Part 3
Out to the Unnamed and Untamed
"So, Starlett." Mech Wiver addressed his next patient with interest. "Why did you decide to have this done?"
A young girl sat on top of an operating table, holding a respirator to her mouth. "It wasn't my idea, really." She pulled it away to answer him. "I just found a new job that required it." She placed the breather back onto her mouth.
"Should I show you what I had in mind?" He unrolled sheet of blueprints and put them on the counter in front of her.
"No, Mech. Keep it to yourself," She winked at him. "Surprise me."
"As you wish." He rolled up the paper and put it next to a large computer in the other room, running his greasy hands over his spiky hair. Walking outside of his shop, he stared upwards at the old, battered sign that read 'Mech's Droid Repairs.'
He was proud of what he had made of himself on Coruscant. Prided as the best droid maker in town, he would go to no end to repair even the most battered robot for any customer. Everyone knew of him, and everyone liked him.
He only liked one person, the cocky star girl that had come to him so many months ago, asking him to do his most interesting project yet. To change her completely. She promised that money was not a problem, and gave him an idea of what she wanted done.
When prompted to tell him why she wanted this, the answer was always vague, and unclear. "Just a new line of work I have gotten into." Or something like, "my boss says it would be better for me." With answers like this, he could only be clear of one thing.
She must be a bounty hunter. What she was doing here on Coruscant, the planet teeming with Jedi, he had no idea. He had only relented to what she wanted and started working on plans for her final redoing.
He had warned her that it would be dangerous, but she seemed to be the kind of person where danger wasn't an issue. She only cared for herself, and what she wanted done. He had promised her that he would get it written up as quickly as possible, but these things take time, and it had been over five months since they had last seen each other.
When he dropped her a message last week that he was ready, it was not till a few days later that he had heard from her and they set up the day that she would come. When she came in, she was more beautiful than he had remembered. Her hair was a deep black, with a few purple streaks, giving her more of an edgy look. She had grown more into herself, and looked more like a lady and less of a young girl.
Her eyes were a light green that lit with a sort of fire in them whenever she was excited or emotional. He had offered to show her his ideas and prints several times, but she kept pushing him away, as though she had other things to attend to.
One thing was sure, however, Mech was going to make this his best project yet, and pay off his debtors once and for all. And then, who knows? Maybe he could expand his shop or go out and buy a new droid to take apart.
He enjoyed his life. He may not be the most trustworthy man alive, or the most honest, but he was contented with his line of work. And that's the way he wanted it to stay.
Mech walked back into his workshop, running his hands through his deep brown hair nervously. Deep down, even he had his doubts that this would work. Take apart robots and piece them together for those who had the money, yes. Completely take apart a young girl and transform her into a… what was he turning her into?
"Mech, how long do you think that the operation will take?" He heard her call from the other room. "I have important business soon."
"Oh, long enough." He started to examine his machinery that he had custom made for this experiment. "Maybe 3 hours, if all goes well."
"And if it doesn't?" She has crept up behind him as he was working underneath the operation table. He tried to sit up and hit his head. She giggled, quietly.
"Starlett," He slid out from underneath the white desk. "Nothing will go wrong. I have this made out too carefully."
For a moment, they met eyes. A famous philosopher once said that 'eyes are the windows to the soul.' He looked deep into her green, unblinking gaze, as she met his slate colored eyes with equal interest.
"I promise nothing will go wrong." He gave his word to her.
For the operation, she had come wearing a tight fitted bodysuit, which Mech figured that he would have to work around. Mech thought it odd that she had never asked him whether or not he had the correct toxins to remove the pain of the operation, or anything like that.
The only question that he had received from her was, "are the guns going to be loaded after the operation?" He had given her an odd look and then explained to her that, yes, her wrist was going to be filled up and ready to fire. "Perfect."
She was a girl of no words, Mech could see that. A no nonsense player of the galaxies deadliest game. Bounty hunting required skill, agility, and a good ship. None of which she seemed to own, traveling to the shop in a Coruscant taxi flyer.
"Almost finished." He walked up to where she sat on the desk and checked her breather. "This helps to remove the pain of the operation, Starlett."
She shrugged, amicably and looked at the pieces of droids scattered around his small shop. A light 'beep' sounded from her ventilator. "There you go." He slipped it out of her hands and laid it on the table.
Standing up, he gently walked her over to a machine that he would use to complete the operation. "Are you nervous?" He couldn't resist asking at least one question about how she felt.
"Tchah, not at all." She laid down on the padded back piece of the glowing white contraption. He only placed one strap over her chest before he hooked up another respirator.
"Just some gas to knock you out." He explained.
All that he could do for her was finished. Now, for the hardest part of all, the transformation. He walked over to where a giant computer was running. Then, slowly, he pushed the first button. His eyes flew up to the corner of the screen that displayed her vital signs. "She's gone."
He glanced at the prints of her slender body for the first time. 'Start with the bottom, work your way up.' He reminded himself.
And so began the hardest challenge that Mech Wiver would ever complete. Changing a perfectly beautiful girl into a bucket full of demolition and firearm devices. He worked, on and on, for a whole hour before he had finished her legs. Mech had a pretty bad scare when he accidentally cut one of her veins while trying to apply her rocket boosters.
"Oh, snarp!" He yelled as blood flooded the inner cameras of his operating screen. He frantically pushed a series of buttons on the console to solve the problem. "Activate emergency protocol." He commanded the machine as it started to shut down. His eyes flew to the corner where her heartbeat was still rolling at an avid pace.
Needless to explain, he did eventually get the bleeding to stop, and then continued on with her chest, arms, and sides until he was finished. He added a few finishing touches to her camera and evaporators before she was finally complete.
The huge, white apparatus slid back a protective cover over Starlett's fragile body. "Wow." Mech commented to himself. This really had been a top rate job. She was made completely out of metal, excepting her face, which had paled from blood loss.
He gently unstrapped her breather mask to wake her up. "Morning, Starlett."
"My leg hurts." She held out her wrist to him. "Fix it."
He pulled a small shot filled with fluid off of the counter and injected it into her wrist. She sat up, shakily. "Here, let me help you." He went to grab her arm to help her up, but she elbowed him in the stomach.
"Let me alone. I can do it myself." She hopped off of the counter and tried to stand up. "What the-"
Starlett fell, having slipped on a small spark plug that he had left on the floor. She fell dramatically into his arms. "Get off." She shoved him, and he fell into the counter.
"So, when are you going to pay me?" he asked her while rubbing where he had hit his elbow on the wall. "I don't care what you pay me."
She examined herself, spinning in front of a large mirror. She opened her wrist knives and flashed her shoulders open and closed. She even tried to use her jet boosters that were by her calves, but they wouldn't work in such a crammed room. She spun to face him.
"How much?"
"I don't know, however much you want." He was trying to be nice, but she seemed edgy.
She hid her arms behind her back, and then met his slate eyes again. She opened them as large as she could, trying to go for an innocent look. He took a step backwards cautiously. "I can't thank you enough, Mech."
Something was off by the way that she was looking at him. He was so busy trying to figure out what her look meant that he didn't hear her flick her gun out of her wrist. "So, when are you going to pay me?"
"Just about," he heard her cock the gun and he turned to dash away from her, but fell on a battered up power droid.
"No, Starlett, please!" he frantically tried to save himself, but she didn't give him the time.
"Right now." She shot him down with one blast to the back. He died immediately. "Thank you for your time."
She turned, a vengeful fire playing in her eyes. Doubling back over the room, she shredded up any papers that showed her body on it, throwing them on the ground. When she came to the computer, she clicked on the mouse to activate it.
PASSWORD: _ _
The screen read. Irritated, she shot the computer. Sparks flew upward.
"Let the secrets die with him." She whispered as she flew outside of the door using her rockets.
She knew where she was headed. Anywhere but where she was right then. She pulled a mouth and nose ventilator out of her side and connected the tubes to her chest as she left the atmosphere.
She shot through the air and into outer space like a streaking comet. She paused to find her direction. Looking around her, she could see the planet Coruscant that she had just left and the nearby system of Kossuth. Other planets, such as Devaron and Naboo, were mere specks in the distance.
She fired up her jets and sped off towards the Rishi Maze, a pink, spanned out ellipse of asteroids and space debris. She kept going until she neared an asteroid that was larger than her. She sped around it adeptly.
Then, coming around a corner, she ran head on into the hull of a large, bronze colored ship that was behind one of the huge rocks. Shaking her head, she sat up on the metal cruiser. She peeked inside and saw a Zabrak with black face coloring fussing over the console.
Knocking on the cockpit cover, she waved at him. He turned around to meet her gaze, and then jumped back, startled. He mumbled something at her, but she couldn't hear him.
Undaunted, he opened the cockpit so that she could join him inside. She gave him an odd look as she entered the tidy star cruiser. "Hello, madam." He greeted her, bowing slightly.
"Who are you and what do you want?" She angrily replied.
"Please, I am but a small space ship owner whose ship broke down asteroids away from anyone who could fix it. Could you take a look at my engine and see if there isn't anything you can do for it?" He stroked his horns humbly.
"I am no mechanic." The very name brought her thoughts back to Mech Wiver. "And I can't help you."
"How so?" He cocked his head at her, sympathetically. "Are you on important business?"
"What do I call you by, Zabrak?" She evaded the question.
"Charr Fume." He bowed again. "Or Master Fume, if you prefer."
"Master Fume?" She scrutinized his face. "A Jedi?"
"No." He shook his head and motioned for her to sit down in the passenger seat. "I prefer to remain neutral on this war." He looked away from her.
She turned away from him and took a seat. As she sat down in one of the passenger seats, she noticed that it was still warm. Feeling the seat next to her, it was warm as well. "Are you a taxi service?"
"No, of course not. Why do you say that?" He scoffed, still mucking about with the console.
"You say you are Master Fume, the humble star cruiser owner, not a transportation service." She summed it up for him. "Master Fume?" She asked. "And why are the seats warm?"
"I can see you are no one's fool." He smiled at her, disarmingly. "I could use that."
"Your story first, Zabrak." She tucked her legs under her chin. As she did, her shoulder flipped open to expose a gun and a hidden camera. She quickly closed it.
He heard her close it and then sat down and took a good, long look at her. "A cyborg." He commented. "Would you work for me?"
"I prefer to know about my employers before I hit it off with them." She sat back in her seat. "You sound extremely questionable."
"I am a Sith Lord, born on Nar Shadda, and…" He leaned forward and whispered in her ear, "looking for assassins to help me."
"I might be able to help." She smiled at him. "Who are we trying to get?"
"Jedi." He turned to work on the console again. "I have two or three that are really annoying me."
Starlett smiled. She had always wanted to kill a Jedi; ever since that one on Devaron had "How much would you pay me?"
"About enough." He answered, cryptically, still fussing with the controls.
She sighed, stood up, and walked to where he was bent over the board. "Need any help?"
"Sure, that would be great." He stepped away.
She peered into the setup, and then dug her hands into the greasy mess. "Looks like you are missing a sparker." She flipped her short hair out of her face and then told him important news. "I have one."
"Where! Why?" He was desperate to get off of the asteroid. He had been grounded there for less than an hour, but for Charr, time was money.
"It's in my calf rocket…" her blue eyes drifted to her jet packs.
"Give it up, then." He held out his hand to her, demandingly. "I can buy you a new one once we reach Tatooine."
She gave him a pondering look, and then took the screwdriver to undo her bolts. "Once we reach Tatooine, you owe me big." She winced as she pulled out the fuse piece.
"Sure." He installed the piece in a few minutes, and then the ship was running smoothly again.
"Now take me to Tatooine!" She demanded as he started up the engine.
"Keep your metal on, girl." He rolled his black eyes as they shot off for the sandy planet.
2_
"You have to swing it with your left hand!" Kit Fisto reprimanded her, gently.
"Kitty!" Jedi Master Aayla Secura, having just returned from her latest mission, had challenged a fellow Knight, Master Fisto, to a Velocity. Only problem was, she was losing.
"I did swing with my left!" She was practicing Juyo Ma at the same time. (A Juyo Ma is a 360 spin while the saber is held one handed.)
He walked off a ways and then turned and ran right at her, performing the famous Sokan Unhindered Charge. She hit her Djem So ready stance, and then swung at him just in time. He jumped back, and then they both started fighting again.
They were practicing in the Jedi Master's training room, just on the north side of the temple's entrance. It was a large, spacious white room, with platforms and smooth tiling. A Jedi Master's dark boots often slipped on the newly waxed floor. The walls were made to be saber-proof, out of a special Mandalorian iron.
There was a special room above it, on the second story, where Padawan's would come and watch them fight. At the present, no one was watching, mainly because it was the middle of the night.
"Are you getting tired? Because you're getting sloppy." Kit jested as they swung at each other.
She kept hitting at him as strongly and quickly as she could, thus attempting the Ataru Hawk-Bat swoop. She swiped at his robe, cutting off the front piece. "Solah!" Kit yelled.
Aayla stopped swinging and sat down on the hard, white flooring. "That… was hard." She panted, out of breath. "I was so sure Juyo Ma would be easier…"
"Hey, that was pretty good, Aayla!" Kit examined the edge of his tan, singed robe.
"No it wasn't!" She countered, obviously unimpressed by her own efforts. "Ataru should have done better against Shii-cho."
"You did fine!" Kit joined her on the cold, tile floor. "Besides, I am older and have practiced more than you." He held up his cut up Jedi robe.
"Kitty," She pushed her lek off of her shoulder and looked up at him. "That doesn't matter and you know it. Vos expects more of me."
"Yeah," Kit had always admired her for her perseverance and agility. He took off one of the small, brown bands that he used to tie back his tendrils and tied it around her finger.
"Keep it." She smiled at him, and then looked away, nervously. "Well, we all should go to bed now. Catch you at breakfast."
He ran off for the door and shot down the hallway. She shook her head, yawned, and then walked down the hallway, slowly, towards her bedroom.
The night was calm and quiet at the Jedi temple. But, on the other side of the galaxy, things were beginning to stir.
Charr disembarked his huge, metallic cruiser with Starlett walking close behind. "Stay close to me and stay out of trouble." He reminded her as they disembarked the sturdy ship. He pulled back his robe to show his curved lightsaber hilt. "I have the safety."
He led her into an old cantina where there were sketchy characters leaning over barstools and grog spilled all over the unwashed floor. The lighting was dim, and the Modal Nodes, a band, were playing a jaunty tune.
As Starlett came in, following Charr, the bartender yelled at her. "Hey you! No girls allowed!"
Charr was about to explain to Starlett that she would have to leave when she stomped over to the tender herself, her metallic feet clicking on the stone flooring. "Girls?"
The bartender rolled his eyes and ran his hands along his stubby beard. "Yeah, girls. Even if they are part droid." He turned to serve a Jawa a cup of brown liquid.
She jumped up onto the counter and grabbed the bar tender by his shoulder. "Who said anything about girls?"
He turned to face her, but she punched him in the nose with her metal fist.
THWACK!
He went flying over the counter and onto a Talz. The huge, furry alien stood up and then picked him up with one arm. Starlett's eyes widened. The Talz threw him up in the air and out of the cantina.
"Starlett!" Charr walked up to her to lead her away. "I told you to stay by me!"
She waved goodbye to the Talz as Fume led her away. "I found your piece at a junkshop." He whispered to her. "Needless to say, its, pricey."
"I could have told you that before you found it." She flipped her black hair out of her face. He took her to a Toydarian's shop just on the edge of the spaceport.
"No, I mean, I can't pay for it." Charr had an obstinate, pushy look on his face. He wanted something from her. He wanted… her.
"I can see something cooking and I don't like the smell of it." She reached down, flicked out her knife, and carved her initials, M.S., on the top of a table.
"You work for me, and help me get rid of these Jedi," He smiled. "Pledge to it."
She rolled her green eyes rather dramatically. "I pledge." She pulled her knife back in.
He whipped his wallet out of his pocket and paid the dealer at once. After counting out the credits, he gave up the rare find. It was a small, black fuse piece that helped get the boosters their power by converting her energy to its energy.
She knelt down and installed the black section into her calf. Within a few clicks, it was done, and Charr led her back to the ship.
She didn't much like what had happened at Mos Epsa, but she didn't have much of a choice to do anything about it, either. The very thought of killing a Jedi and taking their laser sword as her own sent a tingle down her spine. "So, Charr, when do I get to cross paths with a Jedi?"
"Soon enough." He answered as they made a straight course for an abandoned asteroid. "Soon enough."
On the other side of the galaxy, the Jedi were just waking up and starting the day. Aayla fell asleep as soon as she got to her bedroom, and when it was morning, she jumped out of bed. She started to get dressed in her usual outfit. Her tight pants, slip, and belt piece.
As she was just clipping on her belt, Kit knocked on the door. "Can I come in?"
"I guess." She nodded to Kit as she strapped on her boots. She reached for a long strip of fabric and began to tie her lekku.
"Why do you always do that?" He leaned on the door and folded his arms against his chest.
"My lekku are sensitive." She paused, knotted the end of her left tail, and started on the right. "The more I keep them wrapped, the less sensitive they become. Picked it up on Ryloth."
"Who told you that?" Kit grinned.
"Pol Secura." She shook her head. "Quit grinning at me."
"Want to come to breakfast with me?"
"Sure." Aayla finished with her head tails and sat up, quickly. "I was headed to the cafeteria anyways."
She stood up and they both walked into a long hallway with a few Jedi Master's lingering around. They walked together into a bustling breakfast room.
"Vos!" Aayla ran over to where her Master was sitting. "Where have you been?"
"Well," Quinlan winked at Tholme, his Master, and smiled. "A lot of places."
"Master, you're always so vague." She smiled. It had been a few months since they had both seen each other.
"Come, sit." Quinlan motioned to an empty seat between him and Tholme. "I will tell you the tale of Master Vos."
Aayla glanced over at Kit. He had already chosen his seat at an empty table with one other chair. Kit gave her an expecting look.
"I actually had an engagement with Kit…" Aayla ran her hands up and down a lek and stared at the floor. "I, uh…"
"Aayla, you always sit with Fisto. How long has it been since you sat with me?" Tholme cocked an eyebrow at her.
"No, I mean, I told him we were going to sit together." Aayla gave Quinlan and Tholme a reassuring smile. "Maybe some other time?"
"I am leaving tomorrow." Master Tholme slapped his hand on the extra seat. "Come."
Quinlan looked at his Master. He was never this demanding. "Aayla," He began, pushing her hand off of her slightly spotted brain tail. "Sit with us."
Kit walked up behind her. "Are you coming or not?"
Aayla looked from Kit, to Vos, to Tholme. She didn't know who to choose. "Quinlan… could you ask your master to pull his hand off of my seat?"
Tholme smiled and moved his hand as Secura took her seat next to him and Vos. Aayla sat down and ordered her breakfast from a droid. "So," Tholme started off the conversation. "Did you hear about that Padawan that left the Order?"
"No," Aayla cocked her head at him. "Who was it?"
"Tarra's blue Natulian friend, Rebry Sen." Quinlan Vos finished for him. "And I thought she had so much potential."
"Dear, sweet Rebry." Aayla mused as a droid brought her a bowl of Rycrit stew. "I knew there was something wrong with her after my mission to Moraga."
"Like," Tholme placed his napkin on his lap while the same robot served him. "Something was missing?"
"Could be." Aayla answered between mouthfuls.
Vos smiled at Secura. She was always so thoughtful and kind. "Trick question." Vos' smile disappeared as Aayla looked up at him. "What is the one question you do not want me to ask you right now."
"Oh, you've been planning this for a long time." Aayla smiled. "I can tell."
"What happened to my eye?" Tholme answered plainly.
"Where I was with Kit last night." Aayla shook her head and went back to her bowl of soup. "Definitely."
"You and Kit hang around each other too much." Tholme cautioned as Aayla finished her bowl. "I think that you two need to lay off and take it easy for awhile."
"Master," Secura looked into Tholme's eyes. "It's not like me and Kit are leaving the Order, or anything."
"You're what!" Eeth Koth, a fellow Iridonian Zabrak Jedi overheard Secura. "Hey guys!" He yelled for Master Kolar and Koon. "Aayla's leaving the Order!"
"She is not." Plo Koon stood up disbelievingly. "Is she?"
"No," Aayla scoffed at Koth. "Of course I am not. I am merely saying that my relationship with Kit isn't anything that I would leave the Order about."
A youngling walked up to Secura with flowers and a woeful look on his young face. "I am sorry to see you go, Master Secura." He placed the flowers on her table and walked off.
"I am not going anywhere!" Aayla stood up and yelled. "I am not leaving the Order!"
Tholme's eyes widened as she left the cafeteria. Master Fisto looked up from his table and saw her leave. "Wait! Aayla!" He got up and ran after her.
"Sometimes I worry about those two." Vos shook his head, his long dreadlocks brushed across his broad shoulders.
"It's not about whether attachment is not allowed for the Jedi," Tholme added, "It's about whether or not Aayla can control it for herself."
Quinlan broke out in a cold sweat. Just how much did Tholme know about him, Aayla, and attachments?
3_
Aayla fled into a meditation room and slammed the door. "All that I need is peace…" She stopped, distracted by a knock on the door. "And Kitty. Never fails."
"Can I come in?" Kit stood outside the door, grinning to himself. "What happened, anyways?"
"Kit!" She shook her head and smiled. "I should talk this out with my Master, not you."
"Do you need saving?" Fisto offered, undeterred by her answer.
"Just, get Vos, okay?" She opened the door and leaned against it. "Tell him to meet me here."
Kit ran off, back towards the cafeteria while Aayla placed her lightsaber on the ground in front of her. She sat, criss cross, on one of the seats used for meditation. "I have needed this."
She sighed, loudly. Closing her eyes, she imagined her and Tarra on a battlefield together. She felt the Force surge through her body as Tarra depended on her to leap over her head. Aayla swung her saber around her head, once, twice, and then hacked at a battle droid mercilessly…
Her lightsaber was activated, hovering in the air before her as Quinlan opened the door. "Aayla!" he shouted.
She straightened up so violently that her lekku slapped against her back. "Hello, Master." She grimaced, rubbing her back. Her saber deactivated and fell to the floor.
"You called for me?" Vos sat down next to her. "Did you need me for anything?"
"Of course not, Master. I just sent Kit to get you for fun." She joked.
Quinlan smiled at her. He had always been proud of his Twi'lek Padawan, Aayla Secura, as she grew older and more mature. As Tholme had once told him, the happiness is not in learning, it's in teaching what you have learned. In passing on what your Master taught you to your Padawan.
"I think I am having trouble with someone." Aayla looked away from Vos, her brown eyes searching the floor.
"A specific someone?" Quin asked knowingly.
Aayla's hands rushed to her lekku, where she began to stroke her brain tails, nervously. Quinlan pushed her hands away. "Its Kit, isn't it."
"Ever since we met all those years ago," Aayla started, not knowing how to finish. "We've been close."
Quinlan nodded. "Go on."
"I mean, Kit knows that if I got shot down on a battlefield that he wouldn't halt the war just to save my life," She paused, shakily. "I wouldn't stop for him either."
"You never know till the day it actually happens." His smile disappeared as he counseled her, gently.
"Do you think it's okay, then?" Aayla met his eyes. "Kit and Aayla, the Jedi team?"
"I'm not saying it's okay," Quinlan put his hand on hers. "It's not wise."
"The Council should know for sure." Aayla stood up. "I had better get going."
Quinlan stayed for another hour after Aayla left. He needed peace and quiet too.
Meanwhile, Charr and Starlett headed back to Coruscant to get ready for, what Charr called, 'the operation'. Starlett was happy that he had decided to head there, because if she was being followed by Jedi, the first spot that they would look was at Mech's old shop.
Later on that day, she asked Charr if it was okay if they split up for awhile. "I have a little bit of unfinished business." She barely explained.
"I suppose." Charr winked at her. "I have a bit of my own 'business' to finish."
"Where will you be?" She asked as they landed near a large building.
"Underground." He smiled at her confused face. "I plan to get rid of that piercing once and for all."
"Hey," Starlett paused for a second, "What if I got rid of it for you?"
"What do you mean?" Charr faced her.
"What if I sold it so that I could buy a weapon that I need?" Starlett asked, plainly.
"What weapon could you possibly need!?" Charr gestured to her. "You are full of more firearm devices than an Octuptaara droid!"
"I know." Starlett looked at the ground, and then looked back up at him. "Please?"
"Look," Charr rolled his eyes. "I'll get what you need while you go do whatever you want."
"You know what I want." She whirled around, pulled her wrist gun out and pointed it at him. "I want to get a lightwhip."
"A lightwhip!" Charr raised his eyebrows and pushed her wrist out of his face. "Do you have any idea how rare those are?"
"Yes." Starlett smiled at him. "That's why I want one." She sat down on the hull of the ship.
"Why?" Charr asked again.
"Because I want to kill a Jedi after what they did to me on Chassa." Starlett shook her head. Charr thought he saw a tear fall from her eye. "But that doesn't matter now." She stood up. "I hear no one can kill a Jedi these days." She pulled out her wrist gun and pointed it at Charr again.
"Excepting those with a lightwhip."
Aayla was sitting in a hallway, talking to a friend when she realized the trouble between her and her Master. She had been talking to a young Padawan of Anx Jedi Master J'Mikel. "Hello, Master Secura!" Xiaan had approached her first, finding her sitting on a bench in the middle of a long hallway. It was late at night, just after the last training room was closed.
"Xiaan!" Aayla stood up and greeted her. "What are you doing awake?" Xiaan Amersu was a Twi'lek, just like Secura, excepting that Amersu's skin tone was a pale green.
"I couldn't sleep." Xiaan Amersu confessed, and then sat down with Aayla. "I kept getting distress signals from this hallway. From you."
"Amersu," Secura addressed her, shaking her head. "I cannot talk any of my problems over with you. It's not appropriate. A Jedi Master talks to a Jedi Master about such things," Aayla looked Xiaan over. "Not a Padawan."
"I already know what the trouble is." Xiaan tossed one of her lekku over her shoulder and across her neck. "I heard you thinking."
"Spegger." Aayla used the Ryl word for being an eavesdropper. "What did you hear?"
Xiaan straightened up, nervously. Her lek fell over her chest. "I heard… do you really want me to say it?"
Aayla shook her head. "No, maybe not."
"Can I say anything about it?" Xiaan looked at her incredulously. "Anything at all?"
"If you must." Aayla's lekku twitched three times, showing that she was uncomfortable.
"Well," Xiaan looked at the floor. "If you're worried about Vos, that's okay." She confessed, solemnly. "I worry about my Master, J'Mikel, too."
"You heard me think about that?" Aayla looked away from Xiaan. "Just… don't tell anyone else, okay?"
"It's okay to be worried about your Master." Xiaan tried to be nice, but Aayla was becoming more and more nervous. "I get visions of J'Mikel dying too!"
"You don't understand." Aayla began to run her hands up and down her lekku again. "Quin's never here since his 'secret mission' has taken him away from me."
"What was his mission, anyways?" Xiaan raised her eyes to Aayla's face again. Young Amersu had always looked up to Aayla, ever since Aayla gave her a most prized possession, a special rock called a "Heart of Fire.' If Aayla ever took on another Padawan, Xiaan would have made sure that it would have been her.
"It was to become a Sith and join Dooku." Aayla paused, to wipe a tear form her eye. "I fear that he actually has."
Amersu was quiet. She had always practiced when to and when not to speak with the silent J'Mikel as her Master. "I never speak with him anymore." Aayla sighed. "He doesn't have time for me."
Xiaan nodded and looked at the floor. "Remind me again why I am telling you?" Aayla joked, suddenly standing up.
She stayed seated and looked up at Aayla. "When you don't have anything to say," Aayla began an old Jedi Proverb.
"Don't say anything at all." Xiaan finished it as Aayla walked off, swaggering because of the large heels on her boots.
Xiaan sighed. "May the Force be with you." She whispered and went back to her bed.
Aayla went to her room and laid down to rest. She had had enough of an exhausting day as it was, without talking to Xiaan Amersu. But was it emotional enough to carry her through what the Council had prepared for her next?
4_
It was a new day. The sun, enrobed in the smog of the Coruscant city, shed its bright light on everything mercilessly while the hum of passing space cruisers woke Aayla up. She had been up till midnight the night before, thinking over her problems.
As she hopped out of bed, she heard a knock on the door. Rolling her hazel colored eyes, she realized that there would only be one person that would knock on her door that early every morning. "Kit," she used the Force to lock the door to her bedroom. "I'll meet you at breakfast."
She heard him giggle, slightly and then run off. "Meet you there!"
Aayla sat up and began to get dressed. Then, suddenly, her comlink started to beep. Picking it up, she answered it. "Vos?"
"Yeah, Aayla. I'm here." Static crackled over the line. "I need your input on something."
"You… need me?" Aayla shook her head, put the comlink down, and reached for her lekku strips. "Why?"
"I need you to research something for me in the Archives." She heard her Master ask. "Like, right now."
"But Quin, I just got up. I was headed for breakfast…" She paused, then remembered what Tholme had told her once. 'You're life, or someone else's, could depend on obedience.' She started to wrap her lekku.
"What do you need done?" Aayla smiled.
"I need you to get to the archives and research an initial for me." She heard other voices in the background. "M. S."
"Where are you?" She asked, concerned. "Are you alright?"
"Just get it done." He hastily replied. "Get it done and get back to me soon." Then, quickly as the call had started, it ended.
"Quin?" Aayla cocked her head. "Quin!" She tried re-dialing the number, but it wouldn't call. The line was detached. "M.S." She mused as she finished her lekku and slipped on her boots.
"That's kind of an odd thing for Quin to do." She got up, opened the door to her room, and ran to the Archives. "Curse these boots." She mumbled as she nearly tripped on the smooth floor.
As soon as she got to the Archives, she ran to Jedi Master Ord Enisence. "Hello, Master." She addressed him. The large, green-skinned Skrillig turned around slowly.
"Secura." He greeted her. "I haven't seen you since you were but a young child." He was tall, handsome, and had brown eyes. He wore the traditional Jedi robes that accented his coloring. It had always amused Aayla that a hundred different Jedi Master's could wear the same style of clothing and yet make it look so different.
"I need help." She helped him off of his chair. "I am looking for an initial match to the letters M.S."
"Mern Senth?" He put his hand to his head and groaned. "I hope you are prepared for a lot of file digging."
"Whatever it takes." Aayla sat down while Ord typed in the coordinates for her request. Aayla's eyes widened as all of the people ever recorded by the Jedi that even had M or S mentioned in their name popped up. "I had better get started."
At that moment, Jedi Master Stass Allie walked into the Archive room. "Secura!" Aayla turned around and then noticed Allie. "I was waiting for you at breakfast." Stass explained. "When you never came, I could only assume something else was more important."
Stass was a Tolothian, the cousin of Jedi Master Adi Galla. Tholothians had long, fleshy tendrils, six on each side, that helped them sense emotions.
"You guessed, alright." Aayla started opening files. "Quin told me to look something up for him. Something about M.S."
Stass smiled and then sat down at the computer next to her. "I'll help and explain at the same time." She opened up the same files. "I met with the High Jedi Council last night."
"Oh really?" Aayla closed a few pages and opened up a new one. "How late were you up?"
"Past midnight." Stass continued working. she squinted at the Aurebesh figures on the screen. "Were you still awake?"
"Yeah," Aayla opened a file and typed in a password. She stopped, stared at the screen and smiled. "Look- there's me." She pointed to a picture of her with her blade flashing menacingly at a Skyboat Pirate's neck.
Stass walked over to her, shaking her head. "That is an old picture."
Aayla giggled and then moved on. "So, what about the Council?"
"They told me that they were sending you to the other side of Coruscant." She answered.
"Let me guess," Aayla continued working. "Rehabilitation?"
"No," Stass giggled at Aayla's joke. "An information mission, and a man hunt."
"Look, if this is about Charr Fume, he's already on my list." Aayla faced her. "I can't even stand the thought of him."
"It's not." Allie tried to explain. "They chose another Jedi to go with you and check out this shop that got gunned down." She stopped clicking around and looked at Aayla. "What are we supposed to be looking for again?"
"Forget it." Secura shook her head. "Nothing's here." She buried her head in her hands. Suddenly she sat up and looked at Stass. "What did you say?"
"They're sending you off," Allie smiled. "With a friend."
"Oh not again," Aayla thudded her head down on the desk as her stomach grumbled. "With Kit, right?"
"Of course." Stass grinned. It was no secret that Aayla and Kit were more than friends, although they did have their times where they were annoyed with each other. Allie ran her hands down Aayla's lekku as she quickly sat up.
"Don't do that." Aayla corrected her, brushing her hands off. It was completely quiet in the Archives. For a few moments, both Jedi were staring at each other. Then, at the same time, they smiled and looked away.
"Stass," Aayla got up and walked towards a window. "Can you tell me the whole mission? I think I passed out for a minute there."
"The High Council said that they were sending you to a rundown droid shop just to the north of here. Supposedly it's underground." Stass shrugged. "I think Master Windu or Master Fisto can give you the full explanation."
"Yeah, Kitty has a knack for that sort of stuff." Aayla nodded.
"Kitty is…" Allie gave her an odd look, cocking her head and squinting her eyes.
"Kit Fisto." Aayla looked at her. "I mean Master Fisto."
"And…" Stass smiled, thinly. "He lets you call him Kitty?"
"Well, sort of." Aayla leaned against the window. "We agreed to disagree on that one."
"Come," The Tolothian Jedi took Aayla's hand. "Let's discuss this over a bowl of breakfast pudding."
Aayla and Stass' silent footsteps faded off into the distance, headed towards the cafeteria. "Thanks, Allie." Aayla thanked her and smiled.
They ate together and Kit joined them while Stass told them about the mission. She explained that they were going to leave later that afternoon, sometime during sunset. She said that the purpose of the mission was to go and hack into a computer to find information on a cyborg that was created there.
"Why?" Kit asked after she was finished.
"Apparently this person paid to turn into a droid." Stass shrugged. "That's what Adi told me."
"So, we bring the information back to the Temple?" Aayla flicked her lekku off of her shoulder. "Just like on Moraga…"
"Apparently." She nodded. "That's what the council told me."
"I'll go make sure the ship is fueled up," Kit winked at Aayla. "Yours and mine."
"Okay," Aayla stood up. "I can pack your bags and mine."
"Just get my robe and utility belt." Kit turned away from her and headed for the hangar.
"May the Force be with you." Aayla smiled and walked away, leaving Stass Allie to ponder the future by herself.
Charr had finally relented to Starlett's request. He gave her the piercing and told her to go and sell it for what she wanted. As soon as she walked away, Charr realized that he had nothing to do, so he sat down in the ship and prepared for a long wait.
Starlett walked away from the Charr standing tall, a little too proud of what she had accomplished. She had finally realized that she only way to get what she wanted is to push Charr around. And if Charr let himself be bullied easily, it was all to her own advantage.
Fingering the beautiful piece, she examined it carefully on a street corner. Thousands of ships rushed by overhead while she admired the tiny blue flowers in the golden onset. It truly would fetch a good price.
Excited by her newfound wealth, she ran to Mech's shop to find a few more pieces to sell. If possible, she could make enough to buy a lightwhip. After what the Jedi did to her on Chossa, she was determined to make anyone even remotely tied to the Order that stepped in her way suffer for the loss of her family.
Using her rocket jets, she shot up into the air, and then doubled back around towards Charr's ship. Flicking out her wrist cover, she popped out a small camera. She pulled out a camera installed into her shoulder and tossed it onto Charr's hull. "He's not going anywhere."
Then, she powered off to Mech's dilapidated shop. "Anyone poking around there will receive a first class Starlett greeting." She grinned. "Death sentence style."
She walked into the door and started to look around, noticing the computer that she had almost blown to pieces a few days before. She pushed the power button on the back of it. "Does it still work?" She asked herself.
It was taking awhile to load, so she started looking around the shop. Noticing a camera piece that was in perfect condition, she picked it up to examine it. It had a tag on it that said 'Starlett'.
"How sweet." She rolled her eyes and then set it down.
After checking out a few more pieces, she realized something. "Even if I did find a piece that was worth something…" She frowned at a holocommunicator piece, "I wouldn't recognize it."
Kit and Aayla were just finishing up packing when both of their Astromech droids wheeled into the Hangar. R4-G9 was Aayla's, and Kits was called R6-H5. R4 was a used, bronze and pink tub of bolts that Aayla had never reprogrammed and always rented out. As a matter of fact, Aayla hadn't seen R4 since she had last left her with one of her fellow Jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi.
"Come on, Geenine. Let's see what you've still got in you." She hooked her droid up to a power coupling for the first time in months. Kit's droid, R6-H5, wheeled up to her and whistled.
"I think he wants a power-up too." Kit winked at Aayla, coming out from behind a ship holding all of their supplies.
"Here you go." She grabbed another cord and shoved it into the power coupling recharger near the astromech's third wheel. She smiled. "You know Kit, if I wasn't a Jedi, I would be a mechanic."
"If I wasn't a Jedi…" Kit began, and then looked up at the hangar roof, studying the beams in deep thought. "I would be a deep spacer."
"Really?" Aayla laughed, her merry chuckle ringing off of the walls. "That's funny."
"How so?" Kit smiled, and then joined her on the floor with the droids. "What's so funny about a Natulian surfing the Galaxy?"
"No," she paused amid peals of laughter, trying to explain. "It's not that Natulian's flying ships is hilarious, I just haven't ever seen that side of you before."
"I figure that there is a lot of sides to different people we haven't ever seen." Kit explained, grinning. "It's not like everyone tells you all of their deep secrets."
Aayla's face changed to a pondering smile. "I agree."
"The only way to learn about people is either to ask them, spy on them, or pick it out from what they do say." Fisto continued. "Which of course is the same thing."
This remark sent Aayla into more peals of laughter while Kit sat on the floor with her near a recharge socket. "I still don't get why this is funny."
Aayla sat up, tears falling from her eyes from laughing so hard. "Oh, Kitty." She clutched at her chest, still giggling. "It's how you say it, not what you say."
"Oh yeah," Kit rolled his eyes. "Hilarious." He then reached for the box that he brought in before Aayla could crack up again. "I brought everything that you told me to…" He pulled out both of their Jedi robes. "And your closet is a real mess."
"No it's not!" Aayla denied the accusation and then unplugged her R4 unit. "It's just… out of order." She tried to make an excuse.
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." He reached into the bag and pulled out a lightsaber. "And I thought this was yours."
Aayla gasped. "Where did you find it!" She snatched the hilt away from him and examined it closely.
"Something special?" Kit asked, visibly unmoved.
"It was Tarra's… but I don't know how you found it." She held it like a precious gem. "I thought she had lost it on Moraga."
"Aryn Tarra?" He shook his head, making his long, fleshy tendrils sweep across his large back. "She was something else."
"She was just the same as you were as a Padawan." Aayla smiled. "Just the same as all of us." Her large, brown eyes teared up with the very memory of Tarra, a Padawan that had died on her first mission with Secura a few months before. She put the hilt inside of her ship.
"I had my hopes that Rebry would become my Padawan." Kit remembered Tarra's best friend that had left the Order after her passing. "She did have potential."
Then, for a few moments, silence reigned in the large, arid room. Aayla sighed, loudly, breaking the peace. "Let's get moving, whatever shop that got destroyed out there can't wait forever."
With that, Aayla and Kit hopped into their ships to join the thousands of cruisers in space that made Coruscant as packed as it was. "Let's roll." Were Kit's last words to Aayla as they took off for the unknown.
Meanwhile, waiting for them at the shop, was Starlett. She could feel that something was going to happen here soon, but for the life of her she couldn't figure out what. Having been born 'Force-sensitive' was not an easy thing to keep a secret.
Sitting around expecting someone was not Starlett's idea of an adventure, but if someone was going to come she had to be ready. Exploring the shop, she noticed a small, metal hilt. "What is this?" She picked it up.
It was heavy, having a nice, metal feel to it. It had someone's initial's engraved on it, but she couldn't tell what they said. It was written in Futhark, a system used on Naboo. Starlett had only ever learned how to read the basic language, Aurebesh. She squinted at the elegantly written characters.
"T…C. I think." She cocked her head. "That's weird." She picked up the hilt and then pushed a small button on the side that was colored red. Suddenly she jumped back in surprise as a long, light pink colored tendril shot out of one of the ends of the cylinder.
"A lightwhip!" Starlett had found what she wanted at last, and now there was no stopping her from reaching her single goal. Flicking her wrist back and forth, she watched in awe as the pink-colored whip slashed at various pieces of furniture and remains, splitting everything that stood in its way into pieces.
She smiled at the thought of it slashing through flesh. Straightening, she looked around the room as she clipped the newfound weapon onto her side. "If enemies are coming," She began, standing up on top of a large piece of metal, "then I need to be ready for them."
She started to heave the various pieces of metal around the tightly packed shop, moving them into a trap. She booby-trapped several of them, such as, making it so that a table caved in when weight was applied to it, or setting up knives underneath some parts of machinery in case she went wrong.
As the sun set on Coruscant, the under-world levels started to light up.
Aayla and Kit landed their cruisers a far stretch away from the targeted shop. Aayla unstrapped her seatbelt and signaled Kit with a flick of her delicate wrist. "Move in."
Master Fisto smiled and unstrapped his telecom headset. "I love her way of thinking." R-6, his Astromech droid, whistled from the back of the ship. Kit read the console on his screen. WHERE ARE YOU GOING.
Fisto shook his head and stepped out of the ship. "You stay with the cruiser, worry bolt. I am going to solve a crisis."
YOU ALWAYS HAVE ALL THE FUN. Kit read the console and stepped away from the ship. "Lock the doors." He walked over to where Aayla was telling Geenine the same thing.
"And don't let anyone near it." She turned and ran straight into Kit. "Oh," She grinned, awkwardly and took a step backwards. "Are you ready?"
"No, are you?" Fisto started walking down the sidewalk, crossing dangerously close to a Dug. "Excuse me." He politely moved to the side.
The Dug looked Kit up and down with a scowl on his face. "Jedi Poodoo."
"Not exactly the nicest people around here." Aayla mumbled as the Dug kept on walking, balancing its weight on its back legs. The light was dark and fading as they encountered the large building with a shot up sign labeled 'Mec 's Dr id Shop- Re airs and Piec s.'
They kept on moving until Aayla pulled out her holocommunicator and activated it. "Here we are." She looked up at the sign that hung above the dilapidated shop. "This place is a mess." Aayla darkened the doorway with Kit following close behind.
"Sure is dark in here." She tried to flick on a light switch and then pulled back in shock. There, just underneath a few boxes, was the remains of Mech Wiver. Aayla backpedaled furiously and ran into Kit. "Who is that…" She asked, wide eyed.
Kit couldn't hear her, he was too busy censoring his surroundings. "We are not alone." A mere tinkling sound answered his thoughts as he walked forward, trying to see who it was. He activated his green blade and started slashing at a few pieces of broken down machinery. "Come out of there!"
Aayla hit her ready stance and then jumped on top of a large apparatus. "Who is there?"
Kit hit a pipe and stepped back. The whoosh of machinery exhaust misted up the room. "Maaaantraaaaah." The voice echoed mysteriously around the small shop. Aayla squinted at a flash of metal that seemed to have ducked behind a table.
"Mant… mantra?" Kit stopped, and then ran and jumped on top of the table. He spun his lightsaber over his head and then drove it into the table. The table suddenly exploded upwards, flinging Fisto into the wall. He winced and tried to stand up.
Aayla ran forwards as a shining figure clothed in metal materialized out of the fog. "Mantra." The feminine voice rung throughout the room. "I am the beginning of the end of your life."
The tall girl turned, facing Aayla with piercing green eyes. Aayla shielded herself with her lightsaber. "Aayla! Wait!" Kit managed to regain his footing and ran behind her.
"I won't say I didn't try." She ran forward to Starlett, slicking with her blade. Starlett flung out her wrist knife right in time and cut at Aayla, then stepped aside. Aayla screamed and fell. She hit the ground, falling on her back. Blood ran down her arm.
Kit used Aayla's wound as an advantage, throwing his blade at Starlett while she was distracted. It flew up in the air and crashed down next to her, completely missing her. "Mantra Starlett." She breathed, then extended her arm.
Kit wasn't ready for it. She blasted him with a tremendous Force-push, knocking him backwards. Fisto struggled to get up, his auburn eyes flashing. "The Jedi are evil." She narrowed her gaze at him, and then walked over to Aayla, her metal boots crunching pieces of trash and parts. "All Jedi must die."
Master Fisto used the Force to suck his blade into his hand, then stood to face Mantra. He rushed her again, but this time she parried his harsh blade with her metal forearms. "Mandalorian Iron." She explained. "It is useless."
Aayla clutched at her arm, and then shuddered. A huge flash of light spread throughout the entire room as Kit and Mantra fought on. She reached for a piece of tattered, greasy oilcloth that was used for polishing droids and tied it around the upper part of her arm to stop the blood flow.