murder a child. I just couldn’t let him die.” I declared, rather emphatically.

 

“You won’t get any arguments from me on that—I understood what you did, even if some of the other Jedi here don’t necessarily agree—they think you risked yourself unnecessarily.” Seeing the incredulous look on my face, he held up his hand to forestall any arguments. “Never mind them, you did the right thing. I just wish I had the strength to keep you from all this, but if the pilot wasn’t conscious to help me bring in the transport, we would have crashed,” said Jolee, the regret spilling out.

 

“Jolee, you had to save the pilot and the ship. There was no other choice or we wouldn’t be here having a nice little chat. I didn’t think the injury was this bad, either,” I observed, patting his arm lightly to show I understood.

 

“The blaster bolt hit one of the large arteries in your leg, but you had healed it enough that it had stopped bleeding when I went over to see how you were. When you turned over to help heal the merc as well, you started bleeding again heavily. You lost a lot of blood before I realized what you had done,” he added, a bit apologetically.

 

For a moment, I thought his eyes glistened with tears. The sight of a fellow Jedi laying unconscious in a large pool of blood must have been very painful, even for someone who had seen as much of life and death as Jolee.

 

“There’s nothing to be sorry for, Jolee. You had to save the pilot and the rest of us on the ship. I had to save that man,” I stated, simply.

 

Jolee swallowed back the lump in his throat and changed the subject, saying, “Well, it’s a good thing you did save him. His name is Miron, by the way. He came out of the kolto about 3 days ago, and he’s here under guard. He was a hired gun for that Exchange boss—Miron’s Republic ex-military from the Mandalorian Wars. Once he realized what the Exchange wanted to do to the little girl and her family, he thought better of it. He’s decided to become a witness against this boss. He knows a lot about the Exchange on Telos that can seal the case for the Republic.”

 

“Miron’s a marked man whether he testifies or not—I’m glad he’s doing the right thing,” I responded.

 

“Protected he will be,” said Master Vandar, entering the room and walking over to my bedside, “Testify he will, and from the Exchange, hidden he will be.”

 

Jolee made a move to vacate his seat for him, and Vandar made a motion with his hand indicating Jolee should stay seated. Behind Master Vandar was the man I had seen in that terrible darkness--Talin Kayl. He was indeed tall, perhaps a good 8 inches above my own height, and I wasn’t a short woman. His dark brown hair was nearly black, and those same piercing blue eyes I had noticed in the nether world studied my own light blue ones. He wore the plain brown robes typical of many Jedi Knights, but it did not hide his muscular form. He stood with an air of confidence, almost superiority. I tried again to sit up to greet both my new visitors. My body betrayed me, and I could barely raise my head up, much less achieve a sitting position.

 

“You don’t need to get up for us. Your recovery will take longer if you don’t allow yourself time to heal.” Talin said. His voice was carefully controlled, neither too loud nor too soft, and there was an underlying power in his speech. However, I sensed a faint condescension in his manner, and a touch of displeasure about something, though I could not identify it.

 

“You were the one I met in the darkness. I appreciated your assistance,” I thanked him.

 

“I wasn't sure if you'd remember after all you've been through, but my name is Talin Kayl. It's a pleasure to meet you finally. I’m honored I was able to help,” he replied formally with a slight bow.

 

“Quiet you all must be,” Vandar commanded, holding his hand up to silence us all. He placed his hand upon my forehead. His green skin was well wrinkled and slightly rough, but his touch was gentle. He flexed his hand one time to adjust his fingers into a comfortable position on my head, closed his eyes, and began to concentrate. I felt a wave of warmth pass through me, and abruptly, some of my strength returned. He removed his hand, gave a small sigh, and with a little smile, opened his eyes again. “Better you feel, no?” he asked.

 

“Much better,” I replied, now able to push myself up to a semi-sitting position.

 

“Good. Here you must stay several more days. When recovered you are, before the Council you and Master Jolee must come.”

 

Jolee raised his eyebrows in question. Vandar turned to him, saying “Master Jolee, have you join us in meeting the Council wishes. To us come in one hour. Information you will give and receive then. Come, Jedi Talin, and leave Padawan Jae to rest now.” Vandar smiled at me once more, and then he turned and left.

 

“Hopefully, we will meet again soon under more pleasant circumstances, and certainly less risky,” Talin said smoothly, with a slight smile.

 

His faint tone of disapproval, though carefully masked, was unmistakable, almost as if he were chiding an apprentice for getting into trouble, and I viewed him curiously. His tone and attitude seemed at odds with the person that I met in that murky other-world. I sensed our next meeting would occur soon.

 

“Thank you again for your help,” I stated, not having the energy to take offense. Indeed, I was very thankful for his rescue.

 

“You are welcome,” he replied, leaving the room.

 

Jolee watched both of them leave. He sat back in his chair and pensively rubbed the beard on his chin. “Well, that was interesting,” he said, finally. I tilted my head a little in question, and nodded for him to continue.

 

“Talin reminds me a bit of Andor,” he mused.

 

“The same Andor you told me about whose arrogance caused him to get himself killed and yet alter the political course of an entire sector for centuries to come?” I asked.

 

“Will wonders never cease!” Jolee exclaimed with a grin, throwing his hands up in the air and waving them around as if he were rejoicing. “A young person who actually takes time to listen to her elders! You make me proud, Jae,” Jolee pretended to wipe tears of joy from his eyes.

 

Chuckling, I waved a hand, motioning for him to go on.

 

“Yes, that Andor. Talin has that same supreme sense of self-confidence that Andur had. If he’s not careful, it’ll be his downfall, too. Andor had a way of making you believe that he knew the right path without a shadow of a doubt. I remember one little story,” he said.

 

I shifted a bit in bed to make sure I had a comfortable position and settled down to listen. No one ever knew how long Jolee’s stories could be.

Jolee pretended to be offended. “I’m hurt! I said it would be a ‘little’ story,” he sniffed, holding up his finger and thumb close together to indicate it was indeed supposed to be very short.

 

He went on, “Andor and I were apprentices about the same time, and during our lightsaber construction class we both were assigned components and crystals for our lightsabers. Well, Andor dozed off briefly during the instructions—he’d been out a little too late the night before romancing his then-girlfriend Nomi. He woke up in the middle of the lecture, but he didn’t realized he’d missed anything. Well, he missed the most important part, which is how to set the central crystal properly so the blade extends out straight. I knew what steps he had missed while he was inspecting the inside of eyelids, and I tried to tell him how to place the crystal. Andor was true to his personality, though, and set the crystal according to how he felt it should be. Then, rather than having one of the masters double check it to make sure the blade wasn’t going to shoot out sideways and kill him, he decided to ignite it. Well, he got his first lesson on humility that day. Just as I was walking over to him to tell him to hold off on igniting his saber, I suddenly saw the blade come out at a diagonal. Actually, that was pretty good considering he'd missed three-quarters of the instructions. The edge of the blade hit the emitter, and it made the emitter overload. The entire lightsaber just about exploded in his hands. He tossed it away instinctively, and it fell under a window. The sparking set one of the curtains on fire, and suddenly all we could hear were the fire sirens. Then the sprinklers went off and water poured down all over us. Andor had a fantastic head of hair—thick, brown, and wavy, and he liked it arranged just so. However, that beautiful head of hair was no match for the fire suppression systems, and the next thing I saw was Andor running around in frustration in his soaked robes, with his hair just plastered to his head. It was an amazing sight, I’ll tell you.” Jolee chortled.

 

“It’s a wonder he didn’t get expelled from the order for his pride,” I noted.

 

“He probably would have, but the masters sensed his destiny swirling around him even then and knew he had to stay. However, he had to do some penance, and ended up cleaning all the apprentice dorms for the next 2 months. His pride calmed down, at least for a little while,” Jolee finished.

 

“Do you think Talin is in danger of following in his footsteps?” I asked, still amused at the idea of the proud Andor scrubbing floors.

 

“Like Andor, he has a great destiny,” Jolee declared. “I just hope it doesn’t involve falling into reactors and blowing up ships again.”

 

Jolee got up from his seat and put the chair away. “I suppose I should go see what the Council has for me now. I’ll come bore you with more history tomorrow.” He stood by the side of the bed and gave me a gentle fatherly squeeze on my shoulder. “I’m glad to see you’re doing better. I was worried for a bit there, and I’ve grown rather fond of you, you know.”

 

I briefly laid my hand on his to show the fondness was mutual and said, “What do you think the Council is going to say?”

 

“Hopefully nothing annoyingly effusive about how ‘great it was’ that I’ve ‘changed the course of history on Telos by saving the pilot and delivering the family safely.’ Sometimes they just go overboard when a simple thank you is more than sufficient,” he responded. “Now be a good Padawan and rest,” he gave a little wave as he left the room.

 

Feeling suddenly very tired, I laid down to sleep off the rest of the kolto effects. The image of the self-satisfied Talin Kayl crossed my thoughts briefly before I dozed off.

[Diego Varen]

Another great Chapter. I think Jae was in a dream before wasn't he? Great as always.

[Renegade Puma]

Lol!

1. Jae is a girl.

 

2. Excellent job Jae. Your writing is so beautiful. It just flows so well and always has a point to it. I could definitely stand to learn a thing or two from you. You really do capture Jolee very well by the way, actually I would say perfectly. This Talin kayl has me interested. I am going to go out on a limb right now and say that he is a Sith in disguise. Can't wait for your next chapter!

[Char Ell]

Chapter 6 may take a bit--I have to do my taxes and write a long report by the end of the month, and that's going to eat up some time.

Yeah, taxes. I still got mine to do as well. Ughh. But hopefully you and hubby get a nice refund.

 

I love how you took Jolee's account of Andor with his Force-swirling destiny from KotOR and incorporated it into your story. I'll patiently await the next chapter since you took the time to set expectations that it will be a little while.

[Jae Onasi]

Thanks folks!

Taxes--does look like we'll get a refund, which is always nice. In the ideal world we'd pay just enough so that we wouldn't have to pay or get a refund (that way, we aren't loaning the gov't our salaries), but getting a refund is always nice just the same.

 

Yep, Jae's a girl.

 

We'll see where Talin goes in the story, eh?

 

RenegadeBore, for me, anyway, I think the best way to improve writing is to do it a lot (and I did a ton of writing for my history major ) and have fun with it. That's something you're already doing here so you're ahead of the game, too. Writing non-fiction doesn't always transfer over to creative writing, but it helps. I still have a lot to learn, too!

[Jae Onasi]

For your reading and dining pleasure, may I present to you Chapter 6. I really need to actually go get some sleep now.

 

 

Chapter 6: Mik’oth

 

 

“Your wounds have healed fully, but you must not overexert yourself for several more days, Padawan Onasi,” the 3MD droid stated, as I finished dressing--finally--in my own clothes to leave the medical facility.

 

“I’ll follow your orders, 3MD,” I replied.

 

“I’ll make sure she follows those orders, too, 3MD,” Jolee said, striding into my room.

 

The 3MD droid turned to face us both, and said, “I’m relieved to hear that, Master Bindo. Jedi, and Padawans in particular, have a tendency to disregard the advice of medical droids.”

 

Smiling, I answered, “I promise to behave. I don’t believe I want to see the inside of a kolto tank ever again.”

 

If a droid could grin, I believe 3MD would have had one on his face right then. Jolee and I left the facility and got into his speeder.

 

“A little bright for a Jedi, isn’t it?” I ribbed Jolee about the shiny red speeder.

 

“Since when have I ever been that average Jedi?” grinned Jolee, putting on some sunglasses and starting the speeder.

 

“Where are we off to today?” I asked.

 

“We have to be at the Jedi temple in 3 hours to meet with the Council—they have a mission for us. So, I thought we’d go check out the Eloni cantina and see if they finally got a new Bith accordion player,” Jolee smiled widely. He drove through parts of Coruscant that I’d never seen before. Coming from a much less urbanized world myself, the wide varieties of architecture and non-stop activities of vehicles and sentients still fascinated me, even after spending a couple years here as an apprentice.

We arrived shortly at the Eloni cantina.

 

Jolee smiled, “Just a little warning. Mik’oth is the owner. He’s a Twi’lek, and hopefully he’s here. He is very well connected in certain circles that we might consider rather shady, and his help on certain issues can be invaluable. However, he is a bit, shall we say, on the smarmy side.”

 

He opened the door and motioned for me to go through. I cocked an eyebrow in question about Mik’oth, but said nothing. The inside of the cantina was a well-lit, colorful place, obviously designed for amusement, and I thought, likely some wild times. The Bith band was already playing some upbeat music suitable for the lunchtime crowd that was beginning to gather. I had the distinct feeling that some of the oddly placed artwork was there on the walls to cover some gouges from blaster bolts. There was even a small slice in one of the pillars, as if a lightsaber had hit it.

 

“It’s the Lekku-less Wonder!” someone exclaimed loudly towards us.

 

We both turned towards the sound, Jolee grinning broadly, “why, I thought I recognized the voice of the Tail-headed Tornado! About time you got a new Bith accordion player,” Jolee and the Twi’lek owner of the cantina embraced warmly, smacking each other on the back several times.

“Where are my manners?” Jolee said, “Let me introduce you two. Mik’oth, this is Jae Onasi. Jae, this is my good friend Mik’oth. I’ve pulled Mik’oth’s lekku out of more scrapes than he cares to admit.”

 

Mik’oth was a bright blue Twi’lek with two long lekku projecting out from his head, wrapping around his neck, and then extending down his back. They moved adroitly in concert with his speech. He dressed in a very expensive dark navy suit and tailored white shirt with a vest dotted in a large number of round, multi-faceted, brightly colored gemstones that glittered with every move he made. Several large-stoned rings adorned his fingers. For all his obvious wealth, however, I sensed a cheerful, if worldly, Twi’lek.

 

He took my offered hand, shook it warmly and then held onto it gently, looking me up and down, admiringly, “What a lovely creature you’ve brought to me, Jolee. Such gorgeous long auburn hair and striking blue eyes. Her skin is perhaps lighter than some of my patrons’ tastes, but my, such a lithe yet deliciously feminine body! You are a dancer, aren’t you, dear?” Mik’oth beamed at me.

 

I was not sure whether to blush furiously at his rather frank appraisal or laugh at his over-the-top question. Minding my feelings, I managed to keep the blush to a slight pink on my cheeks while chuckling a bit.

 

“Oh, stop, now, you old Twi’lek. You’re embarrassing Jae. Go twine your lekku around some other poor girl, she’s my Padawan,” Jolee waved a hand at him in mock offense. Looking over at me, he pronounced, “Now you know why I call him a Tornado. His mouth goes so fast it’s like a whirlwind swirling around you.”

 

"I'm pleased to meet you," I said with a smile.

 

“I’m honored to have such a lovely Jedi grace my humble cantina. Occasionally, we let this old coot in, too. Come in, come in, sit down,” Mik’oth motioned to a table with a nice view of the cantina floor and waved for one of the buxom servers. Her clothing, what there was of it, did not leave much to the imagination. “Bring 3 of those new Ryloth beers that we just got in yesterday, my dear,” he said to her. She smiled at us all and immediately left for the drinks.

 

“I bet you’ve had those in your basement for 10 years and are just trying to pawn them off on us,” Jolee quipped.

 

“Nothing but the worst for you, my old friend,” Mik’oth retorted happily. “So what brings you to my lowly establishment?”

 

“I want to find out about the Exchange boss on Telos, Naren Norelden, whose mercs almost took out my Padawan, here. They got through all security with blasters entirely unchallenged to try to assassinate a family that was going to testify against this boss. I’m sure the Republic will take care of him after they get out of their interminable conferences, but I’m concerned he’s going to become more dangerous. We need to get him to justice before he tries to kill more little girls and their families,” and Jolee briefly recounted the events on the ship as the server brought the beers for us to savor.

 

Mik’oth’s eyes widened as he looked over at me. “Beautiful and courageous, eh? The Jedi really messed up when they stuck you with this bald old fox,” he smirked. Then he appeared to reconsider, “Or, maybe not. You’d be too much of a distraction for a man young enough to care.”

 

Jolee rolled his eyes and then winked. “I may be old, but I’m not dead, Mik’oth. What are your thoughts on this Naren?”

 

Still peering at me with obvious pleasure in his eyes, Mik’oth answered seriously, “The Telos boss is bad, but he’s not the worst of the pack. He thinks he’s top kath hound, but he is an upstart looking to expand territory. He is making some of the other bosses very distressed by trying to unite some of the younger hothead bosses against some of the more established but less violent ones. He is extraordinarily charismatic, though, and has attracted an unusual number of followers. This one has done some nasty things to more than just one family or child,” Mik’oth looked at Jolee and leaned towards him to speak more quietly, “his predations are not limited to humans, either. One of my cousins was a victim of his. I won’t be sorry, Jolee, if you were to exact a bit of ‘Jedi Justice,’ as it were,” and he left the implication heavy in the air between us all.

 

“It would be more appropriate for us to try to rehabilitate him,” I stated seriously.

 

Mik’oth threw back his head and laughed, “Rehabilitate! Oh, you are witty, too!”

 

Jolee commented, “Mik’oth, you know we have to try to work these things out, so Jae’s right. We’re not trying to make more work for ourselves, you know.”

 

“Ah, well, I suppose you’re right,” Mik’oth replied, sighing. “I’ll see what I can dig up from my sources and get back to you. In the meantime, it is my duty to make sure you are properly fed after the slop they gave you in the medical facility. I am bringing some prime Rylothian beef and the best steamed Mon Calamari root vegetables. Jae, you’ll have to ask him about our little escapades in the Ukatis system, where we liberated funds from the rich to give to the poor. What a time we had together. Of course, now I’m a much more respectable man than that.”

 

Jolee just chortled at that. Mik’oth threw us a backwards glance and grin as he went to tell a server to bring us the meal.

 

We indulged in this fine treat while Mik’oth floated from table to table, garrulously greeting guests as if they were long lost friends, even if they had been in for breakfast that same day. In the middle of raising another bite to my mouth, I suddenly stopped, fork poised in mid-air. My senses tingled with the danger suddenly entering the cantina.

 

“I noticed it too,” Jolee murmured, looking around with one hand near his lightsaber.

 

Apparently, Mik’oth had a preternatural sense for danger as well—he was already behind the bar looking for something, likely a blaster.

 

“There,” I discreetly pointed out the small group of mercenaries to Jolee.

 

“Blast it, I was just starting to enjoy my steak!” Jolee groused while pulling his lightsaber off his belt.

 

At just that moment, one of them threw a grenade, and pure sound energy radiated out from it, nearly deafening me before I could use the Force to shield the sound and blunt the volume. We got up to meet them in battle. The mercs noticed our purposeful movements in the middle of the screams and wild activity of attempted escapes and targeted us. Their look of recognition and subsequent sneers told us that we were the prey.

 

“Look sharp, Jae. If he’s got one grenade, he likely has more,” Jolee cautioned, “Be ready to do the breath control techniques in case he throws a poison grenade at us so that you don’t breathe anything in.” We had been practicing breath control for a few weeks now, and I was able to let the air in my lungs sustain me for about an hour before I had to start breathing once more.

 

One of them opened fire with a heavy blaster, and Jolee closed on him, neatly deflecting the blaster bolts aimed at him harmlessly into the ground. I concentrated on one of the other brutes, who was reaching back to throw something, and I realized it was another grenade. I had to cross the ground quickly, and jumped in the air to close the distance rapidly. He tossed the grenade just then. Seeing it in mid-air, I ignited my lightsaber, and brought the aqua blade down to cleave the device in two before it hit the ground. Two pieces of grenade fell quickly and harmlessly to the floor and scattered under some tables.

 

The jump brought me within striking distance of the would-be grenadier. He pulled out his blaster, and got into a good stance to fire upon me, just as another mercenary turned to train his sights on me also. I swung my blade back up, then out a bit, and whipped it around to cut off the barrel of the blaster just in time before he fired.

 

Jolee made short work of his opponent, and ran over to assist me. He engaged the closer of the two men, who pulled out a vibroblade and made a well-controlled attack at Jolee. Jolee parried the man’s attack, sparks flashing off the surface of the two blades. He stepped slightly out to the side to take advantage of the opening and attacked, slicing across the mercenary’s middle. His opponent, unable to deflect the blow in time, immediately fell to the ground.

 

My opponent dropped his useless gun and whipped out a long dagger. It was obvious he was no stranger to knife fighting, and he made several quick slashing motions towards me, trying to find an opening in my defense. I dodged one attack and blocked another, but when he came rushing with the third attack, I sidestepped him and brought the lightsaber blade down on the arm holding the knife. His arm fell to the ground and the knife skittered across the floor. The thug looked at the stump of his arm and collapsed to the floor in obvious agony, and the battle was over.

 

Mik’oth came over to the one still living, his face purpling with rage, grabbed him up by his shirt, and said, “Why are you doing this? Talk!”

 

The man sighed, still in considerable pain, but stayed silent.

 

Jolee stared at his eyes, and gave a subtle wave of his hand, “You feel safe from the Exchange here. You want to talk to us.”

 

The thug’s eyes glazed over, and he parroted, “I feel safe from the Exchange here. I want to talk to you.”

 

Jolee said, pleasantly, “I thought you’d feel that way, lad. Now tell us who you are working for.”

 

The injured man replied, “Naren Norelden.”

 

Jolee went on, “What does Naren want with us?”

 

“Revenge for killing one of his top men and saving the family.”

 

“Why is Naren trying to grab Exchange territory?” Jolee asked.

 

“He’s trying to build a separate branch of the Exchange for himself, so he can be the top kath hound, but he’s too stupid to see he’s being used.” the man answered.

 

That made Jolee stop and think a moment, and then he continued, “Who is using him?”

 

“He’s, ah,” he answered, and then he suddenly collapsed in death throes, and a faint green tint suffused his skin.

 

“Jae?” Jolee looked at me with a questioning glance to see if there was anything I could do with my healing.

 

I touched his forehead and stretched out in the Force. He was gone. “I think it was a poison that took him. His injuries didn’t cause his death.”

 

Mik’oth chimed in, “It’s crystalline anithe. It will activate under certain radio frequencies and cause a rapid death just like this. It’s the green skin tint that gives it away.”

 

Jolee jogged to the door to see if anyone else was out there. I stretched out to feel the Force at the same time. Neither of us saw or felt anything.

 

“There may be no one nearby. If they implanted the transmitter along with the poison, they may have activated it remotely,” continued Mik’oth, explaining the rest of the mechanism of the man’s death. I gently closed his blank eyes.

 

Jolee returned to us, speaking to someone on his comlink, “Yes, we’ll make sure to have the authorities send the bodies to the temple.” He closed up the comlink, and said, “there’s something dark behind all this, and hopefully the autopsies will give us some information and insight.”

 

The authorities arrived very quickly, and after Jolee gave them some instructions, they shuttled the bodies over to the Jedi temple for further examination.

 

Mik’oth circulated among the patrons who were not able to leave when the shooting began, making sure everyone was all right.

 

“We’re supposed to stay for some questions,” Jolee informed me.

 

“Come with me,” Mik’oth beckoned to us, having finished checking on his patrons. “We’ll sit over in my office.”

 

He looked at me with a pleasantly critical eye. “I daresay, my dear, that you indeed are still recovering—you’re shaking like a leaf. You may not feel much like eating right now, but I think you do need a little something. I’ll go get a few things and tell the authorities we’re here.”

 

He made me sit down at a small table in his office overlooking the cantina, and then he disappeared. My stomach roiled a bit from both the attack and my sudden extreme fatigue. We saw him speak briefly with one of the police, and then shortly after that he returned with some steaming dishes.

 

“Eat, Jae. Start with the soup—it’ll soothe your stomach a bit,” Jolee commanded, ladling some soup into a bowl for me. “I know you don’t feel like eating much right now, but you’re looking a bit pale, and you’ll need the energy, especially since you are still recovering. Our meeting with the Council will be coming up after we leave here, and it’s not going to be brief.”

 

I lifted a spoonful of soup for a taste. It was savory, with just a hint of warmth from the spices. After several sips of soup, I had recovered sufficiently to enjoy the rest of the meal.

 

“Since you didn’t get to finish the steaks for which my little cantina is famous, I brought you another,” Mik’oth said, handing me a fresh plate of food. “Jolee, should I regale this charming young Jedi with a tale of our exploits, or should you?”

 

“Are you kidding? I already missed out on the first steak, I’m taking advantage of the second. You talk, I’ll eat. I’m going to correct your numerous mistaken interpretations, however.” Jolee picked up another bite of steak.

 

Mik’oth settled down comfortably in the leather chair that he pulled out from behind his desk. “Let’s see, how we got involved in the Ukatis system might make a good yarn.”

 

“Don’t forget to tell her how we met,” Jolee piped up.

 

“Hush, eat your food. You show disrespect for my steak by not enjoying it. I’ll get to that part,” Mik’oth retorted. “Now where was I. Oh, yes. I had some close family in the Ukatis system, and when I heard about the interdiction of the system, I knew I needed to act.”

 

Jolee snorted, “You call a fifth cousin twice removed close family? Come on, you saw a business opportunity.”

 

Mik’oth sniffed dramatically, “Twi’leks consider all family to be close. I won’t deny that the possibility of a new business outlet was rather attractive. But we digress. The King of the Ukatis system blocked all trade in order to keep an iron control over the population. If the people were starving, they were going to be preoccupied with finding food instead of creating uprisings. My cousin was one of the starving, and I had to help him. We devised a plan to, ah, redistribute the wealth so people wouldn’t die from a lack of food and medical supplies.”

 

“You robbed from the rich to give to the poor, eh?” I noted, grinning.

 

Jolee jumped in, “well, if they’d actually been caring people instead of spoiled, selfish aristocrats, they would have gladly given up some of that wealth to help the little babies and children.”

 

“Yes, they would have. Now let me continue,” Mik’oth wagged a finger at Jolee. “I had accomplished several ‘liberation runs’ when I got detained on the planet by an enforcer.”

 

“And Mik’oth didn’t know I had arrived discreetly on the planet to reconnoiter the situation for the Jedi,” Jolee interrupted.

 

Mik’oth ignored the interruption with a smile and went on, “The enforcers are not known for their gentle natures. Their physical ‘ministrations’ could be rather intense. Mine was a typical brute, but showed a little more humor than the average enforcer. He decided to have a little fun at my expense, and he paraded me through the streets before tying me by my lekku to a tree to swing in the breeze. After awhile, I guess my incoherent utterances must have bored him, or he decided he had another victim to beat, and so there I was, left tied to the tree for everyone to view. Of course, no one dared untie me, for fear of angering the enforcers.”

 

“Except me, because I was too young and brash to concern myself with such consequences,” Jolee added, “I waited til dark, and then climbed up the tree to release him.”

 

“Do you know what he said to me, after I’d been up there the better part of the day? He said, “Hi, I’m Jolee Bindo. Do you need help or do you just like hanging out?” Mik’oth stated dramatically, rolling his eyes.

 

“Jolee, you didn’t!” I exclaimed, smiling at how very outrageous his question had been.

 

“I did. I think he would have clobbered me for that if he’d been able,” Jolee commented, grinning.

 

“Jolee rescued me, and when he found out what I was doing, he smuggled me aboard his ship and dodged 3 enforcer ships to get me out of the system. He brought me here to Coruscant to speak before the Jedi Council about the situation. Of course, I perhaps neglected to state that we had freed some aristocrats of their excess wealth and brought in some badly needed food to the impoverished lower classes while we were there. It was the beginning of a beautiful relationship—Jolee with his expert piloting skills, me with my inside contacts, it was nearly unbeatable,” Mik’oth finished with a slightly nostalgic sigh.

 

“Looks like the police are ready for us, Jolee,” I observed.

 

We informed them of what happened with the mercenaries and gleaned information from the forensic investigators. Mik’oth joined us as we prepared to leave the cantina and return to the Jedi temple. He had a small package for me.

 

“Onderonian willek juice cheesecake. I thought you might want a little taste of home,” he said, and then in an exaggerated whisper, added, “I’ll warn you, though, the chef does not go light on the sauce. One bite might be enough to affect the faculties, you know.”

 

Jolee shook his head, grinning, “You old schmooze. You’re just trying to get in Jae’s good graces.”

 

Mik’oth beamed in my direction, “Of course I am. It never hurts to be in the good graces of a Jedi as lovely as your delightful Padawan. Jae, if you ever decide to dump this old man and the Order, you will come and be a dancer here, won’t you, my dear?” He looked at me with such artfully innocent eyes that I could not help but laugh.

 

“If I ever decide to be a dancer, Mik’oth, you’ll be the first one I contact,” I replied, with a teasing wink.

 

Jolee could only shake his head in amusement. “Come on, Jae, I need to get you out of here before he piles it on any higher.”

 

Mik’oth sighed, “Yes, and I do have to get back to the clean-up. Now that the authorities have completed their investigation, I need to make preparations for the evening crowd so that today’s income isn’t a complete disaster. I’ll let you know if I hear anything else going on in the Exchange. And Jae, do please come back and grace my cantina with your charming presence, preferably often. You can come with or without the Lekku-less Wonder, here.” He waved us out.

 

We got into the speeder, and Jolee eased it into traffic. I commented, “Mik’oth is quite a unique character.”

 

Jolee would have doubled over laughing at the understatement had he not been driving, “That he is, Jae, that he is.”

 

“We’re going to have some very interesting information for the Council. I just hope they don’t lecture me about the excess action so soon after my release from the medical facility,” I noted.

 

“Don’t worry,” Jolee said, putting the sunglasses on once more, “that’s what a master is there for—to keep Padawans out of trouble with the Council.” We drove off towards the Jedi temple for our meeting.

[Diego Varen]

Is that your longest Chapter ever? Anyway another great Chapter and again I could imagine Jolee's voice in my head. Well done.

[JediMaster12]

Wow. That's the longest yet. Still follows the standards of Jolee Bindo. Keep it up Jae.

[Renegade Puma]

Dang that was long. I kept reading, and scrolling down, and reading, and scrolling down, thinking, "is this ever going to end?" None the less, a great job once again Jae. You're really churning out the chapters eh? I really wanted to slap the Twilek dude for his obvious over the top flirting. Well, keep up the great work! Can't wait for the next chapter!

[Jae Onasi]

Well, the Muse wouldn't let me go this time, I guess, and so out it all came. It's not the longest thing I've ever written by far (that was a 28 page seminar paper for a history class). I think most of my chapters have been about 4 pages in Word, and this particular one was about 5 1/2 (so about 40% longer), and I still didn't feel like I gave the Jolee story the attention it really deserved.

 

RenegadeBore, if you felt like slapping him, then I managed to appropriately put in words the smarmy image I had in my head of him. I wanted a way to describe the Padawan Jae character's features without using the 'character looks in a mirror and describes himself' method, so I decided to try something different.

 

I do appreciate you all taking the time to read it and write your opinions.

[Char Ell]

Another excellent chapter, Jae, and only 5 days after the last chapter. I thought we would have to wait until the end of the month at least. But hey, I'm in no way complaining here. I'm sure there are a lot of other fan fic writers around here that would like to get the services of your muse though, heh-heh-heh.

[Jae Onasi]

Another excellent chapter, Jae, and only 5 days after the last chapter. I thought we would have to wait until the end of the month at least. But hey, I'm in no way complaining here. I'm sure there are a lot of other fan fic writers around here that would like to get the services of your muse though, heh-heh-heh.

 

Actually, the Muse got me because the flu got me, and I couldn't do much else but stay in bed for a couple days. Laptops are so convenient. I was waiting for the rest of my volunteers to report in so I can do my report, which is due in a few days, and we're not quite done with taxes yet (but do get a refund, yay!), so the Muse is on hold for about a week or til we get done with those 2 tasks, (hopefully sooner rather than later.).

Thanks!

[JediMaster12]

Actually a witch cursed me, WRITER'S BLOCK!

[Jae Onasi]

Actually a witch cursed me, WRITER'S BLOCK!

 

You can borrow my Muse for the time being. I just need her back when I start writing again.

[JediMaster12]

Actually my familiar found mine, the queen, the goddess, my inspiration

 

I look forward to the next chapter Jae.