[FIC] The Adventures of Jolee Bindo

[Hallucination]

^Yeah... You should definitely be careful around that topic..... And avoid it being done like Memoirs of a Geisha.

[Jae Onasi]

^Yeah... You should definitely be careful around that topic..... And avoid it being done like Memoirs of a Geisha.

 

It's "The Adventures of Jolee Bindo", not "Memoirs of a Lusty Jedi...."

 

No worries! I'd never do anything to give stingerhs (or other mods) a heart attack about content. Besides, sometimes a suggestion that allows the reader to use his own imagination is more powerful than a graphic description.

 

That was a fabulous film, btw. The cinematography and costuming were gorgeous and the look into that aspect of culture was fascinating, though I don't know enough about Japanese culture to know how accurate it was.

I'm just starting to read the book now.

[Hallucination]

I saw the movie, but I'm scared of reading the book, something about how the books are always more insightful than the movies and I got enough insight into the life a geisha. And the movie wasn't very picky about who was acting who (the main character was acted by a Chinese woman).

[Jae Onasi]

I saw the movie, but I'm scared of reading the book, something about how the books are always more insightful than the movies and I got enough insight into the life a geisha. And the movie wasn't very picky about who was acting who (the main character was acted by a Chinese woman).

 

Humor mode way, way, on: Eh, what do we stupid Americans know? Chinese, Japanese, Korean, they all look the same to us anyway....No worries if a Chinese woman plays a Japanese woman or vice versa. As long as they're all beautiful, it doesn't matter.

[Hallucination]

Humor mode way, way, on: Eh, what do we stupid Americans know? Chinese, Japanese, Korean, they all look the same to us anyway....No worries if a Chinese woman plays a Japanese woman or vice versa. As long as they're all beautiful, it doesn't matter.

Well, I'm Canadian so I don't really know. But I do agree with the last line.

[Jae Onasi]

Sigh, not a great day for me--my kitty had to have emergency surgery today, though he seems to have come out of it pretty well. If I missed anything, chalk it up to being distracted today.

 

 

Chapter 13: The Story of the Sandstorm

 

“You will maintain current course,” an automated mechanical voice warned us as we made the final approach to the planet. “Deviation from your course will activate planetary defenses.”

 

A pinpoint opening appeared in the glowing planetary shield and gradually expanded to allow our ship to fly through into the planet’s stratosphere.

As Jolee flew the Accipiter further into the atmosphere of Li’adin, the ship started bucking in the wind.

 

“Strap in, boys and girls, it’s going to be a bumpy ride,” he said. Talin and I both pulled on our belts as Jolee returned his attention to maintaining control of our spacecraft.

 

“Well, our data did say that since the planet rotates at a slightly faster speed than normal, we would likely encounter greater winds. That information appears to be correct,” Talin commented. We watched the wind whipping the white clouds into unusual swirling patterns below us.

 

The holovid link chimed, and Talin, taking the lead in communication with the Li’adans, opened the link. It was Kiol’ad once more. I found after watching the holovids of their communications many times, I had become more comfortable with their constant switching of speakers, and so I was able to follow them without noticing it quite so much.

 

“There is a windstorm that has developed on your direct route to our facility. We are sending instructions to divert you around it. Please do not attempt to fly through it—the windspeeds can approach tornadic levels that are more than strong enough to shear the wings off of ships,” Kiol’ad warned.

 

“We thank you for your instructions and will comply,” Talin answered, downloading the information.

 

“Our reception party awaits you with great anticipation. You should arrive in about a half hour,” Kiol’ad finished.

 

“We are eager to finally meet you,” Talin replied with a carefully modulated voice. He had fully entered ‘diplomat mode,’ his demeanor showing detached attentiveness.

 

The link faded out.

 

Jolee commented, “I don’t sense any deception, though they’re hard to read. Still, we need to be careful. There’s a darkness working its way here.”

 

Stretching out my feelings, I sensed the beings and then found the darkness Jolee spoke of. “It’s not the Li’adans, though. It’s something else, but I can’t find it.”

 

“I agree—but rather than being part of this darkness, I think the Li’adans are the targets,” Talin concluded.

 

“Well, we may not be able to do a first contact with blasters hanging off our belts, but I think we need to keep our lightsabers close,” said Jolee.

 

“Normally, I would avoid anything that could be construed negatively in a first meeting, but with all three of us sensing something wrong, I will grudgingly agree to this exception,” Talin said. “However, we should carry them with great discretion.”

 

“You know, this wind reminds me of a time when I was on Tatooine,” Jolee said, starting a new story. He caught the look Talin and I shot each other. “What? Bored with my stories already? You would do well to listen to your elders, you know.

 

“Anyway, now where was I? Oh, yes, Tatooine. Mik’oth and I had decided to set down on Tatooine to exchange some of the rare items we, ah, acquired from the Ukatis for some medical and food supplies.”

 

“Why Tatooine? It’s in the middle of nowhere,” I commented.

 

“It was closer than Nar Shaddaa and a little quieter. We couldn’t just walk into the middle of a Coruscant jewelry shop and say ‘Here, we want to sell these things we stole from some prissy, selfish aristocrats on Ukatis’. You can just imagine the comments the Council would have about that. Vandar would probably sprout new hair out of his ears.”

 

“It’d be very interesting, to say the least,” I said, musing about all the possibilities, all of them involving some level of humor.

 

“Well, we had just finished trading some items in this little out-of-the way shop owned by a couple Jawas when the worst sandstorm blew up. The Jawas offered to give us shelter til it blew over. Anyone walking outside right then would have been blown away into the desert and sand-scoured. That was fine with us, because these Jawas somehow always got their hands on some of the finest chocolate you’ve seen this side of the galaxy. You’d never expect to see that out on a sandball of a planet. That chocolate is so good, it's almost a sin not to eat it. Well, just as they’d finished securing the windows and were about to bar the door against the storm, in walks this nasty looking Rodian. Short fellow with big bug-eyes, slimy-green skin and a blaster rifle the size of his bad attitude.”

 

“A nasty bounty hunter, no doubt,” Talin guessed.

 

“Yes. The Ukatis apparently decided we had caused enough trouble for them that they put a price on our heads. This Rodian somehow managed to track us to Tatooine, though how, I’ll never know. Pure luck for him to walk into the shop right when he did. He’d given up the search for the day and was just looking for a place to wait out the storm. He immediately drew his rifle and said something silly about collecting on his bounty.”

 

“What happened then?” I asked.

 

“I was getting to that, if you give me half a minute. Young people never like to wait,” Jolee said, shaking his head. “Anyway, the Jawas dove for cover. Mik’oth looked at me and said ‘Who’s turn is it? Yours or mine?’ I told him ‘I think it’s yours.’ ‘Good. You get him. I need a nap.' I sighed, pulled out my lightsaber, and attacked. He squeezed of a shot that ricocheted around the room, and then his blaster rifle went flying.

 

"A card-carrying, lightsaber-wielding Jedi wasn’t going to stop him from trying to get his bounty anyway, and the Rodian and I ended up in one nasty little brawl after he dodged my attack and got inside my defense. He knocked me to the ground, and my saber went flying across the room. He was good in hand-to-hand combat, really good, and I thought I just might have met my match. He was all over me like the bad scent of bantha fodder. Nothing I tried to do to get him off me was working. At one point I think I yelled out for Mik’oth to give me a little help, which of course meant he continued to stand there watching me do all the work.

 

"The Rodian had me in some kind of lock when I noticed Mik’oth step over by the exit. Just as he was about to slam my head up against the door, Mik’oth pushed it open. A particularly nasty gust blew up right then, and suddenly one very surprised Rodian and I got sucked out the door and right into the storm. That ended that head lock, heh-heh,”

 

“So you were just flying around in the middle of a major sandstorm? How did you survive?” I asked, eyes wide.

 

“We got separated and it only took moments before I couldn’t see the Rodian anymore, much less hear him screaming over the roar of the wind. Of course, I had my eyes pretty much shut with the blowing sand and all, so I guess I couldn’t have seen much anyway. I don’t know if it was the Force or what, but I stuck my hands out blindly and suddenly caught hold of a metal rod. I grabbed on for dear life and shimmied down it as quickly as I could. Turns out it was the flagpole for the cantina. I was able to hunker down in the alcove of the door until things died down enough that they opened the cantina back up. I was sitting at one of the tables with a drink, picking sand out of my teeth, when a very dejected Mik’oth walked in holding my saber like it was a souvenir, looking to drown his sorrows.”

 

“I’m sure he thought you were dead,” Talin noted.

 

“You’re right, too, he did. When I called out his name and waved to him, he nearly had a heart attack. Then he put on this huge smile of relief and about killed me bowling me over trying to hug me. Let me tell you, that smarts when you’ve had your skin sandblasted away.”

 

“That’s Mik’oth…. I don’t suppose they ever found the Rodian?” I inquired.

 

“Nope, though one of the sandcrawlers out in the Dune Sea seemed to have an unexplained sandy slime-spatter on it. Some bits of clothing of a suspiciously similar color to what he’d been wearing were stuck in a bunch of the gears.”

 

“Jolee, I believe you have some of the strangest things happen to you,” Talin observed.

 

“You live long enough, you’ll have your own little collection of strange stories, too,” Jolee cheerfully retorted.

 

“Looks like we’re getting close,” I said. The city suddenly came into view as we broke through the cloud deck.

 

Watching it below as we approached, I tried to observe everything, partly expecting another Talin quiz, partly in fascination at being one of the few people from off planet that had ever had the opportunity to set foot on this world. All the ivory or tan colored buildings were in the same rounded architecture that we had seen previously, and many were connected to other buildings, the covered arcades spoking out in a spider-web pattern. In the larger ground bridges, we could see transports speeding along. Likely, there were numerous tunnels below ground further connecting the city.

Jolee brought our craft down, landing in a large bay. We exited the Accipiter as the roof extended back over the bay.

 

“Wait, where did I leave my key?” Jolee asked as the hatch locked. He patted around his robe frantically. “Ah, there it is,” he said with relief, pulling it out of an inside pocket. “Sometimes you forget these things when you get old, you know.” Then he grinned mischievously.

 

Talin regarded him with a touch of taut frustration; I smiled.

 

Jolee clapped Talin’s shoulder lightly a couple times. “Lighten up, Talin. The fate of the universe does not rest on you having the perfect first-contact meeting. They don’t strike me as beings who will get offended if you accidentally look at them cross-eyed. Every now and then it’s OK to make a mistake—I think it would be a pretty darn boring place if we were all perfect. With any luck, we’ll sit around and chat a bit, maybe share a little supper, and have a completely uneventful meeting.”

 

Talin smiled fractionally but settled back into his impassive but attentive expression as a small group of Li’adans arrived. Kiol’ad led the small entourage that was clumped in twos and threes. “Just follow my lead,” he said, looking at both of us to ensure we fully understood.

 

“Don’t do anything to get ourselves into trouble. Got it,” Jolee cracked.

 

Talin lifted an eyebrow faintly at Jolee but otherwise elected to ignore the quip as the Li’adans approached us.

 

“Welcome to Li’adin,” Kiol’ad smiled, placing his hands together in greeting.

The rest of the entourage followed suit with the same motion.

 

Placing our hands in a similar fashion, we greeted them. Talin took the lead as the ‘primary.’ I stood on his right; Jolee took his left.

 

Kiol’ad made some introductions. “I am Chief Minister Kiol’ad. This is our second, Elin’ad.” Kiol’ad’s primary pointed to the group of three women. Then pointing to two groups of two men, he introduced them as Izah’an and Aklar’an.

 

Talin introduced us in turn, “I am Jedi Talin Kayl, and this is Jedi Master Jolee Bindo and Padawan Jae Onasi.” Jolee and I nodded in greeting to everyone.

 

“Please come with us. We will find a more comfortable place for our meeting.” Kiol’ad led the way through a short series of enclosed walkways that led away from the small spaceport. I made a mental note of the route as we walked along.

 

The tops of the walkways were made mainly of a strong clear material, letting in the blue-tinted sunlight that filtered through the clouds that floated swiftly by. The architecture was gently curved inside as well as out, and more often there were bends rather than sharp corners. Our hosts were all dressed in colors in the blue and green range of colors, with the primary member of each group dressed in the lightest shade. The braiding that Talin had noticed on the shoulders of Kiol’ad was still present, and theirs was the widest. Elin’ad had thinner braiding, and the groups of two had no braiding at all.

 

All appeared healthy and walked apparently without effort or distress, and the twosomes were younger than the threesomes were. It was hard to tell anything else about their physique other than the men were flat-chested and the women were not. Their loose clothing covered nearly all their extremities and did not allow much evaluation of the anatomy. While they obviously were not carrying large weapons, we could not be certain that they were completely unarmed. It would have been a simple thing to conceal small weapons in all the folds of fabric.

 

“Your people have a unique style of architecture,” Talin noted pleasantly as we walked along. “Not very many cultures base their building designs on curves both inside and out. I also noticed that none of your transports travel outside.”

 

“Both the architecture and our transportation are reflections of the fierce storms we experience,” Elin’ad said, speaking for the first time. The voices in her group of three brunettes were all alto, with almost a musical quality to the lilt of their speech. “Our buildings are designed to withstand very high winds. Also, certain times of the year we can safely travel outside without fear of a rapidly developing storm. Then you will see many of our people enjoying the outdoors. During the stormy seasons, however, the weather and the winds can become violent with very little warning.”

 

We arrived quickly at our meeting room and Kiol’ad ushered us all in. Even the furniture has slightly rounded and upholstered in invitingly warm colors. The seats were arranged in groups of twos and threes to accommodate the Li’adans’ unique social structure.

 

“Please, let us be seated,” Kiol’ad said, motioning for everyone to take their ease in the comfortable chairs.

 

“We are pleased to be guests of your people,” Talin opened.

 

“Likewise, we are pleased that you made the trip to our system to be our guests. We hope that you will enjoy your stay here. We have prepared rooms for you, and we would be honored to have you join us for dinner tonight,” Elin’ad offered.

 

“We are delighted to accept your gracious offer,” Talin replied.

 

“While we wait for dinner we could discuss your concerns,” I suggested.

 

Talin quickly shot me a look and ever so slightly shook his head ‘no’. Too soon to ask! I could hear his thoughts enter my mind clearly. Somewhat chagrined, I kept my peace and watched Talin handle the rest of the conversation. After a moment, it dawned on me that I had actually heard his thoughts. I looked over at him, working to keep the surprise off my face. He was looking intently at Kiol’ad and Elin’ad, and if he did notice my expression, he gave no indication.

 

“We mean no offense at the directness of Padawan Onasi’s question. She is merely eager to learn of any difficulties quickly so that we can provide aid as soon as possible,” Talin said, trying to smooth over any possible insult they may have taken at my apparent breach of diplomacy.

 

Kiol’ad smiled at us. “I fear Jedi Kayl may worry that we would somehow be offended at Padawan Onasi’s abruptness. Since we do not experience time in the strictly linear, unidirectional fashion that you do, it would not matter whether that question was asked now or in a hundred years.”

 

We digested that bit of information, trying to grasp the idea of a species that could experience life anywhere on the time continuum.

 

Kiol’ad continued, “However, for your sake and ours, it is best if we conducted our business with alacrity. In that, Padawan Onasi has rapidly opened the door of this discussion.”

 

A feeling of some vindication briefly flitted by, but I knew it would be short-lived. Talin did not show it, but I knew he was not happy, though I could sense he was relieved that it had turned out apparently well in spite of the potential problems my little comment could have created.

 

Kiol’ad motioned for Aklar’an, the scientists in the entourage, to speak. Both of the men had the same sparse brown hair the Kiol’ad had. “We need your help finding out what is causing time vortices to form in our system. We know the earliest ones occurred approximately 40-50 years ago, but they have increased dramatically in the last few months. Lately, the time swirls have been producing unusually large numbers of gravitophotons, and these particles are starting to slightly alter the gravity balance in our system. Already it may be causing our storms to become even more severe and more frequent. A protracted storm season could seriously affect our growing season. Since only the Unjoined are able to leave the planet and the vast majority of those are children or young adults awaiting the Joining process, we really have no one with adequate levels of education who can leave and study this phenomenon.”

 

“There is one Unjoined who conceivably could help us since he is a scientist. However, Dycen’a is, well, unstable, as often happens to our few adults who remain Unjoined with others. He has disappeared recently,” Kiol’ad added.

“How can we best help you, then?” Talin asked.

 

“We need you to go to the coordinates of the time vortices and research these phenomena. Since you are Force users, you may be able to sense the time signatures better than those who don’t perceive the universe as you do. If you also can determine the whereabouts of Dycen’a, we would be most grateful. We are very concerned for his safety.”

 

“Any information you have that we could review would be most helpful,” Jolee stated.

 

“We will download the information to your datapads,” Aklar’an stated. “This is the synopsis of the data that we have gathered over the past few months. Please, if you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us.”

 

Izah’an apparently was in charge of making sure we were comfortable. The tall black-haired, dark-eyed men said, “Your quarters are ready for you. We have arranged for dinner to be served at 7 pm so that you have time to refresh yourselves after your long travels.”

 

We followed Izah’an to a suite of rooms that overlooked a courtyard filled with colorful plants and trees with palm-like fronds. Each of us had a bedroom that was larger than the multipurpose room on our ship. All three were filled with large, comfortable furnishings. The plush carpeting throughout the suite seemed to swallow the sound before it could even escape the deep pile. I put away my travel gear and fell backwards on the bed, stretching out on the luxurious linens, closing my eyes and exhaling in comfort.

 

There was a knock on the door, and before I could answer, Talin opened it slightly and popped his head in. His disapproving tone told me everything that his carefully controlled facial features did not.

 

“I would have a word with you in the main room,” he snapped. As abruptly as he had entered, he left.

 

Sighing, I reluctantly made my way out to the common room to face Talin.

[Diego Varen]

An alright Chapter. Personally I prefer a bit more action but it's okay. Please check out my new Fanfic, Jedi Forces - Shadows Of War.

[Renegade Puma]

Don't mind pottsie, he is just an action junkie. I thought this was a great chapter Jae. You are setting up your plot very well. We all know that there has to be chapters that lay foundation rather than climb to the top of the skyscraper. I hope that Jae isn't in too much trouble with Talin. Keep up the great work.

[Diego Varen]

Don't mind pottsie, he is just an action junkie. I thought this was a great chapter Jae. You are setting up your plot very well. We all know that there has to be chapters that lay foundation rather than climb to the top of the skyscraper. I hope that Jae isn't in too much trouble with Talin. Keep up the great work.

 

I'm not an action junkie. Sometimes it's good to have a Chapter of talking. I just hope this Sith Lord appears soon.

[Renegade Puma]

I'm not an action junkie. Sometimes it's good to have a Chapter of talking. I just hope this Sith Lord appears soon.

 

 

Lol! Spoken like a true action junkie going through withdraws. "I just hope this Sith lord appears SOON." I'm just playing with ya pottsie. Don't take offense.

[Char Ell]

What is Talin's problem, getting all snappish and stuff? Just because he wasn't the one who posed the question that got down to business he gets all huffy? If I was in Jae's shoes I would tell him, "Take a chill pill, hombre!"

[Jae Onasi]

Thanks everyone!

@Pottsie--more action coming soon. I put in the sandstorm story to add a little action (and another Jolee story--any opportunity for that!), but some of what follows in the story won't make sense without some context on Li'adans and their planet. Plus, I wanted to try my hand at building a world and culture just to see if it works--I love how Anne McCaffrey's created this tremendous culture in her Dragonriders of Pern series. If I revised this, I'd change the timing a bit and probably move things along a little faster. However, I feel like writing the rest of the story rather than going back to alter some 65 pages of text. I'm in no particular hurry to get to the end, though I'd like to get the whole story out of my head finally! There is an endpoint but there's still a lot for Jolee and crew to do to get there.

 

No worries, though, the pieces of the puzzle are starting to come together for our little fearless crew of 4 (I have to include R4 in the count, you know).

 

@cutmeister--yep, Talin has a bit of an attitude problem to deal with. Jolee and Jae have their work cut out for them.

[JediMaster12]

Nice work Jae. Interesting to find that an adult of that species could go insane from not joining. They have to join in order to survive and here we can't wait to get rid of the other.

Talin sounds like he needs an attitude adjustment and a serious dose of ego bashng so as to get his big head out of his you know whatis.

Eagerly waiting for more for nothing gets in the way of a good story

[Hallucination]

If I was in Jae's shoes I would tell him, "Take a chill pill, hombre!"

I would have given him a bad case of 'lightsabre-blade-through-the-head-itis', but that's just me.

Another great chapter Jae, keep it up!

[Jae Onasi]

For the adrenaline junkies.

 

 

Chapter 14: Dycen’a

 

Standing as tall as my height would allow, I walked calmly into the main room of the suite, trying to keep a serene look on my face. Remain calm, I reminded myself.

 

Talin was walking slowly back and forth, the index finger of one hand casually tapping the side of his broad jaw, the other hand resting across his chest and holding onto the opposite elbow. He had regained some of the control over his anger, but his eyes still flashed their displeasure.

 

“What do you think you were doing there? What possessed you to ask for potentially sensitive material like it was just a cup of tea?” he demanded, waving his hands around for emphasis.

 

“Trying to get information. Apparently, you seem to think that I nearly brought us to the brink of intergalactic war by simply asking for a little data. It just seemed right to ask them then.” I stood with hands on hips and kept up a determined look.

 

“‘It just seemed right?’ So you’re now an expert in first-contact diplomacy?” His tone was scathing.

 

“I am keenly aware that I don’t have the same diplomatic expertise that you do, but I did happen to pick up a few things in the Queen’s Court. She expects courtesy and discretion from the people who serve her. So yes, I have developed a bit of skill, and yes, I could sense that it ‘just seemed right’ at that point,” I retorted.

 

“What if you offended them by being so abrupt? Were you ready for the consequences? We don’t know what could make them angry and we sure don’t know what they’d do if they did become angry. You might be willing to put yourself or even me at risk, but I can’t believe you’d be willing to put Jolee in danger,” he said with an edge to his voice.

 

My mouth dropped open in surprise. “I would never do anything to put either of you in danger. What is your problem? Somehow, I can’t believe that you’re angry just because you didn’t get first crack at asking for that information.” I narrowed my eyes, and I sensed something deeper disturbing him. “There is something….” His mind snapped shut as he realized I could sense his feelings.

 

Jolee sauntered into the room, and seeing both of us sporting dark looks, decided a little advice was in order. “You both need to get control of yourselves. We’re guests. Your voices may be carrying to places farther than you expect.” He looked up at the ceiling briefly and circled a finger around as if pointing out hidden monitors.

 

Both of us realized at once we had forgotten that it was highly likely that our suite was being watched. That realization cooled our tempers as quickly as a Hoth winter.

 

Jolee went on dispassionately, “Jae, Talin was leading our team, you should have followed that lead. First contacts can be tricky and things can go very wrong, very fast. You’ll learn more just observing Talin than you will from any holovids on diplomacy. Watch him and learn. Talin, you need to look at this situation for what it is, not what it could have been. Things don’t always go as planned. Fortunately, it worked out just fine. Now I’d like you two to get over whatever it is that’s getting under your skins.”

 

I looked over at Talin and decided to swallow some pride. “Jolee’s right, I shouldn’t have jumped in, and I hope you can forgive me.”

 

“And I shouldn’t have snapped. It was neither kind nor professional.” He exhaled the irritation.

 

Jolee seemed satisfied. “Good. That’s over. I hate it when you young people have spats. It gives me a headache. Now, Talin, something’s bothering you, and I’d really like to know what’s got your shorts in knots.”

 

Talin sat down on the edge of one of the chairs and rested his elbows on his knees. “I made the same mistake Jae did one time—jumped in too early on some delicate negotiations. My master and I were trying to work out some differences between two families. When I asked what I thought was an innocent question, one of the families got very upset and accused the other family of hiring us to take their side. A fight broke out right there at the table. My simple interruption caused the escalation of a family feud for about eight years. A number of people died, and it’s something I have to live with the rest of my life. I don’t wish that burden on anyone. I can’t make those kinds of mistakes again.” he finished, his somber eyes connecting with mine.

 

I caught the shadow of pain that they held because of the feud.

 

“Lad, we all make mistakes, sometimes bad ones. The Force isn’t going to keep us from doing something idiotic from time to time. One of the hardest things to learn is how to forgive ourselves when we do something wrong,” Jolee advised.

 

“Believe me, I know,” Talin replied.

 

Jolee said, “Fine. Maybe you can pay attention to my advice, then. Let’s go get ready for dinner.”

 

 

*****

 

“That should do for the dinner,” Talin said when I came out from my room in a dress rather than the more sedate Jedi robes.

 

“Glad you approve.” I couldn’t quite suppress the irony, but I smiled a bit to take out the sting.

 

“What Talin’s trying hard not to say is that you look lovely,” Jolee said with a wink.

 

A chime at the door indicated some of our hosts arrived. Izah’an smiled as they entered the room and saw us prepared for their dinner.

 

“We are so delighted that you are joining us. I must say, Padawan Onasi, that your dress is quite elegant and sets off your features perfectly,” they said. “Please follow us.”

 

“Now they know how to give a compliment,” Jolee looked sideways at Talin, elbowing him.

 

We headed out towards the center of the small city, which was only a short walk away. Izah’an pointed out various interesting sights and entertained us with little stories of the people and history. Looking up at the sky, I noted to everyone, “Looks like the clouds are getting really dark out there. I wonder how bad the storm will be.”

 

Izah’an looked up through the clear ceiling, assessing the quickly gathering dark clouds and flashing lightning with an experienced eye. “It looks like it may be a bad one, but our building designs are more than sufficient to protect us, I assure you.”

 

“You can hear the wind starting to howl even through the heavy walls,” Talin observed.

 

“It will be loud for about fifteen minutes, but this is a very fast moving storm. It should be over in about a half hour,” Izah’an said. “With luck, we’ll be able to enjoy some fresh air during our dinner.”

 

“Oh, I’m not concerned, I enjoy a good storm,” I grinned.

 

“Then Li’adin will not disappoint you,” Izah’an said with a smile.

 

We turned and entered a long corridor.

 

“Uh-oh,” Jolee stopped. “I think we just found that darkness. There go our dinner plans again.”

 

A Li’adan in some dark robes stood alone in the corridor. The flashing lightning reflected off his face, giving him a malevolent look. In one fluid movement, his hand moved to a spot in his robe, and suddenly a lightsaber snapped on, its orange blade hissing.

 

“My master will be pleased to hear that I found you. He was very unhappy when he learned that his prized holocron had been stolen by some common slaves and then fell into the hands of some Jedi. I’ll be delighted to bring back not only the holocron but your heads as well.”

 

Izah’an gasped. “Dycen’a! We’ve been looking all over for you! We’ve been terribly worried something had happened. Please, put down the weapon.”

 

Dycen’a sneered, “I’ve been with my Master, learning my true potential as a Single. That’s not something our leaders ever discuss us losing when we Join with others.”

 

Izah’an pleaded with him, “You can’t mean that. Aklar’an was meant for you and you for them. They need you to be fully complete, and you need them.”

 

“I can and do mean that. Haven’t you ever wondered what it would be like to be Separate? I determine my own destiny. I will use this power to show others what it’s like to be Separate and not limited by the silly beliefs of the Triads. I will free all of us and lead us into a new way of life,” Dycen’a said.

 

He drew himself up tall with superiority and smirked at us.

 

“Dycen’a, listen to yourself. This isn’t sane talk.”

 

“I’ve already convinced many Singles that they should experience their full power and not have it watered down by Joining. I would help all Triads and Diads to see their true potential as Singles. Once you are Separate, you will understand and join me.”

 

“Many of us would die if Separated,” Izah’an said, shocked at what Dycen’a was saying.

 

“So they would. No matter. Those of you strong enough to survive would find your lives improved. Your only choice right now, Izah’an, is whether you will join me and live or whether you’ll stay with these Jedi and get struck down after I destroy them,” Dycen’a warned them, malice in his voice.

 

Jolee spoke up. “Dycen’a, we don’t want to fight. You’re not strong enough in the Force to survive a battle with us.”

 

He said it without an ounce of pride. Dycen’a was strong in the dark side, but not enough to take on Jolee, much less the three of us combined.

 

Izah’an’s primary made a move to call for help on his comlink. Before he could say a word, the orange lightsaber flicked across the corridor, and he suddenly fell to the ground in agony, the comlink and several of his fingers gone. The blade turned and hit the second man. The lightsaber just glanced off him, hitting the side of his face and shoulder, but it was enough to cause serious injury. The second of the twosome collapsed next to his primary. The mental anguish from his primary was so loud I had to put up an immediate block.

 

Jolee, keeping his eyes on Dycen’a, said, “Jae, take care of Izah’an. We can handle this.”

 

I didn’t need any further encouragement to help them, and concentrated on easing the pain of the injured duo.

 

Dycen’a closed to attack Jolee and Talin, lightsaber blazing to match the fierce lightning flaring overhead. He struck from above, slamming his blade down savagely towards Jolee’s head. Jolee’s blade caught it with ease, and he deflected it down and away. Talin, seeing the opening, counterattacked with a slash to his midsection. Dycen’a dodged at the last moment before unleashing a fierce flurry of blows that kept Jolee and Talin busy parrying and counterstriking for a time.

 

Talin seemed to learn his opponent’s technique with every move he made, however, and began anticipating Dycen’a’s moves. He quickly gained control of the fight, and in a blur of speed delivered a number of blows with dangerous grace that Dycen’a could barely deflect in time. Jolee threw in some probing attacks, pressing Dycen’a back, watching intently for the opening in Dycen’a’s defense that would finish the battle. Dycen’a retreated against the onslaught and finally ran out of room, back to a wall.

 

Talin held the tip of his lightsaber millimeters from Dycen’a’s chest. “Drop your lightsaber, now,” he ordered.

 

Dycen’a’s eyes lasered their hate through Talin and Jolee. “Fine,” he snarled, deactivating his lightsaber and tossing it away in rage.

 

I breathed a sigh of relief that both Jedi were unhurt.

 

“Are you going to come with us quietly?” Jolee asked.

 

“I’ll go. But not quietly.” He jumped a good 5 meters into the air, well out of range of Jolee or Talin’s lightsabers, flipped over in the air, and landed. He willed his lightsaber to fly to his hand and then took off running towards us, Talin and Jolee in pursuit.

 

Standing to protect Izah’an, I ignited my lightsaber.

 

“You can’t escape, Dycen’a. There’s nowhere else to go,” I said to him calmly.

 

Izah’an’s primary stood holding his hand, hoping to convince Dycen’a to give up the fight.

 

His eyes narrowed and his lips thinned into a smug smile. “Of course there is,” he said in a dangerously quiet voice.

 

I realized what he was thinking just before he threw the lightsaber at the ceiling, creating a jagged circle in the clear plasteel. I dove over the more injured half of Izah’an to shield him from any falling objects. The wind roared furiously as a hole ripped open in the ceiling, debris suddenly flying everywhere. It nearly lifted me off the ground, and I could hardly breathe as it sucked the air out of my lungs. My hair flailed my face and I held onto it with one hand to keep it from lashing my eyes. An alarm sounded because of the breach, but I couldn’t hear it over the furor. I looked over towards Dycen’a, who jumped through the hole to escape.

 

A gust blew Izah’an’s primary right after him. Talin grabbed for Izah’an’s feet as they were blown by, but he couldn’t reach them in time. He jumped after Izah’an to rescue him. Jolee, crouched low and bent against the wind, ran to where I was half-kneeling, half-lying. He held onto the two of us and tried to cover more of the injured man. Time crawled, and then sped up again as a number of hands grabbed all three of us, placed us in a transport, and sped off towards the infirmary, sealing the corridor behind us until the storm could pass. Wiping the grit from my eyes and pushing the tangled mess of hair back off my face, I looked over at both Izah’an’s second and Jolee to assess for any more injuries.

 

Jolee caught my look of concern. “I’m fine. Don’t think he is, though. What have we got going here?”

 

“He’s been hit in the face and shoulder. I don’t think the facial injuries were bad, but the shoulder wound is deep and may have hit some vital structures,” I noted clinically.

 

“You’ve got it OK? As soon as this storm dies down a little more, I have to go with the search teams to look for Talin and those two Li’adans.”

 

I nodded. “I’ll work with their medical people and get him fixed up.”

 

***

 

Washing my hands after I was satisfied that Izah’an’s second was stable and healing well, I was alerted to the approach of an emergency team by the clamor of rattling equipment and their loud voices giving treatment instructions. I cocked my head to listen and heard the controlled urgency in their speech that indicated the situation was likely critical. The doors to the infirmary burst open, two teams rolling in two stretchers, Jolee following behind closely with a grim expression on his dirt-smeared face. He caught my eyes and a sick feeling filled my stomach.

 

“Oh, no,” was all I could whisper, despair welling up.

[JediMaster12]

You're just as bad as me with my leaving you guys hanging

PLEASE don't tell me Talin died! I could understand if it was one of the Triads or something like that.

The whole thing with Jae in a dress, isn't that a violation of the Jedi Code? I thought Jedi could only wear robes and tunics. I smelled romance in the air

As always a great chapter and full of adrenaline. I think it would be enough for the junkies

[Jae Onasi]

I promise to write the next chapter fast so you can find out.

 

I figured if Princess Leia can wear a dress, then so can any other female Jedi. Or she just bent the rules a bit in deference to it being a first contact situation. Actually, I just like the dress idea so I decided to write it in anyway.

I never thought they were required to wear robes, I just thought they did so for convenience sake--sturdy, easy to move in, useful for any type of weather. The plainness is just so they won't draw attention to themselves. I figured in the appropriate situation they might dress differently, though I imagine many Jedi would view the robe as a mark of their membership in the Order and would want to wear it most of the time.

 

Sigh, my kitty had to have surgery today--he's been in the animal hospital since Tuesday and wasn't getting better, but the surgery seems to have solved the problem. It's been a little anxious in my house the last few days since he's 14 years old and bad things can happen to cats that old. But they think he'll come out of it OK.

[Hallucination]

I figured if Princess Leia can wear a dress, then so can any other female Jedi.

 

Princess Leia never actually was a jedi.

Sigh, my kitty had to have surgery today--he's been in the animal hospital since Tuesday and wasn't getting better, but the surgery seems to have solved the problem. It's been a little anxious in my house the last few days since he's 14 years old and bad things can happen to cats that old. But they think he'll come out of it OK.

I hope your cat turns out fine.

But I have a question for you: if buttered toast always lands on the buttered side, and cats always land on their feet, what happens if you tape buttered toast on the back of cat and give him a little toss?

[Jae Onasi]

Princess Leia never actually was a jedi.

 

I hope your cat turns out fine.

But I have a question for you: if buttered toast always lands on the buttered side, and cats always land on their feet, what happens if you tape buttered toast on the back of cat and give him a little toss?

 

I thought she did her training later in the EU stuff. I could be wrong.

 

Thanks. They said he's sleeping and doing OK.

 

The toast thing--depends if you tape the toast butter side up or down.

[Char Ell]

Ah-hah! So the phantom menace has revealed itself (pun intended ). A good cliffhanger on the end of that chapter. IMO, every writer is entitled to use cliffhangers in their story simply because it's a good way to get their readers to come back and read more, heh-heh-heh.

 

I too thought Leia became a Jedi some time after the death of Darth Sidious/Emperor Palpatine. I've only read the EU's Thrawn trilogy and Leia used a lightsaber and trained her force skills in those three books.

[Hallucination]

But that was before the Jedi Order was reformed, and when it was reformed she too busy in politics to train, so she never was a real Jedi.

[Renegade Puma]

Great chapter Jae. Actually... It was an amazing chapter! I know Talin isn't dead or going to die yet because Jae dreamed of the three of them fighting the Sith Lord whom they have yet to meet. Very well written action scenes though. Keep up the great work yo!

[Char Ell]

But that was before the Jedi Order was reformed, and when it was reformed she too busy in politics to train, so she never was a real Jedi.

From the Star Wars databank:

Though Leia stepped away from public office, she still remained a valuable member of the New Republic hierarchy. Her relief efforts during the Yuuzhan Vong crisis are well known. The mother of full-grown Jedi Knights, Leia still brandishes her lightsaber and Jedi heritage, though she readily admits regret that her political career had interfered with her early Jedi training.

So yeah, it sounds like you're right. Leia never became a full-fledged Jedi.

[Diego Varen]

A great Chapter. A lot of discussion between Jolee, Jae and Talin. Jolee still is funny as always. Anyway, looking foward to the next Chapter.

[Jae Onasi]

But that was before the Jedi Order was reformed, and when it was reformed she too busy in politics to train, so she never was a real Jedi.

 

Ah well.

Still, I can't imagine that Jedi would be absolutely required to wear only robes. I imagine they would use them the vast majority of the time, but now and then we girls do like to dress up just a little.

Call it creative license then.

 

Kitty is doing much better today. He was very happy to see me, purred and meowed (something he hadn't been doing at all the last few days, even for me, and I'm his buddy), acted like he wanted to go home (instead of laying in the cage sick and scared) and actually ate some food while I was there. My other cat, who is very sweet but dumber than a box of rocks, finally realized last night that she hadn't seen Higgins in awhile, after he'd been out of the house nearly 4 days.