[FIC] The Adventures of Jolee Bindo

[Jae Onasi]

Well, after writing about 10 pages of prose in a report, waiting on some data from one more person to complete that report, and working on some other information to continue doing taxes, I just had to take a little break and think about something entirely different. So, here's Ch. 7. If I weren't so tired from staying up way too late writing it , I'd polish it a bit more, but I'll post it for now until I can get a little more creative.

 

 

Chapter 7: A Mission

 

We stood waiting outside the Council chambers for our meeting. Stepping over to peer out the window at the famed Thousand Fountains in the courtyard below, I took a deep breath and straightened the collar on my robe once more.

 

“That’s about the 20th time you’ve adjusted that robe,” Jolee observed, “you’re not nervous about talking to these masters, are you? You’ve been here before.”

 

“Yes, actually I am,” I admitted. It was pointless to be dishonest with a Jedi, particularly a Jedi with whom one had a Master-Padawan bond. Such Force bonds allowed those connected to sense each other’s feelings and sometimes even thoughts. Picking at my robe, however, made my apprehension quite obvious to anyone.

Continuing, I said, “These Jedi are the premier of our Order, and I don’t want to make a bad impression. I’m concerned about what they’re going to say about the transport incident, and I admit I’m a little excited to finally be going on a mission.”

 

“Jae, I have great faith that you will do well, and I’ll handle the transport issue if it comes up, don’t you worry. Remember, every single Master in that room was a Padawan at one time. It’s not like we become Jedi Gods when we reach Master rank, you know. We all put on our robes the same way. It just means we Masters have been in so long we don’t know what else to do but be good Jedi.” He stole a wicked grinning glance my way, “At least you have the option of cantina dancing."

 

Exasperated, I tossed my datapad playfully across the antechamber towards his head. The datapad stopped in mid-air as Jolee easily levitated it. Suddenly, he pushed it back hard at me, and I was expected to catch it in mid-air. Just as I was about to draw it into my hand, however, it froze, suspended above the ground, and then flew away. Talin Kayl caught it. He walked towards me to return it and stood close enough that with his height I had to look up at his face.

 

He held it out for me to take, saying with a slight upturn to his lips, “A rather plebian use of your skills, don’t you think?”

 

Silently, I took back the datapad from his hand. Being chided was not something I was expecting.

 

Jolee walked over towards us to greet him. “Jedi Talin. How are you? I assume you’re going to the same meeting we are?”

 

“Master Jolee,” Talin smiled thinly at him and then turned his gaze back to me. “I was just returning your Padawan’s datapad to her and reminding her that our power is a gift to be utilized appropriately.”

 

“So sure are you that we were engaging in rather useless levitation when in fact we were practicing levity?” Jolee responded coolly with one eyebrow lifted in question. “A good diplomat knows some things are not always as they appear.”

 

Rebuked, Talin nodded to Jolee. “You are right, Master Jolee. I momentarily forgot this most basic lesson in diplomacy. Please forgive me, Padawan Jae.”

 

“No offense taken,” I replied.

 

Talin went on, “I have been called before the Council for this meeting, as you both have.”

 

The two large ornately carved wooden doors of the Council chambers swung open. I took a deep breath and composed myself.

 

Winking, Jolee whispered to me, “Jae, don’t forget to play it up for Vrook,”

 

Arranging the most innocent doe-eyed look on my face that I could muster, I said, “How would it be if I prostrated myself at your feet?”

 

Jolee just shook his head, “No reverence for elders. What is the galaxy coming to? Come on, let’s go see what task they have for us today.”

 

The three of us entered, though I followed slightly behind out of respect for Jolee’s rank of Master. Talin followed slightly behind him as well, I noticed. He may have been rather self-righteous, but at least he showed respect for Jolee’s long experience as a Jedi. As we silently approached the small circle of Masters, Talin and I bowed our heads slightly to them. Apparently, some of the Masters were occupied with other assignments, for there were only four in the room today—Masters Vandar, Vrook, Kavar, and Vash.

 

Master Kavar had a look of pleased relief, and noted, “Jae, I’m very happy that you look so well healed after the transport incident. Your injuries caused great concern.”

 

“Thank you, Master Kavar. I am feeling much better. I have to give credit to Masters Jolee and Vandar and Jedi Talin for their healing assistance. I don’t believe I’d be standing here without them.”

 

Talin nodded slightly towards me, acknowledging the thanks.

 

Master Vrook then added with a slight frown, “Still, it is important for you to take extra care. We do not like to lose any of our Order, and we do not have so many Jedi that we can risk ourselves needlessly.”

 

Jolee came to my defense. “Vrook! We already talked about this a several days ago. We would have done the same exact thing in that situation. None of us could allow another person to die if we could help it. I find no fault in her actions,” he argued.

 

Master Vandar held up a hand, staying any further discussion on the matter. “Already have we agreed that correct were Padawan Jae’s actions. No further is there discussion.”

 

“I would respectfully disagree with the Council that the matter should be closed,” Talin spoke up.

 

“Oh, know you the Council’s mind so well you can question their decision?” Vandar asked, challenging Talin’s audacity in questioning the Council.

 

Talin stopped a moment to collect his thoughts in order to express himself appropriately, “I mean no disrespect to the Council and I accept the judgment of this body in matters regarding members of our Order. However, I think Master Vrook brings up an important point. I agree completely with the Council that her decision was entirely appropriate. The execution of that decision is what caused this unfortunate incident.”

 

Jolee interjected, “My Padawan is my responsibility, Jedi Talin. Any fault in her training is mine.”

 

Talin answered, “I do not mean to impugn your efforts, Master Jolee. Her skill in healing and her other Force powers have increased exponentially while under your tutelage.”

 

Much as I disliked being the object of such discussion, I had to admit to myself that Talin did have a gift for diplomacy. He mixed careful language with a considered attempt to forge a path that would connect both Vrook’s and Jolee’s opinions, combined with the certain brashness in just knowing that his path was the correct route through the challenge.

 

Talin continued, “But while her skills are indeed improving greatly, I believe there needs to be more balance in the development of her Force powers and her fighting skills in order to minimize the risk of future incidents such as this. Training with someone who is a lightsaber specialist could be very beneficial in rounding out her education as a Padawan.”

 

Master Vandar asked Jolee, “Your thoughts we would seek on this matter.”

 

Jolee and I both knew Talin was right on that matter. While Jolee fought well with a lightsaber, it was not his area of expertise, and my lightsaber skills were, well, at a Padawan level.

 

Jolee considered his response, and said with a bit of a smile, “Jedi Talin speaks with a wisdom greater than his years, which is quite refreshing to see in someone that young. However, we would have to be assigned here to Coruscant to get the extra training.”

 

Master Kavar added, “What are your thoughts, Jae?”

 

“I have no desire to fault Master Jolee’s training. I have learned a great deal in a very short time. However, after catching the blaster bolt with my thigh instead of my lightsaber, it is obvious that I could use further instruction in lightsaber use. I have absolutely no desire to have such a personal experience with the kolto tank ever again,” I commented. Knowing chuckles could be heard among the Masters. Apparently, they had also had a similar experience with kolto.

 

Master Vash added, “We appreciate your candid thoughts in this matter, and we had come to a similar conclusion.”

 

Master Vandar went on, “For this reason are you three here before us. Have need of all your skills we do.”

 

My heart sped a little in anticipation of my first real mission, though I tried to concentrate on maintaining my calm.

 

Master Kavar delineated the mission for the three of us in the manner of someone very experienced in doing military briefings. “You must find out what is happening with the Exchange on Telos. We sense there is something greater and darker behind Norelden’s maneuverings, and we need to find that underlying force. We also received a request for a meeting with one of the leaders of the planet Li’adin, which is past Telos in the Outer Rim. Their culture is quite reclusive, and so their request is rather unusual. They have mentioned concerns about time vortices forming near their system and have asked for assistance in determining the source. We need to learn the nature of these phenomena and why they are occurring. We have prepared a detailed report for you and have downloaded it to your datapads.”

 

In his typical gruff voice, Master Vrook added, “We have sensed a connection in the Force between the formation of these vortices and Norelden’s increased activity. You must find out what is happening and put a stop to his illegal activities before they destabilize Telos and the rest of the sector. We will provide you with a small ship so you may travel discreetly. And we do expect you to take care,” he finished, looking pointedly my way.

 

“We have decided to assign Talin to you for the duration of the mission, Jolee,” said Master Kavar. “His diplomacy skills can be very helpful with the people of Li’adin, and with his considerable skill with a lightsaber, he will be able to provide some advanced instruction for Jae.”

 

“And benefit Talin will from the Force skills of Jae and the wisdom of Jolee,” added Master Vandar.

 

I glanced at Talin. From the touch of surprise in his blue eyes, I could tell that he had not anticipated being included in the mission, but when he glanced my way, he gave a little smile. Apparently, he thought this was a good thing. I just hoped he wouldn’t become an insufferable instructor.

 

“There’s never such a thing as too much help. I think I can teach this lad a few tricks,” Jolee grinned.

 

“I am honored at the confidence you place in my skills,” Talin said to the Masters, bowing his head slightly once more. “I will take care to provide an appropriate education and in turn learn what I can.”

 

“Very well, your transport is ready as soon as you are,” Master Kavar said.

 

“I’m not leaving until the food stores are full and the food replicator is cleaned out. I can’t stand that simulated stuff.” Jolee said.

 

“We are aware of your culinary penchant, though why we accommodate it I do not know. Nevertheless, we arranged for the appropriate supplies,” Vrook commented.

 

“Good. Then we can leave as soon as we gather our personal effects,” Jolee answered.

 

“May the Force be with you,” Master Vandar intoned.

[Diego Varen]

Great Chapter. I don't think it needs polishing.

[JediMaster12]

I could hear Vrook as he was speaking. You have a gift with already established characters in making them as we would be inclined to remember them Jae.

I sense a possible romance coming between Jae and Talin. You can berate me if I'm way off target but something in the dialogue and narration tells me so.

Great chapter Jae. As always, a pleasure to read your work.

[Jae Onasi]

I sense a possible romance coming between Jae and Talin. You can berate me if I'm way off target but something in the dialogue and narration tells me so.

 

The Force moves in mysterious ways.

[Renegade Puma]

Great job Jae. Once again your superb writing skills shine through in a new chapter. I still think that Talin is evil. Can't wait to find out if I am right or not. We await your next chapter.

[Jae Onasi]

Well, got my report done and sent out (Jae does a happy dance ), and taxes are in the works, so I cheerfully sat down and wrote a little, or a lot, depending on your point of view. So, here's chapter 8 (eight! this is turning out to be a lot longer than I ever anticipated).

So, Renegade Puma, you didn't have too long to wait!

 

 

 

Chapter 8: Jolee Becomes an Apprentice

 

The Accipiter was a fast, sleek ship, and while she was not as big as a freighter, she nonetheless had more than enough room for 3 people and the requisite astromech droid. She was meant to be used more for diplomatic missions, but she had enough armaments that she could defend herself well in a fight. While the accommodations were not extravagant, they still had an understated elegance. The bow of the ship had the cockpit, of course, and a spacious common room for meetings. In the common room, pale aquamarine tinted the interior walls, and the comfortable light tan and ivory furnishings invited long sittings. The galley that sat just off the common room was large enough to seat four comfortably or six if they got cozy. The pantry was nearly filled to overflowing with Jolee’s food stores, though I had no qualms about using the replicator.

Farther back, the two modest crew quarters on one side of the ship were separated by a small refresher. Jolee and Talin decided to share the larger of the two quarters, and I placed my effects in the other room. The other side of the ship boasted a large multipurpose room that could be sectioned off as needed. The hyperdrive compartment and droid docking station filled the stern. R4-T3, our astromech droid, was recharging. The hold underneath the main deck carried the extra supplies, and the retractable gun turrets were located in the lower portion of the wings.

 

“The Jedi have learned to travel in style,” Jolee commented, looking over the ship after taking her into hyperspace. “This is a lot better than that bucket of bolts they gave me about 30 years back.”

 

“I suppose they have to have transports that work well for diplomatic missions as well as the less savory escapades,” I replied, following him through the various rooms, “and I can’t blame them for not giving you a shiny new ship if they knew you were hanging out with someone like Mik’oth.”

 

Talin joined us and informed us, “Comfort can be paramount in diplomacy. Some of the negotiations can take hours, and one could be sitting in the same spot for the entire time. The more comfortable people are, the less likely they are to be overly aggressive, too.”

 

“Oh, this will do nicely for lightsaber practice,” noted Jolee, looking over the multipurpose room with approval. “You can’t have too much space. Let’s get some shielding up. I’m not too interested in sucking space from a breached hull if one of the lightsabers goes flying.”

 

We quickly adapted the multipurpose room for practicing lightsaber combat and dressed in clothing appropriate for a long workout—sleeveless shirts, but all of us were wearing shorts instead of the usual pants which Talin claimed didn’t allow proper analysis of stances and foot position.

 

Jolee sat off in the corner, stating, “I’ll just sit here and referee this time.” He watched with great attention.

 

“Let’s see what you’ve learned so far,” Talin said, igniting his green lightsaber and holding it tip-down in a casual position.

 

I got into my ready stance and ignited my saber, the turquoise blade glowing.

 

“Stay just like that and don’t move,” Talin directed.

 

He walked over to where I was frozen in place, and gently pushed back one of my shoulders, forcing me off balance. I stepped back to catch myself.

 

“If your stance was strong, that wouldn’t have happened—you would have maintained your balance. Set your feet wider—shoulder width side-to-side and front-to-back.” His blue eyes caught and held mine, “If your stance is weak in a fight, you’re dead. Simple as that.”

 

I fixed my stance immediately while he took a few steps back and set himself solidly.

 

“Ready?” he asked.

 

Nodding slowly, I raised my shield and brought up my lightsaber.

 

He lowered his saber from the ready position, looked at me, and lectured, slightly vexed, “You’re unsure and you’re hesitant. This is a powerful weapon and you have to have 100% commitment when using it. Anything less than that and you may as well put that lightsaber away and never use it again, because there’s no such thing as partial commitment to it.”

 

I leveled my gaze at him, and said coolly and quite resolutely, “I’m very ready,”

 

Suddenly, the attack was on, far faster than anything Jolee had done. I barely caught the first blow in time and could only instinctively fight off the rest of the raining blows. Talin pressed the battle relentlessly with attack after attack while I fought in a completely defensive mode—I couldn’t find an opening to attack because of his speed. He whirled his blade around towards me while I tried to circle out of the way. He anticipated that move and cut me off, extending the blade out to stop my movement, and then in a flash whipped his blade around to within inches of my face. I deflected that blow just in time, and slid my blade down the length of his, finally seeing what I thought was an opening in his defense. He stepped sideways to dodge the blow and then slid his blade back down mine, right into the center of my chest. I deactivated my shield and saber and bent over to catch my breath, wiping the sweat of my face. While it seemed like a long match, it had only taken a few minutes.

 

Talin, who hardly appeared to have been working, shut down his lightsaber, and mentioned with a look of disappointment, “We have a very long way to go to make your skills passable. I think we need to start with your forms instead.”

 

After completing my first form, he began his critique, “You should have stepped out farther here, and blocked lower in move 12. On move 20, your lightsaber should be angled more, yours is not angled enough. Let’s do this one together.”

 

We practiced that form for the next 45 minutes, until he was satisfied that I had performed all the movements in order, in the correct stance, and with sufficient power to attack or block blows. “Your form should improve with continued practice,” he finally declared. It was the most positive thing he had said the entire practice.

 

Jolee got up from his spot in the corner. “It looks like this has been a solid practice session. Now, I think it’s time I went and made some dinner. Both of you need to clean up before joining me so I don’t have to smell Geonosian stinkbug scent over the fragrance of my fine sauce. Jae, you can come help me when you’re finished. Talin, just a reminder, Twi’lek moths are more attracted to honey than they are to Devaronian poison.” He went off to prepare the meal.

 

After silently gathering my things, I headed towards the refresher across the way.

 

Talin called out, “Jae, hold up a minute.”

 

I stopped and then turned to face him with a guarded look. “The practice was very thorough, Talin.”

 

He sighed, “Jolee was right.”

 

Drily, I commented, “He does have that maddening quality about him, yes,”

 

Talin chuckled, and then more seriously said, “I fear I was a bit harsh in my criticism,”

 

There were numerous responses I could have said to that, but then I chose the frank answer, “It was rough.”

 

“Several of my friends have been seriously injured or killed because they did not give adequate attention to their lightsaber skills. I don’t want any of my students going through similar experiences, and you’ve already had one brush with death,” he commented, “but I’ll try to include some honey, as Jolee puts it, in my instruction.”

 

“I’d appreciate that,” I said with a small smile, and we both went our separate ways to freshen up for dinner.

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

 

The spicy fragrance wafting from the galley encouraged me to rush to dry my hair and dress, and I joined Jolee quickly to help with dinner. He prepared a simple meal but added some exotic touches. Talin followed shortly thereafter and we all sat down for the meal.

 

“Blue milk?” Talin asked Jolee, arching his eyebrows in question.

 

“It’s from Tatooine,” Jolee answered. “Makes you grow tall and strong. Well, maybe you shouldn’t have too much. You grow any taller and you’ll be eye-to-eye with Wookiees.”

 

Talin smiled broadly and began eating. There was some silence as we enjoyed the meal, and after sating our appetites a bit, Talin dabbed at his mouth with his napkin and suggested, “Since we’re going to be traveling together for awhile, I would like to suggest that we get to know each other better.”

 

“Fine idea, lad,” Jolee agreed. “Let’s start with something easy, like how we all came to the Order. I do like a good story. Talin, since you’re the first to put down the fork, you get to talk first.”

 

“I’m afraid my story is not terribly interesting,” he replied. “I was born on Alderaan in the House of Kayl. Many in my family are groomed to be ambassadors. We seem to have an uncanny knack for adapting to different cultures and negotiating through difficult situations, probably because many of my family are low-level Force adepts. However, the Jedi found I had an unusually high affinity for the Force, and my family considered it a great honor to send me to become an apprentice in the Order instead of following in my family’s footsteps.”

 

“Who took you as a Padawan?” I asked.

 

“Vrook did at first, which is where I learned all my lightsaber skills. He was an unbelievably difficult taskmaster, but I finally mastered his teachings. Once the Council learned I had a talent for and an interest in diplomacy, I was tranferred to Vandar for training in the art of using words instead of a lightsaber, though I still practiced with Vrook a great deal,” Talin answered. “When words fail, a lightsaber is an excellent backup tool. How about you both?”

 

Jolee, chewing, motioned for me to go next. I took a deep breath as the memories came flooding back and began my tale, “I was living on Onderon and serving in the Queen’s household—never as one of the high level servants, but I enjoyed the work just the same. I developed a talent for healing at an early age, but I never realized that it was the Force at work. All I knew was that when someone was sick or hurting, I had the ability to take away some of the pain and make them feel a little better. Master Kavar discovered that ability.”

 

Talin, discerning there was more, commented, “There must have been something more that made Master Kavar take notice of your Force skill, and then be so absolutely convinced of it that he was willing to prevail upon the rest of the Council to take in a 22-year-old apprentice.”

 

A lump rose up in my throat and I swallowed hard against it. I thought that time would erase some of the old wounds, but several images would be with me always. Talin and Jolee both waited patiently as I collected myself.

 

I found the words, finally. “There was one very bad day. It started out with the Queen walking through Iziz to the Parliament so she could give an address there. I was assigned lady-in-waiting duty, so I was in the entourage. She was talking to Master Kavar, who had arrived from Coruscant for her address. The Queen is a well-loved figure, and not surprisingly, there were crowds along the route. So, we didn’t see the small guerilla group that infiltrated the crowd. We knew about some growing unrest among the Separatists, but never expected such a bold attack in broad daylight with thousands of loyal subjects watching.

"We rounded a corner, and I saw them nearly the same time the Queen’s protection team did.” I stopped and closed my eyes, remembering the overwhelming chaos of sounds of screams and soldiers shouting instructions, the smell of smoke and burning flesh, the sight of blood everywhere, holding Roben’s singed head, one eye swollen shut, in my lap as he struggled to breathe….

 

When I could continue, I was relieved that at least my voice held steady, even if my hands were not, “I don’t know if it was grenades or something else, but there were 3 or 4 explosions right in front of us. Several more went off down the road. The protection squad literally jumped on the Queen to protect her while the rest of the guards and the police in the crowd took off to capture the attackers. Master Kavar stopped briefly to make sure the Queen was OK and then ran after the attackers with his lightsaber blazing. They captured some but not all of the bombers.

"I saw several of the soldiers lying on the ground, and I ran over to see if there was anything I could do. One was already gone, another was hurt but not badly, and I was able to heal him easily. The last one barely lived. I turned him a little to help his breathing. It was Roben, and he was hurt so bad. I held his head in my lap while trying to concentrate on easing his pain and saving him.

"All I remember next was Kavar kneeling next to me and placing a hand on Roben. He looked at me and said something about needing to leave, it was too dangerous to stay out in the open. I told him Roben would die if I left, and he needed my help. ‘You’ve taken away his pain and done more for him than anyone else could, but his wounds are too severe for him to survive,’ Kavar said. I had to save him; I couldn’t leave him. Kavar picked me up, threw me over his shoulder and ran off to get us away from the blaster fire. I looked back at Roben, and I could see his spirit leave. Maybe I imagined it, but he waved at me and smiled.”

 

I got up suddenly to take my plate over to the cleaner so they wouldn’t see the tears that threatened to spill out. I thought briefly about how ridiculous it was to try to hide such a thing from two other Jedi. The emotional wave passed, and I turned around to lean against the counter. “Kavar came to me shortly after that, and told me I was strong in the Force, that I needed to train as a Jedi. The Queen encouraged me to go, and since I no longer had anything to keep me there, I decided that the training would do me well, and I had something to contribute to the Jedi. So, here I am.”

 

“Who was Roben?” Talin asked quietly.

 

“My fiance,” I replied.

 

“I’m sorry,” he said, and while I expected a diplomat to immediately say the correct thing in such situations, I sensed it was genuine and not just for show.

 

“Jolee,” I said after a bit of an awkward pause, “perhaps you should tell Talin how you came to the Jedi. I need a good story right now.” I looked at Talin with a bit of a smile, “If I didn’t know Jolee, I’d never believe it.”

 

Jolee cleared his throat and sat back comfortably into his ‘story-telling’ mode. “I grew up on Coruscant, and while I wasn’t a bad kid, I did have a knack for finding trouble. I about drove my mother crazy. I loved speeder racing and hated school. Can’t tell you how many times I outran the truency patrol. Of course, a little skill in Force misdirection didn’t hurt in making them miss seeing me. I didn’t know just what that ability was at the time. I just thought I was extraordinarily lucky.”

 

“There’s no such thing as luck in the Force,” Talin noted with a slightly superior tone.

 

“Well, I know that now,” Jolee retorted. “Jedi here, remember? Some time when I was around 9 or 10, I noticed a Jedi that would walk the same route to and from the Jedi temple from time to time. He always seemed distracted, so my friends and I decided on a dare to see if we could get that Jedi’s lightsaber.

 

“It wasn’t one of their brightest plans,” I stated to Talin.

 

“Shush, you. Whose story is it, anyway? I’ll have you know that some of those friends actually turned into contributing members in society,” Jolee answered back.

 

“And how many of them spent time in Juvenile Rehab for, um, inappropriate acquisition of items?” I asked innocently.

 

“Let’s see—Jaren, Isith, Padrin, Alina, yep, that pretty much covers it,” he said, ticking off the names on his fingers. “That’s not the good part, though. We watched that Jedi, figured out his schedule, and made our plans. The five of us pretended to be playing ball and not noticing where we were going, just your typical kids. We ran right into him, bowled him over, I grabbed his lightsaber, and then we ran like the wind. It didn’t take him long to figure out his lightsaber was gone. I kept running, and just when I thought I’d escaped him, I skipped past an alley, and suddenly there he was, right in front of me. I swear he rose up out of the ground or something. He dragged me into the Jedi temple by the scruff of my neck. I would say he was just a tad indignant.”

 

Talin looked at me and commented, “You’re right. I don’t believe this.”

 

“But wait. There’s more.” I assured him.

 

Jolee shook his head and sighed, “No respect for elders, always interrupting them….Where was I again? Oh, yes, dragged into the temple, and before the High Council, no less, for discipline. His eyes just about popped out of his head when Vandar announced that I was strong in the Force and needed to be taken in as an apprentice.”

 

Talin looked at Jolee with more than a little suspicion, “Wait a minute. Just who was this Jedi?”

 

“Vrook, of course. I remind him about it every time I feel his pride needs a little pricking,” Jolee applied.

 

Talin gave Jolee an incredulous look before putting his head in his hands. I thought he was quite upset until I saw his shoulders shaking in mirth. When he could control himself again, he said, “You do realize that I will never be able to view my old master in quite the same way ever again, don't you?”

 

Jolee could only flash him a wicked smile.

 

Suddenly, the ship shuddered and an alarm rang through the rooms. Jolee got up calmly, and sighed, “Something’s just knocked us out of hyperspace. So much for my hopes of a good night’s rest. Let’s get to the cockpit and see what little adventure awaits us.”

[Char Ell]

Such enjoyable reading! You have a wonderful ability to mix the serious with the humorous, Jae Onasi. Your story really has come to life for me and after reading your story thus far I'm not sure I'll be able to look at Jolee the same as I did whenever I play KotOR.

[Diego Varen]

Such enjoyable reading! You have a wonderful ability to mix the serious with the humorous, Jae Onasi. Your story really has come to life for me and after reading your story thus far I'm not sure I'll be able to look at Jolee the same as I did whenever I play KotOR.

 

I agree, although do they have school in Star Wars. I mean, you don't see Mission going to school do you? Anyway a good Chapter as always, Renegade Puma will like this when he reads it.

[Darth Jester]

Well written I decided to wait and see how things progressed before replying

I get the feeling that jolee is hiding something as well but I'm not sure what

anyay keep up the great work I keep expecting jolee to make some of his quips from

KotOR but as its still a work in progress we will see what happens

[Jae Onasi]

I agree, although do they have school in Star Wars. I mean, you don't see Mission going to school do you? Anyway a good Chapter as always, Renegade Puma will like this when he reads it.

 

Mission doesn't attend school because she's a street urchin, at least in my little Kotor world view. I'm betting she'd skip school too, if she was actually made to go. Not that I recommend that to anyone here of course.

 

@cutmeister--I've viewed him as wise and irreverent all at the same time, letting people learn from experience (unless they choose to ask him for his opinion), all with pithy comments to keep me on my toes.

I'll never be able to view Vrook the same way ever again, either.

 

Thanks folks!

[Sable Phoenix]

This is so great. I think you've completely captured Jolee. Wonderful work.

 

Just a question, where does this take place in relation to KOTOR? Is Jae who I think she is, and if she is, what was she doing as an attendant in the Queen of Onderon's court?

[Diego Varen]

If you read near the beginning of this Thread, this is set shortly after KOTOR.

[Jae Onasi]

This is so great. I think you've completely captured Jolee. Wonderful work.

 

Just a question, where does this take place in relation to KOTOR? Is Jae who I think she is, and if she is, what was she doing as an attendant in the Queen of Onderon's court?

 

Thanks!

 

As Pottsie nicely pointed out, it's set shortly after Kotor.

 

Jae is just Jae. Jolee does his best talking in Kotor when he's shepherding along young Jedi and has something to teach, so I thought I'd continue along that line.

[Diego Varen]

Hey Jae, you should include Jolee telling Jae about his trial after the War with Exar Kun. Just an idea.

[Jae Onasi]

Hey Jae, you should include Jolee telling Jae about his trial after the War with Exar Kun. Just an idea.

 

Yep, Nayama was a big part of Jolee's life and the trial was a pivotal point in Jolee's Jedi career, so those will be included.

[JediMaster12]

Great chapter as usual Jae. As always I can hear Jolee when he tells his tales or just gets into his own crotchety self. Methinks something is blooming with Talin and Jae but I sense the Force works as it wills.

[Renegade Puma]

Pottsie said that I would like this when I read it.. well I don't!

 

I love it!

 

Seriously Jae. I think I would give up writing my own fic if it meant that I could just read a never ending story written by you. The way you intertwine action, emotion, humor, descriptions, everything! It's just amazing. While I can see that Talin and um.. "you" might have something going, I still hold to the fact that he is evil. I think somewhere in this story he is going to turn to the DS because of his overconfidence in his own skills. Can't wait for the next chap!

[Jae Onasi]

Pottsie said that I would like this when I read it.. well I don't!

 

I love it!

 

 

Seriously Jae. I think I would give up writing my own fic if it meant that I could just read a never ending story written by you.

 

Noooooo! Don't stop writing! I've got more chapters for the story but you just have to keep going with yours!

 

I still hold to the fact that he is evil. I think somewhere in this story he is going to turn to the DS because of his overconfidence in his own skills. Can't wait for the next chap!

 

Redemption is a recurring theme in the SW universe.

I'm working on the next ch. and hope to have it up in a day or two more. It has some more action for us adrenaline junkies.

[Jae Onasi]

Chapter 9: A New Threat

 

The swirling tube of light that was the visual manifestation of hyperspace had resolved back into individual stars by the time we arrived at the cockpit. R4 was already linked to the navicomputer to triangulate our location. We didn’t need to see the translation to know we were in the middle of nowhere, but R4 finally determined we’d come out of hyperspace several sectors shy of Li’adin. Far below us off the starboard bow was a freighter, being harried by about 8 small fighters that had scattered themselves all around the ship, shooting at her.

 

“Sith fighters, and they don’t see us yet. I’m going to position us between the sun and those fighters and dive in fast, but that’s the only time they won’t see us,” Jolee pointed out, “you two get to the gun stations and strap in. This is going to get bumpy fast.” He patted the control console, “Ok, baby, let’s see what you’ve got.”

 

The Accipiter turned smoothly and accelerated quickly under Jolee’s skillful hands.

 

“All right boys and girls, here we go,” he called out with excitement in his voice. He seemed almost to be enjoying this.

 

I was pressed back in my seat as our speed abruptly increased again, and I watched the monitor carefully so I could shoot as soon as I acquired a target. The Accipiter spun down towards the targets, and suddenly Talin and I both had acquired our targets and were busy shooting at them. Talin got the first one, I hit the next two. He fired again, and a fourth fighter exploded in a ball of fire. Two fighters of the remaining group disengaged from the freighter to take us on as the greater threat. They started shooting, and our ship rocked a couple times with the concussions.

 

“Talin, make sure those shields stay up or this is going to be a really short fight,” Jolee called out. He flew tightly under the freighter and brought us up on the other side, turning over.

 

I fired and missed my third, but Talin caught him just before he could fire on us again. We flew right through his still-glowing dust. The rest of the fighters turned to meet us in battle, and suddenly we had a fighter coming in from above and below us, with the last one firing on our stern. The ship vibrated as another bolt hit us, and a warning signal beeped loudly. Talin’s hands flew over the controls for the shields.

 

“R4, check that shield generator in the stern, I think we’ve got a loose connector,” Talin ordered.

 

R4 quickly rolled aft to find and fix the problem.

 

“Let’s hope that’s the only problem we’ve got. Hold on!” Jolee yelled out.

 

I lurched forward hard in my seat as he hit full reverse and the Accipiter immediately decelerated. Now I was very grateful for the restrictive straps, but discarded that thought quickly to concentrate on the small ships we were battling. The fighter that was behind us suddenly zoomed past us, and I tracked him all the way. As soon as he was in my crosshairs, I fired, and that fighter was suddenly nothing more than an orange fireball.

 

“Nice shot, Jae. Let’s get the rest of these fighters quickly,” Jolee said with excitement.

 

The two remaining fighters nearly collided with each other and peeled away at the last moment, but both flew into Talin’s sights, and with a couple more shots, the fighters were gone in glowing balls of fire.

 

I let out a yelp of triumph; Talin smiled. Jolee grinned back at us, eyes bright with the success. Then he turned back to contact the ailing freighter.

 

“Accipiter hailing freighter 2278, come in freighter,” Jolee transmitted. There was only silence from the heavily damaged ship. There were a couple holes near the cargo section and several electrical lines sparked wildly in various spots around the ship.

 

Jolee called again unsuccessfully. “We’re going to have to board the freighter to see if anyone needs help,” he decided. “Those Sith fighters are like Dagoban mudsuckers. One all by itself isn’t going to do much damage, but you get a bunch of them and they can just suck the life right out of you. Jae, go to the emergency hatch and prepare to link it with their hatch. Let’s just pray it’s not damaged. Talin, come be an extra pair of eyes for me here. I don’t relish the idea of bouncing our wing off of their ship if something suddenly gives way.”

 

Not that Jolee needed the help—he finessed the Accipiter against the freighter, and after several more minutes, I was able to dock our ship to theirs with the emergency connector. The indicator signaled that the other side of their hatch was pressurized, and so I prepared to open both.

 

“Stop!” Talin called out. “What are you doing?”

 

Holding my hand above the control, I said, “I was about to open the hatch.”

 

“You’re assuming there’s nothing dangerous on the other side. Are you prepared if we’re not welcome? If you’re not, that would be a fundamental error,” he stated, rather severely, holding up his lightsaber.

 

Silently, I pulled my lightsaber from my belt, feeling both foolish and rebuked at the same time over such a simple mistake.

 

Jolee came back to the hatch area, but out of direct line of sight of the hatchdoors and pulled out his lightsaber as well. He didn’t miss the stern look that Talin gave me, but ignored it to deal with the more pressing issue of preparing for whatever was on the other ship.

 

He gave an order to R4-T3, “Guard the hatchway while we’re gone. Don’t fire on anyone unless they fire on us, we give the signal, or they try to board our ship.” R4 beeped his understanding and waited for us to go through.

 

He motioned for me to open the emergency hatch, and there was a hiss as the pressure between the two ships equalized. We could hear warning sirens as their door swung open. There was an acrid smell of burned plastic and smoldering wire insulation permeating the ship. I stepped through the link onto the other ship and moved to the side to make room for the other two, lightsaber raised but not ignited. The ship was lit only with the emergency lights, so it was dim on the vessel. Only a sparking wire here and there added some flickering light and the irregular buzz of shorting electricity. Other than the emergency signal, there was no sound of life anywhere on the ship. I stretched out with the Force for any lifesigns and found only one faint one near the cockpit of the ship.

 

Talin followed onto the ship behind me, and said in low tones, “Watch yourself, there’s death on the ship,” and he scanned the area carefully, alert for anything unusual, and then stepped in front of me to take point and move cautiously towards the stern.

 

Jolee brought up the rear and looked over the ship, “Hmm, bad karma on this ship. Feels strange, too. Reminds me of some of the sensations I got about 50 years back during the Exar Kun war, but I can’t place it. Let’s find that one person and see what the problem is.”

 

We moved forward, carefully watching for any signs of danger, and other than a broken wire whipping around wildly, we encountered nothing unusual.

 

When we got to the cockpit, both Talin and I stopped short in horror. Talin, being a diplomat and therefore not experienced in medical issues, could be expected to have that kind of reaction. Being a healer, though, I thought I had become immune to most of the kinds of pain and suffering that a being could experience, but I had never seen anything like this before.

 

Two people lay on the ground, twisted strangely in what must have been an agonizing death, and one more still lived, barely, leaning back in the pilot’s chair. All three were completely covered in blisters, the skin bleeding in the numerous places where it was raw. I went over to the pilot, whose breathing was frothy and labored. His lungs were badly damaged by whatever this terrible affliction was. I tried to touch him gently, but even a feather touch must have been painful, because he moaned aloud. I entered the healing trance but knew there was not much time left. Still, if we could get even a few moments to talk to him….

 

He woke up finally, and I concentrated on mitigating his pain as much as possible.

 

He looked at me and gave a slight smile, cracking the skin by his lips, “Thank you,” he said in a barely audible voice.

 

I smiled kindly at him.

 

He turned his eyes, nearly swollen shut, towards his comrades. “Friends?” he questioned through the harsh breathing, wanting to find out how they were.

 

“They’re in no pain now,” I murmured sympathetically.

 

He sighed his relief.

 

Jolee, recognizing the man’s impending death, went directly to the point. “Who was chasing you? Who did this to you? What happened?”

 

The pilot turned his head shakily towards Jolee. “We escaped…a Sith,” and he paused frequently for rasping breaths, “He…wants to change…time. Wants help…from Kun….We found…this,” and he weakly held out what appeared to be an old holocron.

 

I took it from him to examine later.

 

The man continued haltingly, “Sith…did this” and he waved feebly towards his face, indicating the affliction, “but…he couldn’t…stop us. We jumped…hyperspace. And now…we’re…finally free.” He shut his eyes, and I felt his spirit leave to join the Force.

 

Closing my eyes, I used the Force to investigate this terrible disease. It was not caused by any chemical, pathogen, or natural phenomenon. They had been affected through the Force by something horrendous.

 

“Jolee, I think this is a Force attack, not an actual disease. I’ve never seen anything this awful” I commented, disquieted.

 

Jolee nodded agreement, “I think it’s a very unusual Force power, too, but I’d like to have a master healer confirm it to make sure we aren’t contaminated with something ourselves. I wouldn’t relish bringing something like this anywhere else. You two check out the ship, and I’ll go back to ours—I don’t want something funny happening while all three of us are on a derelict ship.”

 

Talin and I searched the parts of the ship that were still pressurized and thus accessible while Jolee went back to the Accipiter to ensure security there and to contact the Jedi temple. We found nothing more of importance, but we downloaded the flight and navicomputer data for R4 to evaluate.

 

“That’s it,” I said, as the datapad beeped that the download was completed.

 

“Let’s get back to our ship. I find this place most disconcerting,” Talin commented, scanning the freighter for anything else unusual.

 

When we returned to Jolee, we found him speaking with the holo of one of the healing Masters. Master Vandar stood next to him.

 

“Here’s Jae, Master Supat. She should be able to give you more details,” Jolee stated.

 

Stepping into the range of the holo link, I bowed slightly to the masters.

 

“Please describe the condition for me,” Master Supat asked in a slow and deep voice typical of most Ithorians.

 

“It looked almost like a skin blistering agent that completely covered him, but it affected his lungs as well—they were filled with fluid. His skin was cracked oddly in between blisters. The slightest touch created tremendous pain, and I found it very difficult to turn off his pain centers for some reason,” I reported. Those images would be burned into my memory forever.

 

Master Supat steepled his fingers and tapped them gently against his lips in thought. “There were three of them? All in relatively similar condition?”

 

“Yes, two were laying on the ground, and the third man was in the pilot’s seat.”

 

“Describe the body positions,” he told me, his brown eyes intent with thought.

 

“The two on the ground were lying in awkward twisted positions. The pilot’s positioning was upright—he was trying hard to breathe, but he still was bent over to the side a little.”

 

“I will know for sure when the freighter is towed back to a secure place and I can do a thorough investigation personally, but it appears this is indeed a rare Force technique, Force Scourge. I have not seen this technique used in a long time. It is extremely difficult to defend oneself against this technique, but it can be done. I will research the appropriate meditation and defense techniques and transmit them to you, since I believe you may have need of such information in connection with your current mission,” Master Supat opined, gravely.

 

Master Vandar added, shaking his head back and forth, clearly not happy with this turn of events, “Mmm, not good is this news. Powerful technique is this Scourge, and few are there strong enough to use it. Employ it only a Sith Lord can.”

 

Master Supat instructed, “you must stay where you are in quarantine until we can confirm that this is not a communicable disease. I wish to be 100% sure that it is a Force attack and not something else. It should only take a few days.”

 

“More information do we have about the merceneries,” added Vandar. “Confirm did we that from Telos Exchange they came, and die from crystalline anithe one mercenery did. Connected to Norelden are they, but work directly for Antin Thorn they did.”

 

“Mik’oth may have more information on Thorn. I can contact him if you wish,” Jolee suggested.

 

“Yes, information he may have for us,” Vandar agreed. “Contact you we will as soon as we know more on this new attack.”

 

“We’ll investigate the area without breaking quarantine to see if we can find out anything about the freighter and why it was here. We’ll await your instructions,” and then Jolee signed off from the transmission.

 

R4-T3 rolled by on the way to do some maintenance tasks.

 

“R4, come here, please. I have some data for you to analyze,” I stated. He rolled over to me, and I placed the datacard into the appropriate slot. He issued a series of beeps in response, letting me know it would take time to do the analysis.

 

“I understand. There’s no rush. We’re staying put in this area for a couple days,” I replied.

 

Sitting down on a couch, I turned over the holocron in my hand, inspecting all its sides, noting all the unusual markings. It glowed and was faintly warm. “What do you make of this?” I inquired, handing the holocron to Jolee, who had joined me in the common area to relax after all the stress of the latest events.

 

Talin sat down in one of the chairs opposite my seat.

 

Jolee looked at the holocron with a critical eye, turning around. Suddenly, he looked up at both Talin and me with great surprise.

 

“What is it?” I asked him.

 

“Well, the obvious answer is a Jedi holocron, but you’re smart enough to figure that one out already. The question you’re really asking is ‘why does Jolee look like he just got stunned by an electric eel.’ I’m surprised because I realized I recognized this holocron. The only problem is this holocron was supposedly lost when Ossus was destroyed,” Jolee concluded. "It's not even supposed to exist anymore."

[Char Ell]

Ah! The intrigue builds!

 

Don't these guys ever watch the movies? When boarding another space ship the boarder should never leave the way back to their ship unguarded. Oh well, it doesn't appear that anybody besides the three crew members were aboard so they're probably OK. Or maybe not...

[Jae Onasi]

Uh, it was a _small_ freighter and they could see everything, yeah, yeah, or maybe R4 stayed by the door, that's it, but I'm just sure it's not the fact that the author is really clueless on safety techniques when boarding a potentially hostile ship and so didn't write in the proper naval procedures....

Thanks for pointing it out in such a creative way. My hubby's Army, not Navy, and so I'm more familiar with ground fighting than air/sea, and if I don't know I can always ask him.

[Char Ell]

I'm just paranoid like that.

 

I liked how you had Talin and Jae at the ready in front but held Jolee back out of the line of any potential blaster fire or explosion. After Jolee felt a "disturbance" of some sort, dropping the dreaded name of Exar Kun no less, I couldn't help but notice that nobody hung back to guard the entrance to their ship. I'm thinking, "What if this powerful Sith Lord is cloaked and then sneaks aboard their ship while they're poking around the derelict freighter? Not good!" Only you know where the story is truly going here but I can't help it if my brain is working overtime considering all the possibilities...

[JediMaster12]

The intrigue, the suspense, the drama!

That was a brillant plot twist with the holocron. I didn't think that Jolee got surprised. I know he was flabbergasted when the Star Map computer said match found. Still nice flow. In my opinion, I would have written more eeire descriptions of the ship and its condition. Even hints as to the flickering of lights would add to the adrenaline rush. That's just me. Still, a good chapter to a great story

[Diego Varen]

A new Sith Lord is rising? I can't wait to find out who. If any. A good Chapter as always.

[Renegade Puma]

Wow Jae! Just wow! I think you have moved in to a three way tie for the best writer here on LF. At least in my mind It would be you, Forcefight and JasraLantill all tied for the top spot. Seriously, this chapter just blew me away. I can't wait for your next update!

 

P.S.

If you kill Jolee in this story I will hate you forever.