By Shampoo30 (JediShampoo@aol.com)
This is just a little bit of smutness. I haven't written in forever. I don't own the planets, or the Jedi. Lucasfilms does. I make no money from this story (thank goodness). Write me with any comments (or just leave a review). Thanks!
Thick, smoky air, muted galactijazz and the scents and voices of hundreds of beings assaulted Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker as they shoved their way into the Shady Gambit. The Nar Shadaa nightclub was packed tonight. This particular dive catered mostly to humanoids, but a few members of more exotic species were sprinkled throughout the jammed and noisy tables.
No one paid attention when the pair entered the dimly-lit club. The disreputable-looking customers were too engaged with their own dealings—legal and otherwise—to care about the presence of two brown-robed strangers. Besides, here on the notorious smuggler's moon, the Jedi were far from their sphere of influence.
"Busy night," Obi-Wan commented dryly. His stride as they wound through the throng was confident.
"Do you really expect to find the information we need here, Master?" handsome, eighteen-year-old Anakin sneered the question as he followed Obi-Wan. The young padawan wrinkled his nose. "I can't stand being near the Hutts. Dirty slavers. They stink up everything they touch."
"I'm not that fond of Hutts, either, Anakin," Obi-Wan told his apprentice calmly. "But our mission is grave. And even Jedi sometimes need to make use of the lawless. There is no better place to find them than here, this close to Nal Hutta."
"It's like the anti-Coruscant," said the young man. "Miles of city, up and down. But nothing clean. Nothing pure."
"Good observation," Obi-Wan remarked over his shoulder. "But instead of complaining, see if you can observe the bar for me. That is where we need to start."
Anakin rolled his eyes, used to such comments from his companion. Taller than Obi-Wan (and not-so-secretly proud of it), the young apprentice stretched and tried to see over the heads of the tavern's denizens. On the far side of the room, he spied the familiar glass vats and tubing that were present wherever intoxicants were mixed. "Over there, Master, to the right," he pointed. "Looks like an LPU to me. Hanging from the ceiling."
Obi-Wan craned his neck to see. "Ah, yes. And that's where we'll find the bartender. Nice job, Anakin," he said. The two headed in that direction.
As Obi-Wan walked, he looked neither left nor right, intent on their goal. Anakin knew his master wanted nothing more than to discover the whereabouts of their missing smuggler and to get on his trail. His own goal was much the same. But Anakin was young, and good-looking, and he was in a nightclub. He couldn't help but take the opportunity to peek at the sights around him. He'd been in street-level Coruscant clubs that were much the same as this one. But in the galactic capital, even the most notorious taverns held some air of limitation. It was as if simply being located so close to the center of government and the Jedi Temple kept most people somewhat in line.
But this place was different. Anakin could sense an undercurrent of urgency and recklessness he'd never felt before, even on Tatooine. It was sort of….uncontrolled. And exciting.
Even his master seemed strange, here. Before they'd walked in the door, Obi-Wan had stopped, bent over and deliberately mussed his longish hair. "I'm trying to look disreputable," he'd said. Anakin had laughed. As if his uptight and by-the-book master could ever look anything but conservative.
As they walked, Anakin peeked at the women, too. They were just as beautiful as the glittering Coruscant socialites, but more licentious, somehow. Their clothes were more revealing. And their expressions more desperate, more abandoned. As the two handsome Jedi passed, the prostitutes and party girls ogled them with unabashed lasciviousness, and often gave them lewd and sometimes downright rude gestures.
Anakin was too worldly to be embarrassed, but it ill-suited a Jedi to encourage them. He tried his best to follow Obi-Wan's example and ignore them. They were on the trail of a Sith holocron, and had no time to gape at females.
***************
The two arrived to find, amazingly, three empty stools at the otherwise-thronged bar. Obi-Wan turned to raise his eyebrows at his padawan, then moved forward to sit. Anakin took the stool beside him.
Almost immediately, a large creature on the other side of the bar moved to intercept them. The being was at least two meters tall, beefy, and looked like a Malastarian mutant. He, or more accurately, it, wore stained white tunic and pants, in between from which protruded a considerable gut. It pounded the bar with a hairy brown fist and glared at the newcomers with its three beady eyestalks. "Those seats are taken," it growled over the noise.
Obi-Wan decided it must be the bartender. "Don't worry. We won't be here long. We're just looking for information."
"You and everyone else. Get out of here."
Obi-Wan was unruffled. "We have plenty of money," he said. He reached inside his tunic, slowly so as to not alarm the bartender further, and pulled out an unregistered-style credit chit in an outrageous denomination. He waved it under the creature's nose. "Can you help us?"
The bartender's demeanor changed instantly. He smiled and grabbed two glasses, cleaned them and filled them with clear green fluid, and set them gently on the bar in front of the two Jedi. "On the house, gentle sirs. Now what do you need to know?"
Obi-Wan deliberately set the chip on the bar in front of him, not too close, but not too far. The better the information, the more Obi-Wan would push the chit away. Standard information-bartering procedure in this corner of the galaxy. "I have a name, and that is all. I need to know what's become of this person," he said. "Glaz Jo'Tee."
"Aaaah!" shrieked the bartender. His eyestalks waved wildly about, and he raised shaking hands at the Jedi in a pleading gesture. "Don't ask me! I don't pay attention to that stuff. I don't deal with that type. I don't have no dealings with them at all," he repeated for emphasis.
Obi-Wan was unsurprised by the creature's panic. He sighed and laid a finger tantalizingly on the credit chit. "Can you tell me who does?"
"Ree! You'll have to talk to Ree. Ree's the only one in these parts who would know. I can't help you. Please understand. Please leave!"
Anakin, who'd watched the interplay with quiet bemusement until now, leaned forward menacingly. "We're not leaving until we find out what we need to know!" he yelled.
Obi-Wan shot a look of warning at his padawan. He turned back to the bartender and continued, calm but firm. "And Ree? Where can I find him?" he asked.
"Ree is a her, and she'll be here soon enough. Those are her seats," the bartender quavered. "I don't want nothing to do with this. Goodbye." With that, he scampered off to the other side of the bar, as far from the Jedi as he could get without leaving his post.
"Well, we can at least enjoy these drinks while we wait. I suppose we can even pay for them," Obi-Wan said dryly. He replaced the costly credit chit in his tunic, pulled out another of lower value and laid it on the far edge of the bar. "With a tip for leading us to this Ree."
"Well, that's supposing we can find her," Anakin mumbled.
"Find who? Are you looking for someone?" A sultry feminine voice spoke suddenly from behind the two Jedi. They turned to find a spectacular human woman standing there. She was tall, at least as tall as Obi-Wan, and wore crystalline spiked shoes that accentuated her height. She also wore the tightest, blackest leather outfit either of the two Jedi had ever seen on a living being. She grinned at them with red lips and slid into in the third chair, next to Obi-Wan. Her long ebony hair swung with her every movement. "I suppose if you're in my seats, then you're waiting for me."
"If you are Ree, then I suppose we are," Obi-Wan said. "We need information, and we've been told you can provide it. My name is Obi-Wan, and this is Anakin," he said as he gestured back at his gaping padawan.
"Jedi. Mmmm, I love Jedi. So…powerful," she murmured. "Don't act so surprised. You're not the first Jedi we've seen in these parts. But you're two of the best-looking."
"Yes. Well," Obi-Wan was almost at a loss for words. Money-hungry information brokers he could deal with easily. But he didn't have time for flirtation. Their mission was too important. "We're looking for someone. A name is all I have. If you can help us, we can pay you well. It's--"
The woman held up a slim-fingered hand, interrupting him. "Hold on, Jedi man. Drinks first. Then business."
Obi-Wan was losing his patience. And he normally had lots of patience. "We don't really have time for more drinks." He glanced over at Anakin, who took the hint and downed his glass of green liquid. "As you can see, we're almost done."
"Well, I need a drink. Then I'll decide whether or not I want to help you," the woman said. She then stood up and dragged her barstool to the space between the two Jedi, where she could appreciate them both equally. Anakin scooted to make room for her. She smirked at him in thanks, and continued. "You should drink, too. I like to watch Jedi drink."
"Very well," Obi-Wan sighed. He ran a hand through his mussed hair in exasperation. If Ree was the person to talk to, well, then, they'd just have to humor her. While she leaned over and flagged down the frightened bartender to procure more refreshment, Obi-Wan looked at his apprentice. He caught Anakin watching her backside with a grin on his young face. "Anakin, pay attention!" he scolded quietly. "We need to be brief."
"Of course, Master," Anakin said and turned his gaze demurely to his own boots.
Just then Ree pulled two drinks from the bar and handed them to her two Jedi. Obi-Wan did not recognize the cocktails. Various liquids filled the glasses in rainbow-hued layers. He looked to make sure that Anakin was being cautious, then took a sip from his own glass. There was no poison that he could detect. In fact, it was quite delicious.
"Good, isn't it?" Ree said as if reading his mind. Her dark eyes glittered. She reached out hands on either side of her and laid them on Obi-Wan's and Anakin's knees. "Nice boots. Hmmm, but I do love a Jedi."
Next to her, Anakin snickered.
"Thank you for your appreciation. And for the drinks," Obi-Wan said. He'd decided it was time to get down to business. "But we don't have time for pleasure. We need to find a person, and we need to find him now."
Ree leaned her back and elbows against the bar. The move deliberately showcased her impressive bosom. "You're welcome, handsome. And I've decided to help you, if I can. Who are you looking for?"
"Glaz Jo'Tee."
A slight widening of her eyes was all that betrayed her surprise. She blinked to cover it, grabbed her cocktail and downed it in one long gulp. "I know him," she said when she recovered. "And I know how to find him. You're lucky, Jedi. You've probably met the one person in this sector who can say that truthfully."
"Good, then we can discuss terms," Obi-Wan said quietly, but he felt a jolt of excitement run through him. If her information was good, then they were immeasurably closer to their goal of recovering and confiscating the Sith holocron, one of the deadliest objects in the galaxy. He started to pull out his credit chit. "I can pay you well, with more to come if the information is good."
"Oh, I do believe that you will pay me well," she said quietly. "But I've decided I don't want money. I want a Jedi in my bed. In fact, right now."
"What?" Obi-Wan and Anakin asked in simultaneous shock. Anakin gave a nervous half-laugh.
"You heard me," she said with calm conviction. She stared back and forth between them with unreadable eyes.
"We don't have time for this," Obi-Wan said with a hint of un-Jedi-like anger in his voice. He felt they were being toyed with. "It's ridiculous."
"No, it's not," she riposted. "I'm a woman of business. And I have plenty of money already. So I conduct business however I want."
"We don't have to listen to this any more, Anakin," Obi-Wan said. "She's lying." He stood up and looked at his apprentice, ready to leave. He clearly expected Anakin to get up as well.
But Anakin continued to sit. He looked at his master solemnly. "She's telling the truth, Master. Can't you tell? She does know where he is."
"Of course I do," Ree said. She held up a hand and studied her crimson fingernails. She knew she had the advantage.
Obi-Wan sat and hissed out a breath full of exasperation. "Why are you asking this?" he wanted to know.
She started to tick off the reasons on her fingers. "I like Jedi. I like you. I don't want money. I have what you need. And you can give me what I want." When she was finished, her palm with its outstretched fingers hung in the air between them. "It's not that horrible, you know," she added gently.
Anakin spoke up. "I'll do it."
"You will do no such thing, Anakin," said Obi-Wan firmly. But inside, his convictions weren't so clear. Of course what she asked was ridiculous. It was almost as if she saw the Jedi as prostitutes, and that was unacceptable. But having a Sith holocron on the loose, a holocron that it was possible to recover before it did any harm, was even more unacceptable. Despite the unsavoriness of the situation, did they really have the right to turn her down? She had a strong mind. They couldn't just force the information from her. And doing so would be an act even more corrupt than what she was asking.
Obi-Wan began to wonder if maybe he should just let Anakin have at her. The boy had been hormonally distracted enough lately to drive his master insane. Almost as soon as he had the frivolous thought, Obi-Wan felt guilty for having had it.
Ree had other ideas, anyway. "That's so sweet. And you really are very handsome. But I definitely want him." She pointed at Obi-Wan.
"Obi-Wan?" Anakin said with some incredulity. "Ha! Obi-Wan would never agree to that."
"Well, that's too bad, because it's him or nothing." Ree softened this statement with a fond smile and pat on the knee for Anakin.
Anakin sulked, looking slightly miffed and incredulous. Obi-Wan just stared at them both. He couldn't think of a thing to say.
Ree, sensing she had the upper hand, sat up and became all business. "Here's my exact terms. A couple of hours, no more. I have my own quarters here, at the Gambit. You do what I want—exactly what I ask to make me happy—while your friend waits here. I'll supply you with some food and drinks, darling," she grinned at Anakin. "Then I tell you where to find Glaz. And I can be very specific. I can give you a planet, a city. I can give you a street address. And I'll be pleased as anything to do it. Then you leave, and do whatever it is that you have to do."
Obi-Wan continued to stare at her numbly. He had no more arguments. It was a big, bad, galaxy out there, and he'd always known that. People had their own wants, and desires, and ways of obtaining them, and while Obi-Wan didn't always agree with those methods, he could do nothing to change them. But if he agreed to this, they could get their hands on a Sith holocron, an object of immeasurable danger and filled with innumerable deadly teachings, and get it back to the safety of the Temple. Where Yoda, and Mace Windu, and Jocasta Nu would stow it away forever.
And besides, it wasn't like he'd never done it. "Very well," he said with resignation.
Anakin gasped.
************************
"This is my room. Nice, isn't it?" Ree gestured Obi-Wan into her small, clean quarters, acting as if nothing untoward were happening. "Don't worry. I'm disease-free."
"You make it sound so clinical," Obi-Wan complained as he draped his outer robe over a chair.
"Oh, I don't plan on being clinical at all from this moment forward," she said as she lowered the lights to an appropriately seductive level. "My word, you are handsome. I always loved a man with a beard. So virile." She moved close to Obi-Wan and reached up a hand to rub his chin with light, gentle strokes.
"This? I thought it looked distinguished," Obi-Wan joked lightly, relaxing a little under her touch. She really was very attractive. He hoped she didn't ask him to do anything too outlandish. "Anakin tells me it makes me look old."
"Not at all. He's just a boy. He doesn't understand," she whispered. She leaned forward and replaced her fingers with her lips. Her hands she used to grip his shoulders to pull him closer. She nibbled softly at his chin, then moved her mouth upwards to breathe on his lips. "It's so soft," she said.
Obi-Wan sat his own hands on her hips, lightly grasping her leather-clad waist. "What do you want me to do?" he asked quietly, his words causing his lips to brush delicately against hers.
"Take off my clothes, please," she instructed. "And I'll take off yours. Let's see what we have here."
Fine
, thought Obi-Wan. Then we're that much closer to getting this over with. He was determined not to enjoy this too much. He moved his fingers to the zipper at her chest. Ree distracted him by leaning into him, pushing her soft flesh against his hands. She further distracted him by leaning over to nibble at his ear while at his sides, her skillful fingers began to unwrap his tunics."You Jedi wear too many clothes," she complained softly into his ear, sending shivers through his spine. Her quick hands had already unfastened his utility belt, which dropped to the carpet. He felt a loosening as she then reached around and untied the knot holding his underbelt, releasing the undertunics constricted beneath. "You're lagging behind," she chucked breathily.
Indeed he was. At this rate, he'd never get her clothes off. His fingers fumbled with the metal clip of her zipper, then yanked down. And down. Past her navel, down the inside of one thigh, down to her ankles. She kicked off her shoes and released her hold on his robes for a moment to throw her arms out. A couple of shakes, one lifted leg, nearly no help from Obi-Wan and Ree stood before him completely nude.
"I love that outfit," she giggled. "Easy on, easy off."
Obi-Wan stared for a moment in stunned fascination at the outfit pooled on the floor. He'd been so sure he was going to have to cut her out of the damn thing. "Impressive," he whistled. And looked up, and was even more impressed. She really was breathtaking. Her long limbs were toned, athletic. She posed confidently before him, like a warm statue, back straight and breasts thrust forward. He raised his eyes to her face. Her gaze was proud, unwavering. They held a challenge. She knew she was attractive, and dared him to please her.
After a moment she spoke. "My turn," she said with a grin.
Ree grasped his hips and then slid her hands up under his tunics, running cool fingers over his warm, lightly-haired skin. Obi-Wan lifted his arms, and she pulled the material up and over his head, exposing his muscled chest to her pleased gaze. "Nice," she commented. She then went to work on his trousers. A few pulls of the waist-string, and his pants slipped down to his knees. They were stopped by his boots. Ree didn't care. Her dark eyes snapped wide and her mouth dropped open in astonishment.
After a moment, it was her turn to raise her eyes to his. "Get the boots off," was all she said.
Slightly pink about the ears, Obi-Wan bent to do as he was told. In a few moments, he too stood there in all his naked glory.
"Oh, Obi-Wan," Ree sighed. "I've just decided that whatever you do is going to make me happy. Very happy. Have your way with me." With that, she launched herself into his arms, knocking him backwards onto the bed.
Obi-Wan landed surprised on his back with an armful of naked female. Ree peppered kisses all over his face. He grasped her head in his hands to hold her still, then began kissing her back. Her mouth opened above his for something more lingering. Her breath was sweet. Obi-Wan began to feel the familiar stirrings of desire creep throughout his body.
He rolled over so that he lay above her, and began the time-honored task of exploring her body. He trailed his lips down her chin to her neck, then her shoulder, tasting her soft skin. She sighed in contentment beneath him, and wrapped her arms around his muscled back. They were pressed so close together he could hardly reach any of her. He made do, slipping his hands down her sides, thumbs lightly brushing against her breasts, and her belly, as they made their way down. He slipped one palm beneath her buttocks, then down along the back of her thigh.
Another moment of careful maneuvering and his hand found her center, soft and inviting. She was ready. And, he was unsurprised to find, so was he. She moaned and lifted her long legs, wrapping them around his bottom, trapping him above her. He lifted himself, held down by her weight, and teased her wetness with his shaft.
"Oh, please, just do it!" she wailed.
This is going to be quick
, he thought as he jerked his hips forward, plunging himself into her. He was immediately enveloped in softness, and a small cry escaped his throat. How had he forgotten this feeling? He wondered. Sometimes the galaxy conspired to make him forget the simple pleasures in life.But once the act of love had been experienced, one never forgot how to do it. He grabbed her hands in his and held her down, propping himself up. He began to move inside her, slowly at first, then faster and more urgently as desire filled his muscles, driving him inexorably onwards. It felt wonderful.
She obviously thought so, too. She made no demands, and asked no questions, but simply cried out at each thrust, moving her hips with his.
After what seemed like an eternity, Obi-Wan began to feel the familiar sweet lethargy steal over him. Gravity filled his body, radiated from his belly, and threatened to immobilize him. He quickened his pace. She howled beneath him suddenly, tightening her nails into the skin of his shoulders, as she found her own climax. Soon, too soon, not soon enough, he felt a jolt of what could only be described as sweet pain, and his muscles were released.
They lay there for a moment, panting, sweat from their bodies mingling between them. Finally, after a few labored breaths, she spoke.
"Wow," she said. "I'm pleased. Very pleased. But I still have over a hour to go."
Somehow they managed to fill it.
******************
Later, Ree sat on the bed and watched with disappointment as Obi-Wan dressed. His hair was still adorably mussed. He had the beginnings of dark circles under his blue eyes. She sighed in contentment. Her Jedi had been all that she'd hoped for. But this was a business transaction, after all. And he still needed to be paid.
She leaned back against the wall and hugged her still-bare knees to her chest. "Coruscant," she began. "He's on Coruscant."
"What?" Obi-Wan turned in the act of fastening his belt and looked at her in shock. "That can't be. We would have sensed the power--" He caught himself just in time, before saying too much.
"Nope. That's where he is. He's holed up on Coruscant. Right under the noses of the Jedi Council." She sighed. She was glad they were after Glaz. She just wished she'd be there to see it when the Jedi arrived. "Sector twenty-eight, Vondurim Avenue, 'B' building, seventeenth floor."
"Thank you," Obi-Wan said quietly. "How do you know all this, if I may ask?"
"Trade secret!" she teased him with a gleam in her eye. Then she dropped her gaze to her bare feet on the coverlet and said simply, "Ex-husband."
"Ah," murmured Obi-Wan. He gathered his robe and moved to the door, walking out of her life.
"Hey," she said, trying to prolong the moment. Anything to keep him from leaving that instant. Her eyes raised to his with a small pleading she hadn't known she'd possessed. "I don't love you, you know. But if you were ever out this way again, I'd love to see you."
"You never know what will happen. Thank you for the information."
And he was gone.