No Food For Fishies Today
Evri-wan Duzzet , a newly knighted jedi who had just finished an unrelated mission on Manaan decided to investigate the mysterious 'haunting' of the underwater Hrakert station.
"This is the room in which the ghost resides." Kelpen told him nervously, and pointed towards a set of lockers as he added, "in there, to be precise." The Selkath then backed out of the room.
With the Selkath gone, Evri-wan reached out with the force as he called out, "Hello?"
"There's no one here, fishy, go away. No food for fishies today," a weak, hoarse voice came from a set of lockers. Then there was only incoherent whimpering.
Evri-wan crossed over to the locker from where he heard the voice. "That's good, because there are no fishies here." He spoke softly as he removed his backpack in which he had stored "ghost bait".
"You can't fool Kev, fishy. Kev can smell fishy from in here." The voice shook.
As Kev spoke, Evri-wan tried to open the locker door, but it was locked. Instead of trying to figure out the combination, he used the force to yank the door off its frame. The frightened scientist screamed in horror and cowered against the back of his cramped refuge.
Evri-wan was amazed at both the sheer volume and length of the terror-filled shriek. The young knight idly wondered how Kev could think he smelled fishies through the locker door with the unmistakable stench of his own unwashed body and stale urine within the enclosed space, but kept his face impassive.
After screaming until he could scream no more, Kev looked up at the jedi wide-eyed with dread. "What are you waiting for, fishy? Kev is unarmed and helpless. Just eat Kev and get it over with!" In spite of the plea, the poor frightened man attempted to go further to the rear of the locker as if he could disappear into the back of it.
Compassion filled Evri-wan as he knelt down so as not to tower imposingly over the scared man. "I'm not going to eat you." The jedi informed him as he reached into his backpack and brought out a wrapped bar, "in fact, I brought some food for you."
In spite of the fact that his stomach churned in anticipation of much-needed food, Kev looked suspiciously at the proffered fare. "How do I know you aren't trying to poison me then eat me when I'm dead?"
"If I eat you after poisoning you, then I'd be poisoning myself." Evri-wan reasoned. When the other man did not look convinced, he opened the bar and broke off a piece. "Mm, this is pretty good." The jedi gave his critique of the crunchy cuisine as he still held out the other half of the bar towards the mistrustful scientist.
Kev watched the other man intently, his mouth opening and closing as the jedi took another bite. He slowly reached for the bar, but the tip of one finger barely touched it before he swiftly yanked his hand back. "You almost got me, you clever fishy. Kev is not going to be caught on your hook."
"I am only trying to help you, Kev. I know you're hungry… here," Evri-wan reached over to place the uneaten half of the bar in Kev's lap.
When the jedi had reached out towards him, Kev whimpered, thinking he was going to grab him. When the bar plopped in his lap, Kev starred down at it. He then looked back up at the jedi without touching it.
Evri-wan only smiled, careful not to show his teeth, and backed away a few feet and sat with his legs folded in front of him. He retrieved another bar from the bag, and proceeded to eat that one. "Mm-mm-MM," he closed his eyes as he relished the taste of the dried fruit and nut mix.
Kev watched as the jedi took several bites, and then looked down at the bar in his lap once more. He picked it up and sniffed it. If he had not been so dehydrated, his mouth would have watered. He then tentatively nibbled on it. Seeing that it was pleasant tasting, he took a bigger bite and began to chew, then had trouble swallowing.
Evri-wan watched the man as he took out a water bottle and washed down his food. "That bar is kind of dry, I bet you're thirsty."
Kev looked at the jedi and nodded with a lost-puppy-dog expression.
Everi-wan took out another water bottle and set it in front of himself. "Here you are."
Kev looked at the bottle of water and realized with dismay that if he was going to drink it, he would have to come out of his locker. Whimpering, he looked up at the jedi pitifully. He blinked then in confusion. Until then, the man had appeared to him like a walking fish. Now however, he looked human. "Who are you?" He croaked.
"Evri-wan Duzzet." The jedi smiled gently.
"Every one does what?" It was getting harder to talk.
The jedi sighed and shook his head. He got that reaction quite a bit. "Evri-WAN," he emphasized the "ah" sound of the last syllable while keeping his tone kind, "not 'every one'. And it's DuzzET, not 'it'. My name is Evri-wan Duzzet, and I'm a jedi knight."
"Evri-WAN," Kev mirrored the jedi in emphasizing the last syllable, "could you hand me that water, please?"
Evri-wan shook his head. "You can get it."
Kev whimpered at the thought of getting out of his cramped sanctuary, yet he was so thirsty. He looked at Evri-wan as he tried to think what he should do. The jedi just sat there patiently. "Jedi are protectors… you'll keep the fishies away from me?"
"I won't let anyone harm you."
The gentle voice of the jedi assured Kev and gave him the courage to crawl out of his cocoon. His movements were slow and jerky, his muscles stiff from being in constricted conditions for so long. The moment he was out of the locker, he collapsed with a weak groan.
Evri-wan picked up the water and quickly came to Kev's side. He put a hand under the scientist's shoulders and gently lifted him enough so that he could help him drink. "You'll be alright now, Kev."