Thanks to Lakhri's intervention, the remaining four days of travel to Larivan were far less classwork-intensive for Raven. Eeth had devised a schedule that meant her class work was broken up into three two-hour allotments, with activities, workouts and respites scattered between to break up the monotony. It worked wonders! Eeth and Lakhri had also taken it in turns to spend some of her classwork sessions helping her out. Lakhri was particularly good at matching exciting stories of past missions to the facts she was learning, and Eeth excelled at astrophysics – so much so that at one stage, Raven suggested he quit the Council and take over from her boring Temple teacher.
Eeth and Lakhri had been correct about the protocol droid, too. 5JPL was a bottomless pit of information that Raven took advantage of. She had him teaching her basic phrases in Larn, the native language of Larivan, which she did quite well in.
Eeth continued to indulge her by participating in ONE game each night. Thus, the padawan had practically rolled with laughter as her patient master peddled giant bubble choppers through obstacle courses, drove tanks through minefields, obliterated herself and Lakhri in ways the girl hadn't known possible playing the hand-to-hand combat game, and swam through sando-infested waters on Naboo.
All in all, by the time they were due to exit hyperspace on the final day, Raven had truly enjoyed her time on the cruiser and felt a little more confident in her ability to succeed in the mission ahead.
"Guess what! I've finished all of my assignments, PLUS, the extra one from 5JPL on Larn," she announced happily as she wandered in to find Eeth and Lakhri were pulling them from hyperspace.
Eeth gave her a rare broad smile as he turned briefly from the controls.
"Yes, padawan, and I am very pleased with the work you did. Five days of hard work without a single complaint are more than I could have expected from you. Once we are back on Coruscant, I will grant you a free day on which you can choose what to do."
"A whole free day! Are you serious?" she asked rhetorically, because Eeth never made empty statements. She was busy thinking up a dream day at Tree World while their ship jolted in a way that signified they had exited hyperspace.
Eeth merely gave her a pointed look at that superfluous question and turned back to the controls. He told Lakhri, "I will ask for clearance from Larivan's main space port in Lossola. That is where Raven and I are going to start our work. Any other landing site would look odd when you are supposed to arrive in an official function. Raven and I will shed our Jedi attire and pose as your pilots. Nobody will care about those."
When he had received clearance, he let Lakhri do the navigation and told Raven to get dressed in civilian clothes.
"Alright, master," Raven replied and went to do as told.
She was able to dress quite quickly – Eeth had made sure that all of this was organised well before this point, after all – and emerged shortly after. Raven was clad in a tan pair of cargo pants and a cream-coloured singlet with a white overshirt that she left unbuttoned and open at the front. She was ready!
"One Republican trader's apprentice, reporting for duty," she said, her lightsaber still in her hand as that was proving difficult to disguise.
Eeth handed Raven a leather bag identical to one he had attached to his own belt.
"Attach this to your utility belt and pull it over your lightsaber," he advised her. "It will look like a nondescript bag that might contain money or tools. Besides, few people on Larivan will ever have seen a lightsaber. We will be dressed in raincoats most of the time anyway."
He led her back to the cockpit and pointed to the front window which showed nothing but the thick grey clouds they were just crossing.
"Are you ready, 'official Jedi guy'?" Raven teased Lakhri as they pierced the cloud layer.
Lakhri grimaced. "Not really, but that hardly matters, does it?" he said. He switched seats with Eeth, who landed the ship on Lossola's main space port a few minutes later in pouring rain. Lakhri donned his rainproof attire, grabbed his bag and hit the button to open the hatch.
"We will stay here and leave inconspicuously a little while later," Eeth said in a low voice. "We will stay in touch, Lakhri. Keep us informed on everything you hear."
"Sure," Lakhri said, giving both of them a brief smile. "See you soon."
At this point, the ramp had opened sufficiently for outsiders to look in, and Eeth pulled Raven back into a side corridor while Lakhri took on an official demeanour.
He strode forward and was welcomed by a small delegation of administrators. As they took him across the field towards the exit, they did not seem to mind the pouring rain at all, much in contrast to Lakhri.
"He makes a pretty good official Jedi guy if you ask me," Raven said quietly to Eeth. She desperately wanted to watch what was going on, but guessed that it might look strange if some weird kid was gawking out at them.
"He is very competent," Eeth said matter-of-factly. "I know he will do his job well."
He pulled up the ramp and took Raven to the cockpit where he set the controls for a password-protected locking mechanism and made Raven remember the password. He gave 5JPL instructions for the time of their absence and then asked Raven to fetch her bag and join him at a smaller service ramp at the back of the ship. In the meanwhile, he got dressed in his civilian clothes. He tied his long hair into a knot at the back of his head and covered it with a large rainproof hat, which altered his appearance quite drastically.
Raven did as bade. When Eeth joined her at the service ramp, the padawan did a double take. This was what Eeth would look like if he were human like her, meaning, without his head of horns. She said nothing, or at least she tried to look as if his appearance had not given her cause to stare.
"We will take a shuttle to the commercial district of Lossola and ask the driver for a cheap hotel," Eeth told Raven, ignoring the look of surprise that he had noticed on her face. "Our main work will begin tomorrow. Ready to face the rain?"
"Yes, master. Ready," Raven replied, twisting her hair in a similar fashion to Eeth's and covering it with a backwards facing cap. She had, of course, removed her braid at Eeth's request earlier, as they were posing as a Republican trader and his apprentice.
Eeth nodded and opened the ramp. "Then come." He stepped forward into the rain that was coming down in sheets.
Nodding, Raven flipped the rain hood up and followed him out the back of their ship onto the tarmac. The good thing about the rain, Raven noted, was that almost everyone was wearing large rain jackets with hoods, so it was very easy to blend in as they made their way to the shuttle platform.
The parts of Lossola that they saw from the speeder was everything you would expect from the commercial area of a city, that is: built up, busy and, in true Larivan style, muggy and wet! Their driver was full of useful information, not that Raven risked asking any questions just yet. In fact, she remained pretty much silent since leaving their shuttle, having decided to observe her master for a while first.
It did not take long to reach the commercial district. The driver dropped them at the top end of a street full of dodgy-looking accommodations.
"Well, Eeth has requested cheap, and this is most definitely cheap!" thought Raven, following her master to the covered sidewalk and flipping back her hood to blend in with those walking by. Making sure to keep close as they moved along the street, the padawan kept an eye out for something that looked like it might work for them. She stopped mid-stride upon spotting a standard block of rooms on the opposite side.
"What about there?" Raven suggested, nodding towards the adjacent building. It was the only structure they'd passed so far that had an undercover rooftop area that would give them what passed as a 'clear' view here, of their surroundings. She did not know if this would be a factor of importance or not, but decided it was time to attempt adding some input to their journey, lest Eeth assume she was mindlessly following him and not paying attention.
Eeth had noticed the building and thought it looked suitable. He nodded.
"We will continue to the end of the street," he said. "If we do not find anything better, we will ask for a room there."
"Alright," Raven agreed. She was feeling uncomfortable and was keen to wring out her socks at the first available opportunity.
Eeth, too, was already soaked through, despite his waterproof coat. The moisture seemed to permeate everything. The natives did not seem to mind, but he did, much as he did not let it show.
A young man suddenly appeared at Raven's side and grinned at her. "New to the city, miss?" he asked. "Need a guide?" He completely ignored the severe look that Eeth gave him.
Raven sensed the slight shift in Eeth's Force presence before she noticed the look on his face, or the young man who had appeared at her side.
"A guide? Hmm, sure, that might come in handy. Would you give me your details so I can contact you when we are settled in?" she suggested politely, accepting what she suspected was this man's version of a business card and slipping it into her pocket.
"Should you ever be able to give your dad the slip," the young man said, winking at Raven, "come and find me in the Golden Gundark. The best pub in town. Over there. Oh, and one word of free advice: Get yourselves a few sets of RainTeX. They don't soak up water like other textiles do. Everyone wears them around here. Have a nice day!" He flashed her a quick grin, pointed at a shop window and disappeared in the crowd.
"Advice is always free," Raven thought, but what had her attention was the fact that this man thought her old enough to visit pubs unchaperoned! Raven hid all of this well. She simply inclined her head politely and looked at the shop the man had indicated. The clothes it sold seemed to be made of a silk-like material, and looking around, she noticed that practically everybody was wearing them.
Eeth quickly weighed the benefits of clothing that stayed dry against the benefits of being recognisable as "foreign traders". Dry clothes far outweighed the latter option. Besides, any foreign trader who was not completely masochistic would not want to walk around the place soaking wet, he reasoned.
A quarter of an hour later, they checked in at the hostel that Raven had pointed out, laden with their own luggage and several bags of RainTeX clothing, including water-repellent socks and underwear.
"Not my favorite kind of weather," said Eeth, entering their dingy room and dropping his bags. "Well, at least the rain is not cold."
He grabbed a towel and started drying off his hair.
"Eww! I, umm, wouldn't actually risk sitting on that toilet if I were you... " Raven advised, casting a disapproving glance around. At least they appeared to have clean sheets on their beds which was all she could hope for given the price they paid. Claiming the single bed by their only window, she threw her bag onto a chair and sat on the floor, keen to get rid of her boots and squelchy socks.
A few minutes later, Raven pulled the card from her discarded pants pocket and eyed it curiously. "Do you think it would be worth checking this out? He seemed to be helpful and maybe, if asked the right questions, he might know something about the royal family?" she purposed, holding the man's business card between two fingers, keen to check out the pub in any case.
Eeth shrugged. "I would guess he was more interested in a kiss than in anything else," Eeth commented drily. "And before you ask: Do not even think about it."
"Really, a kiss? I didn't think he was your type," she chuckled. Raven was just reaching the stage where earning the attention of a boy was no longer totally mortifying, and she approached the whole thing with mild curiosity as opposed to utter horror and disgust.
"Very funny," Eeth answered stiffly, for reasons that he was not going to tell Raven about. "Let us head for a tavern and eat something."
As they found out when they had dinner in a cheap and reasonably clean tavern, the whereabouts of the royal family were the talk of the city, and NOT asking questions about it would have been more suspicious than anything else. Which was extremely convenient, of course. Most of what was talked about was clearly in the realm of speculation and unfounded gossip, but Eeth committed it to his memory nevertheless.
Raven was also relieved to hear everyone talking about the disappearance of the royal family, and tried hard to remember the details, but there were just so many unanswered questions. No one seemed to have a clue, yet everyone had a theory: taken into the tribal areas and left for dead, headhunted by antiroyalists, flown off-planet, and someone was even suggesting they were still in the city, but just heavily disguised and given new identities.
"Perhaps we should take a look around, you know, separate?" Raven suggested, pushing her plate aside for the moment; she was eager to get moving and wanted it to all happen right now.
"Tomorrow," Eeth replied. "We still have several hours of light left… or what counts as light around here," he added, gesturing towards the uniform grey outside. "We will explore the city and become familiar with public transport and other services tonight. When I am convinced that you will find your way back to our hostel without difficulties, we may split up."
"Yes, master," Raven replied. The idea of splitting up was utterly thrilling for the Temple-raised padawan, it really was!
Half an hour later, the two began exploring the streets and mentally plotting out locations of public shuttle stops and the like. Raven had grabbed a couple of street maps and noted that the layout of this section resembled a large grid, surrounded by two ring roads.
"Where are we meeting our first contact?" she asked as they wandered back towards their hostel.
"I would like to start with the head of the merchants' guild", Eeth replied. "They have been very active in ending the civil war and promoting membership in the Republic, as they are hoping for an upswing in trade. The merchants are a less important force than the heads of the seafaring corporations who have ownership of the valuable mineral deposits in the deep sea, but they are close by. Most of our contacts in this city are merchants; the rest are officials, and Lakhri will deal with those."
That sounded logical to Raven.
"Gee, no wonder Lakrhi was so 'eager' to take on the official Jedi guy role," Raven observed upon getting a better idea of the stuff he would actually be enduring. Suddenly she felt a twinge of guilt for having teased him, especially given the man was constantly offering his help with all the boring stuff she had to put up with.
"The head of the merchant's guild? That would beeeeeee," Raven squinted her eyes shut tightly and tried to recall the information. "Therkain Dartan," she said, snapping her fingers and rummaged around in her pocket for the notes she had prepared with 5JPL's help. "She has listed two contact addresses. One quite close to our hostel here in Lossola, and another is in the outskirts. It's still technically Lossola but it's right on the border." Raven was trying to be helpful, but the reality was that Eeth probably knew everything she was telling him.
"The one near our hostel is her office," Eeth replied. "The other address is her home address, and as we do not know her at all, we will not intrude on her privacy unless it is urgent. We will present ourselves to her office tomorrow morning. What we can do now is roam a few pubs that are popular with weapons merchants. Those are usually royalists, as the royal family was quite strongly involved both in the civil war and the weapons trade."
He pointed at a neon-lit establishment at the opposite side of the street. "This one, for example," he said, the expression on his face making quite clear that hanging out in pubs was not his favorite pastime.
Nodding an understanding, Raven followed his gaze to the neon sign opposite and eyed it enthusiastically. This might not be Eeth's favourite pastime, but for his young apprentice, it was a first and she was barely hiding her excitement.
"Do you think they'll let me in?" she asked as they crossed the road together and entered the establishment. On Coruscant, the age restriction for such premises was eighteen, yet she knew that planets had different laws.
"The Outer Rim planets rarely have age restrictions," said Eeth. "You will not have alcohol, though."
Raven nodded, committing that bit of information to memory. She scanned the people here, hoping to find a group of working-class types who had brought their kids along for a meal or something, but was unable to spot anyone who didn't look, well, old … which to a twelve-year-old included anyone over eighteen.
"It might still be a little early for the merchants and their apprentices to come in," Eeth said. "The shops have not closed yet, and when they have, they need to clean up. We can order a drink at the bar and see who is here and what they are talking about."
They soon found out that at this time of the evening, it was mostly shop employees and shoppers who were having a late dinner or a drink before turning in. They talked to a few people about the goings-on in the Republic and on the Outer Rim, but heard nothing of importance. Eeth was right, however; the place soon started to fill up with people of all ages from about fourteen to eighty.
Apart from the occasional comment here and there, Raven remained relatively quiet during their conversations. However, she was keeping an eye out for anyone eavesdropping as she figured they might be a good place to start.
About half an hour into their next conversation, Raven noticed a man and two teenagers sitting by themselves. None of them were talking much, but they all seemed to be discreetly focusing on something. Following their gaze, the padawan zeroed in on a conversation between two unremarkable-looking men, but the place was far too noisy to make out actual words. It was not difficult to slide from her chair unnoticed; the people Eeth were currently engaging had barely noticed she was there to begin with, so if she did not ask to be excused, she doubted they would even notice. Eeth, on the other hand, would most certainly notice. So, the moment she had found an inconspicuous place to listen in on the men, she met his eye briefly.
Eeth returned Raven's look and gave her a slight nod. As long as she did not leave the premises or started a pub fight, he welcomed her initiative.
Starting a pub brawl was, of course, the last thing Raven intended to do, but if anyone asked, she would say Eeth had his reasons for being cautious when it came to some of her more inventive ways of thinking…
"I'm telling you, that's what I heard him say: 'It's all being taken care of' and that 'no one in their right mind would suspect a bunch of toffee-nosed prats to shack up in a joint like this,' the blonde man explained.
"Look, I believe you, but I ain't the one you have to convince. If you think you know something worth saying, you should go speak to that Jedi making a pain of himself at the palace," his friend replied.
Raven had only caught the very end of their conversation, and for all she knew it was probably just more theories, but she decided to hang around just in case they said any more.
While Eeth had an eye on Raven, he was having quite a constructive conversation with a couple of merchants who seemed to be concerned that their opportunities for illegal trade would diminish drastically when the planet became a member of the Republic. Being something of an authority on illegal trade, even though his job usually was to prevent it, Eeth could ease their worries. This quickly gained their trust, and steering the conversation to the ubiquitous topic of the royal family's whereabouts was easy.
"Someone took out all the palace guards right before they disappeared," a middle-aged woman with a catlike face said. "They couldn't have done that with legal weapons. I'd bet my ass the arms smugglers are behind it."
"Yeah," her companion, a red-nosed chubby man, agreed. "And it's quite suspicious that most of the traffic to the Eastern islands seems to have been suddenly cancelled. Just where the arms dealers used to have their stores."
"Don't be ridiculous," a young man, obviously the woman's apprentice, interjected. "Can you imagine that stuck-up lot hiding on one of those rocks in the sea?"
"Not really," the man admitted. "But wherever they are, they must be well-hidden."
At that moment, the traders' meals arrived and they switched the topic of conversation, starting to talk about the day's affairs. Eeth said goodbye to them and stepped up behind Raven.
"Ready to leave?" he asked casually.
"Definitely," Raven replied, since she couldn't bear another second of the men and their fishing stories. The way they caught and killed sounded barbaric to her, yet, she ate fish herself. This caused a moment of confusion that led to an even longer moment of introspection. Eventually, she settled on saying, once they were well out of hearing range, "Please, never make me go fishing. It sounds abhorrently cruel and, if nothing else, I may just throw myself overboard from the boredom.".
"Well, if people keep talking about the Eastern islands, some fishing might be in your very near future," Eeth replied wryly. "Did you hear anything useful?"
"I did," she replied, then quietly summed up all that she had overheard, including her twenty-minute introduction into the horror that was commercial fishing.
"It seems like everyone has something to say or a theory on what happened, so how are we supposed to choose what is worth following up, and what is a dead end?" she stated more than asked, an edge of irritation creeping into her tone as she scuffed at the pavement with the toe of her boot. Raven was impatient; she wanted to get a lead right away, even though logically she knew that was probably not going to happen.
"We will wait and gather more information," Eeth replied calmly while leading her back to the hotel. "Give it a few days, and it will become much clearer what might be a clue and what is worthless gossip. Lakhri might also find out things. We will almost certainly be able to narrow down the options in the course of the next few days. If we are lucky, we will identify the definite or probable location of the royal family, but even if we do not, we will certainly hear about a number of places that will be worth investigating. The Eastern islands seem to be such a place. One of us ought to find out more about the cancellation of traffic to these islands, which was mentioned by one of the people I talked to. If that is true, it is quite suspicious. Be sure to ask about it if you meet someone who seems to know the place. Just tell them you are interested in 'certain kinds of trade', and people will understand."
"I will," agreed Raven, feeling very important at being included so much on this mission, but trying hard not to show it.
When they returned to their hostel, Raven sat on her bed while Eeth contacted Lakhri.
Lakhri told them the same thing they had gathered from their investigations: a lot of rumours, little solid information.
"The most likely theories I have heard involve the rainforest highlands to the north and the Eastern islands," he said.
"I agree," Eeth replied. " Someone told me that traffic to the Eastern islands was interrupted. See if you can find out anything about that, but be discreet."
"Of course I will," Lakhri said, amused. "I am not a novice, Eeth. Anyway, we'll talk again tomorrow. Good night!"
"Good night," said Eeth. He terminated the connection, turned to Raven and said, "And now, we will both get some sleep. We will stay in the city one or two more days. If this does not provide conclusive information, we will move on."
"But," Raven said, holding up a finger to stave off his idea of sleeping. "If Lakhri says the most likely theories point to the Eastern islands, why would we bother sticking around to collect more information?"
"Because he did not say that," Eeth replied firmly. "He said the rainforest regions OR the islands seem to be the most likely places at present. These are two options already, and we have not been here long enough to exclude other places. Besides, these places are hard to reach and it would be rather suspicious for us to go there, so we will only do that when we know there is a reasonable chance that we are going to find something there, preferably the royal family. Patience, padawan. A few days of investigation will not hurt."
Raven flopped back on to her bed and stared up at a moldy ceiling.
"I guess looking around some more won't be so bad. It's not like the royal family want to leave anyway. I wonder if they really are as pompous as people make out," she mused, thinking how curious it would be to watch them interact with her luxury-hating, no-nonsense master, not to mention, Lakhri.
"You should not be prejudiced," Eeth replied mildly while changing into a set of pajamas. "I concede that it is likely there was a reason why people here voted against monarchy. The members of the royal family are not going to be all alike, though. They include children and youths. It is likely that you will get to interact with them quite a bit when we find them." Failure to find them was not on his agenda!
Raven nodded and pushed up so that she was seated on her bed, cross-legged. She watched him get ready for bed, but felt far from ready herself.
"Can I go and check out the city from the roof?" she asked, rotating a map she had taken from her upended pack to find north.
Eeth pondered her request for a moment. He had procured this mission so Raven could gain some experience; it would hardly do to keep hovering over her. Thus, he nodded.
"Alright, but only for five minutes," he said. "We still need to perform our evening meditation. There might not always be an opportunity for it, but as long as there is, we will use it."
Surprised that Eeth was going to allow it, Raven wasn't about to waste a single second of those five minutes and she sprang to her feet, taking off out the door in a flash.
As it turned out, five minutes wasn't very long at all. She had just managed to locate their position and map out a basic course for an independent search when she spotted the two men she had been eavesdropping on that evening and ducked down to listen as they walked beneath.
"Look, if that little Jedi guy scares you, just go and confront Dartan yourself. If she denies it, go to the Jedi, simple," one said to the other before heading into the Golden Gundark. Raven did not know what to make of that, but given the amount of garbage they had been hearing, she doubted it would be anything of significance and took off down the stairs to their room.
Throwing open the door, Raven practically sprang inside, eager to share what she had overheard. Unfortunately for the excited padawan, Eeth was already kneeling and meditating, and so she tried to curb her enthusiasm and joined him.
When the two linked, Eeth immediately sensed that Raven had something to tell him.
"What is it, padawan?" he asked quietly.
"I saw those men from the pub again. They were talking about being scared of 'a little Jedi guy' and confronting Dartan," she answered, surprisingly managing to keep her eyes closed and concentration on their link. Raven conveyed their entire conversation verbatim as she had overheard it, then shot him the mental equivalent of a shrug. "Maybe it is nothing, but it was kinda amusing to hear them refer to Lakhri as 'that little Jedi guy'," she said, unable to keep the grin from her face. "Apparently, he's doing a good job of being conspicuous."
"Dartan?" Eeth asked in surprise, entirely omitting the part about 'the little Jedi guy' because, having been Lakhri's master, he was very much used to comments of this kind. He interrupted the meditation for the moment.
"Dartan," he repeated slowly. "Thatis interesting. I would have thought she had an interest in getting rid of the royal family. It is hard to say what that remark pointed to, but it must have something to do with Lakhri's presence, and thus, with the royal family. So Dartan must know something unless these men are deluded."
He pondered this for a moment longer. "Well, we are going to see Dartan tomorrow anyway," he said. "And I suppose Lakhri will speak to her as well. Bearing in mind that we think she might know something, we will be as persistent as we can be without blowing our cover. I will also send Lakhri a message. Thank you, padawan. That might be a valuable lead."
Despite trying to accept his praise with humility, Raven couldn't stop the small smile that crept forth at receiving it.
That evening Raven fell asleep easily, despite her excitement! … That was until about four in the morning, when she woke to the sounds of shouting right below her window.
Apparently, someone was angry at someone else for allowing another person to drive his girlfriend home without his knowledge. Raven scrubbed at her eyes, got up on her knees and slid the window open just wide enough to stick her head out. There was a small group of humanoids below; all appeared to be intoxicated and having trouble standing without holding onto posts. One of the bigger men was still swilling something from what looked like a wine bottle, while the others continued to argue over the missing girlfriend. Snickering, she entertained the idea of dropping some sort of projectile onto the drunken mob, but unfortunately had nothing she was willing to lose on their account.
"Padawan, go back to bed," Eeth murmured from his bed. It was far too early to get up, and they had a long day ahead. There was no point in losing sleep when they did not have to.
Raven jumped at Eeth's voice, cracking her head on the window frame.
"Ow!" she complained, shooting him an irritated expression before shutting the window and lying back down.
Eeth was, of course, completely oblivious of the irritated expression since he had his eyes closed.
"Be mindful of your surroundings, padawan," he said quietly. "Judging from your usual reaction when I wake you, I would expect you to be happy about any opportunity for getting to sleep in. There will be no point in starting our work early. Nobody will want to speak to us before ten or so. So try to get some more sleep."
"Be mindful of your surroundings. Get some more sleep," she quietly mocked, rubbing at the back of her head. How anyone could sleep with all the racket she did not know, but it wasn't like there were many options.
"Do not be insolent," Eeth said sternly, opening his eyes for a moment. He saw Raven rubbing her head and, with an internal sigh, rose from his bed to rest his hand briefly on her hair, taking away the thump with a surge of healing energy. Then he reached out through the Force to the drunkards below, making them feel a sudden urge to go home and sleep. Drunkards were easy, as they did not have much of a free will; he did not even need to establish eye contact. "Now sleep," he ordered firmly.
Grateful for the unexpected loss of pounding in her head, and humoured by the sudden deathly silence from those below, Raven put the pieces together and smirked. Eeth must have cleared them out somehow.
"Yes, master," Raven replied through a sigh. Sleep was boring. Besides, she was awake now and wanted to go have some breakfast, but had a feeling that stating as much would not go over well with Eeth. Resigned to the inevitable, Raven closed her eyes and decided to attempt going back to sleep.
This was a wise decision, and since it was really very, very early, both master and padawan fell asleep again soon.
Eeth woke Raven at eight. That was more than sufficient for a shower, some meditation and breakfast in one of the taverns next door. As he wanted her to be well-rested, he had decided against waking her at six, as usual, even though he had already been awake for quite a while. He had spent the time leaning against the headboard of his bed, meditating.
"Come on, padawan," he said crisply. "Time to get up."
Being allowed to sleep until eight o'clock was truly a luxury for the pre-teen padawan, so when Eeth woke her, she rolled over, stretched out and smiled widely.
"Now this is more like it," she said, rubbing at her eyes and straightening up the bed as she left it.
Raven took her time with the usual morning rituals, appearing from their bathroom fully dressed, hair combed and teeth brushed. "That bathroom is totally gross. Just saying."
"Yes, this mission does not rank high on the luxury scale," Eeth agreed drily. "But luxury mostly means less action, so you will have to stick with gross bathrooms if you want to have interesting missions."
He disappeared into the bathroom himself for a while. When he re-emerged, he sat on the bed with Raven to perform their morning meditation.
Finally, they headed for breakfast. "I do not mind where we go," Eeth said. "You may pick a place. The food tends to be a bit bland around here. This planet has a lot of water and hardly any sun; some vegetables like this climate but it is too wet for most fruit and grains. Larivanians are great on fish, however."
"Me pick?" Raven snorted. "You're either feeling particularly brave, or suicidal!" Still, the padawan took a moment to look at all their options. She still wasn't sure what to make of the whole commercial fishing versus fish-eating dichotomy, and for a moment, she contemplated asking Eeth what he thought. Sure, he wasn't a vegetarian himself, but neither was he cruel-hearted. Mid-thought, Raven spotted a place that sold what looked a bit like porridge.
"Let's try this. The number of condiments and bowls of stuff to add to it makes me think that it could taste a bit better than it looks." She took them to an undercover area, littered with small tables and stools. There was a large buffet-style servery in the middle that held small pots of salted eggs, pickled tofu, different types of vegetables, meats, spices and cheeses.
"Alright," said Eeth with a nod and they entered the small eatery. He chose a table at the window, near a few merchants who were having breakfast before they opened their shops and a group of youngsters who looked as if they were skipping school. Greeting the other guests and receiving greetings in return, he grabbed a tray and started ladling porridge into a bowl.
Following suit, Raven noted the 'all you can eat' sign and was pleased that she would be able to come back and try something else if what she chose was terrible. Besides, the girl was hungry. Serving herself half a ladle of porridge, she scooped up an egg, a bit of each vegetable and some pieces of cheese with spices.
"I wonder what Lakhri is doing. I bet he would love this place with the all you can eat buffet," Raven observed and took a mouthful. Okay, so it wasn't at all bad!
"Oh, I daresay the food he is served at the palace will be pleasant enough," Eeth replied and tried a piece of smoked fish which tasted very fresh. Presumably, it was from the nearby sweetwater lakes; the coast was much further away.
Raven smiled at hearing this, knowing that being served good food would probably help to offset the horror of having to deal with officials in Lakhri's books. She glanced at Eeth's piece of fish. Usually, the padawan would have served herself similar and not thought anything of it. As it was, however, she wasn't so sure if actually eating fish was ethical after what she had overheard about the way they were caught and killed.
The nearby group of youngsters was very rowdy, except for one boy, who was glancing at Raven quite frequently. "It looks as if someone is interested in you," Eeth remarked neutrally.
Eeth's comment pulled Raven from her introspection and back to focus on the moment. She shot the boy in question a quick sideways glance, offering him an unintentionally coy smile before turning back to her food.
"What is it with the boys on this planet anyway?" Raven asked. Sure, at the Temple, boys had shown interest in her before, she was considered quite pretty to boys her age, but then, at the Temple they did not tend to stare. Unsure of what to do or how to act, Raven discreetly pulled the hood of her jacket up to cover her head, her cheeks colouring pink just beneath her eyes.
The edges of Eeth's mouth pulled up in amusement. Naturally, Raven would be used to boys at the Temple, who did not walk around looking for partners – or at least they were raised to pretend they were not, if Eeth was honest about it. It was different in the real world. Especially in the outlying colonies, people often courted very early. Besides, on planets like Larivan, outsiders, especially from Coruscant, would be considered intriguing. It was only natural that Raven would attract a certain amount of attention.
"Padawan, if people show an interest in you, it might not be a bad idea to talk to them," he said. "They might be willing to say more to a young girl they fancy than they would otherwise. But I will leave that decision to you; I understand if it makes you uncomfortable. However," he added sternly, "whatever you do: You are too young for kissing, let alone anything more than that. Are we clear on that?"
"Right, too young for kissing. Got it," Raven reiterated, her blush beginning to lessen now. Raven wasn't shy, per se, but neither was she interested in boys, at least not yet. Sure, some boys were cute, and she had even had a bit of a crush on her zoology teacher, Granzien, but that was where it ended for her.
"I was planning on talking to groups of people my age when you let me go off alone," she assured him. It left her wondering, though… Why was it that each time she felt she was resisting the urge to be reckless, it turned out to be a lost opportunity, and then, when it felt like the right thing to do, she ended up getting her ass nailed to the wall by the entire Jedi Council, among others?
Half an hour later, Raven had eaten her fill and even managed to procure her master a pot of tea, which they shared before leaving.
"Therkain Dartan's office is only a few blocks from here," she pointed out, tapping the spot on their map.
"I know," Eeth said. "Would you like to join me when I see her or would you rather head off on your own and see what you can find out?"
Despite busting to get out and explore on her own, and she really was!, Raven kept her answer diplomatic.
"I guess I'll go where I can be of the most use. Will I be any use to you?" she asked because, well, Raven was trying to put her duty before her personal wishes, as Eeth so often told her to do.
"In all honesty, my meeting with N'kayan Dartan will probably go easier if I do not have to explain your presence," Eeth replied, using the local title for a head of a guild. "And you will probably not be able to do anything but sit and listen. So, if you feel confident enough to do so, please head off on your own. You may always contact me on my comm if you need help, or, even better, contact me through our bond. If this does not happen, meet me back here at six pm."
He unfastened a small bag from his belt and handed it to her. "Here are some credits," he said, "in case you need to buy food or drinks or need to make a minor purchase in order to appear credible. It should be enough for those purposes."
Raven was elated, and despite her best efforts to remain stoic, it would have been obvious to Eeth that she had really, rheeally wanted him to say that! So much so that she had only taken in half of what he had actually said.
"Yes, yes, I'll be fine, I swear it!" Raven pulled out her map to reassure him. "I already mapped out some places to check out last night, so I won't get lost," she assured him. Truth be told, she still had the fifteen credits she'd won from the guys in She'ams class, although she wasn't keen on explaining how she had come across those to begin with, so she kept quiet.
She turned to leave, only to turn back again. "What time and where do you want to meet again?" she asked, somewhat sheepishly.
Eeth frowned. Had they not been standing on an increasingly busy sidewalk, he might have pulled out his paddle and provided his padawan with a few reminders to pay attention when he was speaking.
"What about the words 'meet me back here at six pm' have you not understood?" he asked severely. "Shall I give it to you in writing? When I talk to you, I expect you to listen. There is no excuse for being this inattentive during a mission. Do not let it happen again." His voice carried a clear note of 'or else'.
Okay, so Raven had expected that and she ducked her head.
"Yes, master, sorry. I was kinda distracted … you can write it down if you like, though," she said quietly, but the smile on her face was all teeth. Ordinarily, Raven would not have risked an attempt at humour under such circumstances, but he had been a little more tolerant of her smartassery since Lakhri had come back. That, coupled with the fact that they were standing in the middle of a busy street, undercover!, gave her the courage to risk a little bantering with him.
"I am going to write it down on your bottom with my paddle if you give me any more cheek," Eeth said in a low, stern voice. "Do not get distracted. Period. Now off you go."
"Uh," Raven coughed unnecessarily, biting the inside of her cheek to hide her smile. She said nothing else, though. Instead, she inclined her head slightly, and then, after another quick glance at the map, took off down the street and into an alley that would lead to her first point of interest.
Eeth remained standing there for a while, fighting a sudden protective urge as his padawan headed down the street, before turning on his heel and striding off towards the headquarters of the merchants' guild while the rain was pouring down, as usual.
The talk with Therkain Dartan was polite, extensive and utterly unsatisfactory. The woman seemed to accept Eeth's fake credentials as a Republican trader with interest and did not tire of affirming her commitment to joining the Republic in order to create opportunities for all kinds of legal trade. She completely ignored Eeth's hints to the less legal kinds of trade, did not know the tiniest bit about the royal family's whereabouts and would be glad to see their backs. As for the Eastern islands, the sea was currently dangerous to travel due to storms that had shifted the ubiquitous sandbanks, but as those islands had no importance for legal trade anyway, there was no reason for Eeth to go there.
Eeth left after two hours of fruitless talks and made his way to another part of the city where he hoped to meet one of the Jedi's contacts, a local peacekeeper. He was deep in thought; if Dartan was lying, she was hiding it well, but there was some double-play involved, that much was definite.
Before he reached his goal, he realised that he was being followed. His first impulse was to lose his pursuer, but he rarely followed his first impulses. The pursuer must have been sent by Dartan. He was pretty certain that Dartan could not have more than a vague suspicion that he was not who he pretended to be. If he proved too adept at noticing and losing his pursuer, that would only increase her suspicion. It might be better to play along for a while and pretend not to be on his guard.
Thus, he spent the rest of the day talking to local producers and traders about their merchandise and making notes about prices and availability. In the late afternoon, he casually mentioned several times that he was about to meet his young apprentice in the old town. At ten to six, he was back in front of the eatery they had had breakfast at, waiting for Raven and hoping that she would not blow their cover by some remark or other.
Raven arrived at the cafe at exactly five after six, puffing slightly and still dressed in the disguise she had donned from the school that she had visited last. Her expression was neutral, but across their bond she conveyed that she was sorry for being late, and that it was due to a belly ache and her attire. Neither were major issues. The former was simply from consuming ice-cream and fizzy drinks with a bunch of friends she had made. The Temple-raised padawan was not accustomed to that mix. The latter, well, she looked down at the formless dress, the only upside of which was that the material it was made of kept her dry! Immediately, she noticed that something was not quite right, and so she went for a more generic greeting that would not look out of place.
"Sorry I'm late, I have a pain in the tummy."
Eeth was less than pleased that he had had to wait for his padawan while being shadowed by Dartan's agent. Betraying none of this feeling, he smiled benignly. "It's no trouble," he said jovially in a voice and manner that were so totally unlike his usual self that they could not fail to attract Raven's attention. At the same time, he conveyed a sense of warning to her through the Force. "I have looked at the shops around here while I was waiting," he continued cheerfully. "It was enough to keep me entertained. What's this about your tummy? Have you eaten too much? Does it hurt badly? We should go back to our hostel; I can make you a hot-water bottle there."
Had Raven not anticipated the showdown to end all showdowns for her seemingly endless ability to arrive late! She would probably have asked what he'd found out. As it stood, the padawan approached him with caution, a brow quirking slightly at his response. It's no trouble? I have looked at the shops?! I can make you a hot-water bottle?! Oooookay, that was just weird. And if that totally out-of-character response from Eeth were not enough to tip her off, the sense she got across their bond confirmed it: either Eeth had gone mad … or something was wrong. Deciding that the latter was more likely (not that she would blame him for the former), the padawan played along.
"A bit." She rubbed at her stomach. "Are you almost finished with your meetings?"
"Oh, yes, I have finished for today," Eeth said with a smile, and loud enough for their "companion", who was looking at comlinks in a shop window behind him, to hear. "One or two more days here, then we will move on to … what's that place called … Nuishum? Nuimush?"
"Nuimesh," Raven supplied. She was now one hundred percent certain that something was up. Eeth never forgot a mission detail, not ever.
"Yes, the one near the Western rainforest. I have been told the wildlife is amazing there. Anyway, let's turn in and see to that tummy of yours," said Eeth.
"Yes, let's! I'm going to die," Raven played her part.
Content to bore him with drabble from her slightly factitious day, the padawan continued to prattle on until they entered their room, at which point Eeth put a finger to his lips and produced a small device from his utility belt with which he checked every nook and cranny of the room.
"Alright," he said finally. "No bugs. She cannot have been that suspicious. If we are lucky, she just wanted to find out whether I am harmless and we might have convinced her on that count."
He turned towards Raven and folded his arms across his chest. "Now," he said evenly. "Are you ill or have you merely eaten too many sweets?"
"Bugs? Convinced who? What is going on?" Raven wanted to know.
"What is going on is that someone has been following me since I left Dartan's office," Eeth said dismissively. "I could easily have lost him, but that might have been more suspicious than to play along and pretend not to notice. If she had been seriously intrigued, she probably would have found out where I live and bugged the room, so she is no more than mildly curious. We will be able to shake off any pursuers once we leave the city, if she has not given up already after the performance we delivered. Now, would you be so kind as to answer my question?"
"It was a pretty good performance, yes?" The question wasn't exactly rhetorical, but when Eeth simply continued to give her 'the look', Raven decided it best to answer his question. "I ate too much, and I have a pain in the stomach. I would really love that hot-water bottle…"
Eeth rested a hand on her head and scanned her condition through the Force. Judging it none too serious, he said, "I will help you with your stomach ache in a moment. First, bare your bottom and bend over the bed."
He pulled the paddle from his belt without disrupting his severe gaze, the look on his face making it very clear that he had no intention to discuss his instruction.
Raven looked at him, looked at the paddle and then she looked back at him with a pained expression. Of course she had recognised the look on Eeth's face and what it meant. And since there wasn't any really good excuse other than the fact that she had been enjoying herself, eaten too much and was wearing clothing that was not easy to run in, Raven didn't argue. She did, however, huff, making her displeasure clear as she spun to face her bed. It was done far too quickly for Raven's liking; the dress she wore needed nothing more than pulling up a little, and her underpants were easy to deal with.
"You were five minutes late, padawan," Eeth said matter-of-factly. "That will be five swats with the paddle. I do not accept tardiness, let alone on a mission."
With this, he brought the paddle down onto her bottom, hard. After a brief pause, he let a second swat follow. He did not quite put his full force into them, but they were certainly harder than the "reminders" he used to deal out at the Temple. This was a mission, and he expected his padawan to pay attention, obey his orders and be on time.
Okay, so five swats wasn't so bad, Raven thought. Then again, Eeth wasn't known to dish out token punishments, so she doubted it would be a cake walk either.
Sure enough, the first had her truly smarting. Not badly enough to make her lose her shit, but certainly enough to get her complete and undivided attention!
"Oww! Master, I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry!" she blurted as he landed the third, because just maybe apologising profusely would soften him a little, or more importantly, soften his swing.
Ignoring her outcry, Eeth methodically completed the set of five swats, and he made each of them count. When he was done, he stuck the paddle back into its place in his belt and waited for Raven to regain her composure and straighten up.
Raven was not one to tough out punishment – it was impossible to do so with a master like Eeth Koth – which was why the only thing on her mind right now was trying to rub out the sting.
Another few seconds passed before the padawan righted herself. She set her jaw and turned to face Eeth. Raven wasn't angry or anything, nor could she say that it had been underserved, but it was still hard to think like that while your ass was on fire. Honestly, how could five swats hurt so bad?! At least this was what her expression said.
Eeth pulled her into a brief hug.
"Do not let it happen again, padawan," he said quietly. "This time, it worked to our advantage. At other times, the opposite might be the case."
Releasing her, he said: "You may change into something more practical than this dress if you like. Then we should talk about our day and how to proceed from here."
Among other things, he would have to find an inconspicuous way to lose his pursuer. But, he reasoned, there was also a positive aspect to their unwanted company: it told them that they were onto something. Things were beginning to happen.
