Haha, I'm baaaaack! :-D Sorry it took so long; stress, bad economy, surgery, and other stuff got in the way... Darth Real Life really SUCKS sometimes. :( Here's the next nice long chapter! Enjoy everyone!
The mood throughout Death Squadron had been tense to say the least. It had been two days since they had left Nihoma.
The Executor had been awfully quiet since they had left Nihoma. Over seventy-five percent of its crew was gone, making the remainder extremely busy. No one complained, though; the thought of letting anything slow them down scared them too much. Many a time they needed someone to tell them to stop rather than continue.
Padmé wasn't an engineer, a navigator, a doctor, or a mechanic. The best she could offer was moral support, and it was bothering her. She hated being useless.
The only amusing aspect was that "Luke" continually pestered Obi-Wan.
Although it wasn't amusing to the Jedi himself.
Obi-Wan grumbled as he tried desperately to ignore the beeping mouse droid banging into his ankles. Finally, he gave up and yelled at it, causing it roll away squealing.
"Blasted droid," he muttered before facing Padmé. "Where is Anakin?"
"Resting in his room," Padmé answered.
"Good, he needs his sleep," a lieutenant commander named Moeema Norhek said as she approached the two. "Now who you are and how does Lord Vader know you so well?"
Padmé looked uncertainly towards Obi-Wan, who shrugged in response. "They know who I am. I see no issue with you telling the truth."
Sighing, Padmé said, "My name is Padmé Amidala."
Lt. Cdr. Norhek and any other officer in the area froze. "Padmé Amidala? But—you're supposed to be dead! You died five years ago!"
"I didn't die, I simply went into a coma," Padmé responded.
"Then why was the whole galaxy told you were dead?"
"Because that was the common belief," Padmé twisted the truth as best she could without it being an obvious lie. She wouldn't tell them about the twins or her relation to Anakin.
"So how does Lord Vader know you?"
"We've met before," Padmé answered simply. "One of his missions as a Jedi was to protect me from assassination attempts just before the Clone Wars."
"I see,"
An officer approached them. "Lt. Cdr. Norhek, we have arrived at the Void,"
"Very good," Lt. Cdr. Norhek nodded.
"I suppose we will just remain here for a time?" Padmé asked.
"We don't have much of a choice," Lt. Cdr. Norhek responded. "After all, the entire navy will be searching for us."
"We cannot remain in this ship; it is far too recognizable,"
Everyone turned around to see Anakin entering, out of his Nihoman clothing and wearing black robes.
"You do seem to like that color, don't you?" Lt. Beillane approached him.
Anakin blinked and looked at his outfit before shrugging. "There's nothing wrong with black."
"I thought you were resting," Padmé and Obi-Wan said together, sounding irritated.
Anakin gave them an innocent shrug.
"Are you serious about abandoning the ship?" Lt. Beillane asked.
"Quite serious," Anakin replied. He looked around the ship. "But I am going to miss her… however, what I said earlier is still relevant; we are far too recognizable in this ship. It makes it difficult to hide in the largest ship in the navy."
"But where will we go to find another?" Capt. Mentzer inquired as he walked towards the group alongside a few other officers. "If we go into orbit anywhere it will be reported immediately."
"Wild Space might be a good place to find something," another lieutenant, Shiine Reukli, suggested. "The Empire doesn't have much control there. We're just beside it, actually."
Anakin seemed to consider it. "All right, but we'll still have to be very careful."
"Navigation, where are some non-Imperial planets in Wild Space?" Capt. Mentzer asked the navigation division, which was headed by Lt. Cdr. Norhek.
"Sir, there is a planet within range with our fuel reserves," she responded. "However, there are no records of habitation. I think it's deserted. However, this is a location where smugglers and other undesirable people meet. I believe they have a base of operations somewhere nearby."
"I wouldn't exactly trust outlaws," Anakin shook his head.
"Aren't we technically outlaws now?" Padmé reminded her husband.
"Yes, but that doesn't mean it will make them automatically trustworthy."
"Oh, yes, Anakin and I have had our experiences with outlaws," Obi-Wan said with amusement.
"What is our range with the fuel reserves?" Anakin asked his men.
"The planet I mentioned is the only one we can reach," Lt. Cdr. Norhek sighed.
"Wonderful," Anakin rolled his eyes. "I suppose we'll have to contend with smugglers and pirates after all. Any idea where exactly that base of operations is?"
"I'm afraid not,"
"Sounds like an average day," Obi-Wan laughed.
"Plot a course for that world," Anakin shook his head, hiding a smile.
The trip to the world in question, which simply generically called 'Enriv 3', took a day. The Executor quickly came into orbit. Anakin then rigged the ship to fly into the system's sun after a certain amount of time and the crew abandoned ship on the planet, taking shuttles and as much weaponry as they could carry. At least the shuttles could get further, anyway.
The flight down to the planet was unbearable. Not only was Obi-Wan there, constantly watching him, but all of the Imperials who had 'taken care of him' while he was delusional were surrounding him. The only redeeming factor was that Padmé was there, although that still brought bad memories. Besides, despite loving him, she was still mad. He put her life and the life of their child in jeopardy.
Wait a minute…
Anakin's eyes immediately bore into Padmé. What had happened to their baby?
His thoughts were interrupted when the shuttle landed gently on the surface. Everyone watched Anakin, waiting for him to move first.
He hated this tense atmosphere. So he decided to lighten the mood, although he would probably regret it. "Numel, I don't think you're going to find any nice women here."
The room burst into relieved laughter, particularly Numel, and everyone stood, following Anakin out of the shuttle.
The world was tropical. Enriv 3 was 60% continental, though this land was separated into about six hundred twelve islands. The entire planet was warm and humid with a constant breeze blowing through the land. It was constantly wet, having no dry season, but the rains that came were mild and so there was no flooding. The days on the world were thirty hours long, with a sixteen day month and a sixteen month year.
There was plenty of wildlife from what they could see. Hundreds of white birds flew overhead, squawking as loudly as they could. Then a large sharp beaked bird swooped low, barely touching them, before rising and giving a loud screech.
Anakin led the group through the thick green brush as the breeze blew the sweat from their skin. Anakin wasn't used to feeling the breeze on his face (except for the interesting expeditions on Nihoma)—he was actually finding the trek to be quite enjoyable.
"This is a beautiful world," Kobayashi said as he looked all around him.
"Yes, it is," Obi-Wan agreed.
Anakin still couldn't believe the Imperials were getting along with Obi-Wan so well. He supposed Obi-Wan had gained their trust by helping them watch over him.
Anakin's cheeks flushed in embarrassment as he further remembered just how childish he was when he was amnesiac. If only he hadn't tried to meditate on that stupid day at that stupid outpost!
Obi-Wan paused. Anakin sensed it an instant later after he cleared his mind. Something was wrong.
"Eh, Lo, what's wrong?" Ooke asked automatically.
Anakin, despite being focused on whatever was causing the Force to ripple, managed to toss a glare in Ooke's direction. "Be quiet,"
Suddenly, humanoids jumped out, pointing bone-like spears at them. They were surrounded on all sides.
The humanoids were of about average human height. They resembled the Horansi species, which were a feline race. They had very short black fur covering their entire bodies. A fluffy black tail swept all the way to the ground. The people had what would be hair for a Human except it was bright red, matching their eyes. The end of their fluffy tails appeared to be dipped in red fur. The humanoids wore wood as armor plates on their arms and thighs and then wore leather belts holding red-dyed palm leaves. The females of the group wore a single red-dyed palm leaf around their chests, tied in the back. They were all growling.
"Anakin, don't do anything rash," Obi-Wan muttered. Anakin sighed in irritation and left his hand on his lightsaber hilt. He was hoping he wouldn't really have to use it, though; his Sith lightsaber was designed for larger mechanical hands, not Anakin's nimble and firm grip.
"Ca ëtóäkele-lófô!" one of them shouted, clicking her tongue in just about any way possible.
The Imperials exchanged bewildered glances. Anakin looked at Obi-Wan. "Well, Negotiator, say something,"
"Just shut up,"
One of the humanoids, a male, seemed to realize something about them and then shouted to his companions. He said something in the tongue-clicking language and the warriors seemed to lower their guard.
The male turned around and approached Anakin and Obi-Wan, who were in the front of the group. He then said in a heavily accented voice, "Jehday?"
"We can't understand you," Anakin said, a little exasperated.
"Jehday?"
"Wait a moment, Anakin," Obi-Wan said slowly. "I think he's trying to say Jedi."
Upon speaking the word, the male immediately turned to Obi-Wan and pointed to him. He faced his fellow warriors and shouted, "Jehday!"
The warriors immediately shouted the word continuously and began pushing and leading the group through the tropical forest. Anakin looked at Obi-Wan. "What did you do?"
"I'm not quite sure," Obi-Wan muttered in response.
They walked with the humanoids shouting 'Jehday' the entire time. About ten minutes later, they arrived in a large settlement. It was built into the tallest mountain on the island with enormous rocks that were smoothed and polished. Leaf and stick huts surrounded the large rock building, and similar-looking humanoids were standing and watching their entrance. The only difference between these humanoids and the warriors bringing the group was their hair color; while the black fur was the same, they had bright blue manes, eyes, and tips of their tails instead of red.
Immediately the warriors shouted 'Jehday' to them and the word sent the people scrambling. These new people began shouting the word as well and rushing towards the large stone building.
Soon after their arrival, they stopped in the middle of the settlement. Then two males flanking a large veiled entrance to the stone building began beating two thick sticks against each other. Then the veil fluttered and three females walked out of the entrance. They wore skirts made of shredded wood which were dyed light blue and a blue palm leaf around their chests. Seashells jingled around their wrists, ankles, and necks, tied together by leaves twisted and tied to each other.
Two steps after the first three exited, another three followed. This continued in a long process until a bamboo-made palanquin was brought out. Silky blue veils covered any entrance to the palanquin, leaving the identity of whomever or whatever was inside unknown.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Obi-Wan muttered.
The palanquin was placed just in front of them and then the warriors backed away until they vanished in the trees. The remainder of the people pulled blue veils which were on their heads held by grey headbands which wrapped around their heads. They covered their faces with the veils before going on their knees and bowing so their torsos were parallel with the ground. They held their arms straight out behind them.
The palanquin shook slightly as the occupant moved. Then pale furless hands moved the silk veil aside and a tall female stepped out, examining them.
This new woman looked more similar to the Humans rather than the feline humanoids. She had no fur anywhere; her skin was creamy white. She was very tall and had waist-length red hair which was pulled away from her face. Her ears were pointed, and she held herself with a certain grace. Her blue eyes were slightly larger than what was normal for a Human. She wore a dark blue silk dress which simply hung loosely from her shoulders. Seashell bracelets adorned her arms, jingling gently as the breeze blew them. A green headband made its way around her head, clearly visible on her forehead.
The woman said nothing. She simply watched them. Anakin sensed something off about her…
The woman noticed Anakin and walked towards him. She examined him and then reached towards him, placing her palms on his face. Anakin tensed, not quite knowing where she was going with this behavior.
The next thing that happened caught everyone off guard. The woman suddenly leaned in and kissed Anakin on the lips.
Anakin did his best to fight her off without seeming too rude, and thankfully the kiss did not last long anyway. She pulled away looking just as calm and expressionless as before. She then walked to Obi-Wan and placed her hands on his face. Anakin did his best to suppress a snort of laughter as Obi-Wan's expression grew vaguely alarmed at the concept of what was coming next.
Obi-Wan was pulled into a kiss as well, his eyes rivaling moons. Anakin could feel his chest vibrating as the laughter fought furiously to escape.
The kiss ended just as quickly as Anakin's and then the woman approached Padmé, who was just behind Anakin. Anakin began to worry now; she wouldn't kiss her, would she? His alarm grew as the woman placed her hands on Padmé's face just as she had with the first two. Padmé looked more than a little nervous. However, instead of kissing her, the woman leaned her forehead against Padmé's and closed her eyes. She then pulled away.
The woman did this same routine with the rest of the group, kissing the men and placing her forehead against the women's foreheads. When she was through with this odd ritual, she walked to the front once more and faced the bowing crowd.
She gave a shout and then spoke rapidly in the people's native tongue. Many of them went scrambling inside the strange stone building while the rest rushed into their huts. The place was deserted.
The woman then faced them. "Welcome, Jedi,"
Anakin and Obi-Wan exchanged surprised and bewildered glances. "You speak Basic?"
"I speak the holy tongue," the woman said. "Just as you do,"
Holy tongue? Anakin suddenly didn't like where this was going.
"Who are you?" Padmé asked.
"I am Wégú-Muä," the woman answered. "I am the spiritual leader of this world."
"How do you know we're Jedi?" Anakin asked suspiciously.
"Boté breathes through you," Wégú-Muä said. "But only you two; the rest must be your entourage, yes?"
"Eh, yes," Obi-Wan answered.
"Welcome to Yoala, Jedi," Wégú-Muä bowed her head in acknowledgement. "I sent the others to bring proper transportation for you. Your entourage will be well cared for. The learned ones know the holy tongue and will be able to communicate with them."
"Yoala," Anakin muttered. "That is the name of this world?"
"Indeed," Wégú-Muä nodded. "I have been here for many centuries."
"You've been here for centuries?" Jifo gaped. "What species are you?"
"My race does not matter, for I am a Jedi," Wégú-Muä shook her head. "As part of a Jedi entourage, you should know this."
"O-of course," Jifo quickly said.
"What have you been doing here?" Obi-Wan asked.
"I have been guiding these people," Wégú-Muä answered. "They were undivided and savage when I first arrived. Now they are a peaceful people. The warrior caste was excited to see you; they knew that you were speaking no dialect of their own and therefore suspected you might be Jedi."
"So you taught them about the Jedi?" Anakin surmised.
"Yes, I did. They now know of Boté just as they should. Tell me, how is Boté and the rest of the worlds? Are there many other Jedi wandering the mortal lands? What of the prophecies? You must tell me everything, for I am very curious."
"Eh…" Anakin and Obi-Wan looked at each other uncertainly.
Thankfully the awkwardness was interrupted when the Yoalans reappeared with two more palanquins… though that only increased Anakin's embarrassment. He didn't want to be carried around and worshipped.
A female Yoalan approached them with her veil still over her face. She bowed low. "Honorable Jedi, we welcome you to Yoala. I am É-Lófô-Ca. I will be your personal servant."
Anakin bristled at the concept, but Obi-Wan held him in check, quickly saying, "That really won't be necessary."
"Oh, but it would be dishonorable otherwise," É-Lófô-Ca shook her head earnestly.
"Then we would be more than happy to have your services," Obi-Wan compensated, still making sure Anakin didn't say anything. Anakin really didn't like this.
Wégú-Muä entered her palanquin once more and four Yoalans hauled it onto their shoulders. Eight more watched Obi-Wan and Anakin expectantly.
"You can't be serious," Anakin said.
Obi-Wan sighed. "Anakin, they are."
"I'm not going in—"
"Now, Anakin," Obi-Wan interrupted. "We don't want a fight."
Grumbling under his breath, Anakin entered one of the palanquins and sat on the cushion. He felt the Yoalans picking it up and then he heard Obi-Wan's palanquin being carried as well. Then a large procession led the palanquins back into the stone building. Anakin watched the veil flutter and then obstruct his view of the Imperials and Padmé. He hoped they would be alright.
When the procession ended, the curtain was pulled aside for Anakin and he quickly stepped out, relieved to be done with that humiliating spectacle. He hated having what were essentially slaves waiting on him.
Inside the stone building was a stone shore which led to a hot spring. Boats sat on the water with rowers awaiting them. Wégú-Muä was already waiting in one. Obi-Wan clambered into another and Anakin followed suit, albeit reluctantly.
The three boats then began to smoothly go along the warm water side by side.
"Tell me, Wégú-Muä, how did you come to meet these people all those centuries ago?" Obi-Wan asked.
"I do not remember it very well, I am afraid to say," she replied. "I simply remember the Yoalan people and teaching them about Boté. However, if you like, there are stories that É-Lófô-Ca can tell you about my first arrival with my fellow Jedi."
"There were others?" Anakin piped in, interested.
"Indeed there were,"
The boats reached a crossroad. The steamy river lake divided into three rivers.
É-Lófô-Ca, who had been sitting in Wégú-Muä's boat, stood. "The passage to the left, honorable Jedi, leads to rooms of cleansing. Beyond those rooms are the rooms of prayer and communing. The center passage leads to the living gardens. The passage to the right leads to your own personal rooms. Where would you like to go, honorable Jedi?"
"Where are you going, Wégú-Muä?" Obi-Wan asked the woman.
"I am going to be in the living gardens, if you would like to join me." She replied.
"We would like to join you, yes," Anakin quickly said.
"Very well," Wégú-Muä nodded. "To the gardens,"
"É-Lófô-Ca, perhaps you can tell us those stories that tell of Wégú-Muä's arrival," Obi-Wan suggested to the Yoalan.
"Of course," she obliged. "It had happened exactly four hundred ninety-six thousand four hundred sun cycles ago. Boté sent a flying rock to Yoala with five honorable Jedi. We Yoalans did not know what Boté was or his Jedi, so we fought against the Jedi. When the Jedi showed their Boté-given talents, we Yoalans were so impressed. We Yoalans started to take care of the honorable Jedi, but did not know the sacred tongue. The eldest Jedi then joined Boté, for his time in the mortal world was finished. Two more honorable Jedi followed him soon after. Then the last two Jedi began to tell us of Boté and his wonders. Some time passed and then another Jedi joined Boté to work elsewhere. Finally, we were left with only one young honorable Jedi. We named her spiritual leader of Yoala. Her name means 'enlightened messenger': Wégú-Muä. Ever since then, Wégú-Muä has helped us build and civilize our society."
Anakin's mind was already working math problems as he converted the Yoalan calendar to the standard calendar. When he came to his conclusion he looked at É-Lófô-Ca skeptically. "É-Lófô-Ca, are you sure about the date?"
"Of course," she replied with conviction. "We have a calendar that marked the date and we are still counting today. You should have been here for the four hundred thousandth anniversary; it was amazing."
"Eh… how old are you?" Anakin asked her.
"I have twenty-nine thousand four hundred forty sun cycles in age," É-Lófô-Ca answered calmly.
Anakin blinked a few times as his mind worked quickly through the math. "You're one hundred fifteen years old?"
"What is years?" É-Lófô-Ca asked with excitement. "Is it a sacred dating system?"
"Back to the legend," Obi-Wan quickly interrupted. "Wégú-Muä is a title passed down among the generations?"
"Oh, no," É-Lófô-Ca shook her head. "She is the same as she always has been. Wégú-Muä is just as she has been for all four hundred ninety-six thousand four hundred sun cycles."
"You're telling me she's seventeen hundred standard years old," Anakin said with a flat disbelieving tone.
"There's that word again," É-Lófô-Ca said. "It must have some significance."
"Tell me, what did Wégú-Muä teach?" Obi-Wan asked.
"She taught us the wonders of Boté. She taught us everything we needed to know about him and his Jedi."
"And what exactly is that?" Anakin persisted.
"She taught us that Boté created us all," É-Lófô-Ca began. "In the beginning, there was only oblivion. Then Boté appeared and made the first spark of life. He poked holes in the sky, planting seeds in it. The seeds grew into suns and worlds. The worlds then produced plants and water and animals. Then people grew.
"When Boté watched all of this in the very beginning, he selected thousands of infants and breathed his power into them, taking them to the skies with him. With his power inside them, these sacred messengers, or Jedi lived with him for thousands of cycles. Then, mortals started straying from the path of light and so Boté sent his Jedi down to guide and help mortals. Some mortals listened to them, some mortals rebuked them.
"Jedi took on three roles: caretakers, protectors, and messengers. Caretakers taught and cared for children while protectors protected the helpless and those in need of help. Messengers taught of Boté to the people.
"Yoala was one of the unruly worlds, and so Boté sent five of his messengers to us. Now we have Wégú-Muä, who is our spiritual leader, who encompasses all three ranks since she is the only Jedi here. But now it seems as if Boté has decided to bless us with two more Jedi and has even sent a sacred entourage! Are they on their way to the heavens?"
"Eh, is that another thing you were taught?" Anakin asked awkwardly.
"Of course," É-Lófô-Ca went on excitedly. "When a mortal dies, their spirit goes to the heavens with Boté. They stay there forever. Jedi lead entourages of these mortals to the heavens. I've never heard of Jedi taking entourages to another world, though; what is your mission here?"
"É-Lófô-Ca, do not be rude," Wégú-Muä chided.
The three boats reached a shore where a warm misty garden sat filled with lush vegetation. Wégú-Muä disembarked, followed by Anakin and Obi-Wan. The three walked through the garden.
"This is where I relax most of the time," she said. "You two can rest here as well. The holy hours will be when the warning crystal glows."
Wégú-Muä then walked away. Anakin and Obi-Wan looked at each other in bewilderment.
"What in the blazes is going on here?" Anakin threw his arms in the air. "This must be the most warped rendition of Jedi teachings I've ever heard, and believe me, when you hear Palpatine lecturing about how the Jedi were wrong, he warps Jedi principles pretty badly!"
Anakin then froze and slowly lowered his arms in horror. "Palpatine… he could find us here! We have to leave we can't stay in one place!"
"Anakin, relax," Obi-Wan said reassuringly.
"Don't start ordering me around," Anakin snapped. "I'm not acting like an idiot again."
"You weren't acting like an idiot before," Obi-Wan explained in exasperation. "You just didn't remember."
"That doesn't excuse me!" Anakin rambled on, letting all of his stress over the matter pour out. "Nothing excuses how ludicrous, ridiculous, retarded—"
"Anakin,"
Obi-Wan's voice cut through him like a lightsaber (rather like on Mustafar). Anakin flinched. Thinking about Mustafar brought some really sore emotions.
"Calm yourself," Obi-Wan went on, unaware of Anakin's conflicting thoughts. "We have to figure out what's going on around here and then we need to get back to the shuttles. There obviously won't be a way off this world without them."
"They can't be right about that date," Anakin suddenly said. "If they are, that means Wégú-Muä is at least seventeen hundred years old."
"Think, Anakin," Obi-Wan said in a calm tone. "She is obviously not Human, so she must be part of a species known for its longevity."
"Seventeen hundred years ago…" Anakin muttered. "That would mean they arrived on Yoala during the New Sith Wars."
"So many Jedi died or went missing in those wars," Obi-Wan leaned against a tree. "There's no way of knowing—"
Anakin clapped his hands together. "I know what her species is, Kichita!"
Anakin then flinched and looked away. "I mean Obi-Wan,"
Obi-Wan's tone held amusement. "Go on, Anakin,"
Shaking off his embarrassment, Anakin said, "Master, she's a Rocoyam. Remember studying about those? They died off in the New Sith Wars because their planet was razed so they lost about eighty percent of their population. They never could recover so by the time of the Naboo crisis when you found me they were dead. Remember, they always had their children on their homeworld, so the younglings died. The only Rocoyam left by the end of the New Sith War were the elderly ones!"
"That would make sense," Obi-Wan said thoughtfully while Anakin quickly realized he had just called a Jedi 'Master'. "So she's the last of her kind and she doesn't even know it."
"Rocoyam are known to live for thousands of years," Anakin added, albeit shakily.
"If her story is true, though, there must be something left from the crash sight. Perhaps records or journals…"
"What difference does it make?" Anakin quickly interrupted. "We just have to get out of here."
"Anakin, relax," Obi-Wan placed a reassuring hand on Anakin's shoulder, making his skin crawl in protest. He still remembered Mustafar quite vividly. As much as he knew Obi-Wan wouldn't hurt his Imperials, he wasn't quite sure if the Jedi would not hurt him. "We can't simply let them go on with this diluted teaching. I'm sure it was taught properly to them and its meanings were lost over the years."
"Wouldn't Wégú-Muä know to fix those problems?" Anakin asked exasperatedly.
"Not if she was too young to remember the proper teachings in the first place," Obi-Wan answered shrewdly.
Suddenly the sound of wooden sticks being slapped against each other reverberated all over the garden.
"The warning prayer session has begun!" voices called everywhere.
"What's the warning prayer session?" Anakin asked, completely bewildered.
"I haven't the faintest idea," Obi-Wan responded. "Let's go find out."
Wégú-Muä then approached them. "Come, we must commune."
"I beg your pardon?" Anakin raised an eyebrow.
"Do you not commune with Boté at the warning hour?" Wégú-Muä laughed. "Come, we must hurry. We do not want to be late."
"Right," Anakin rolled his eyes, but Obi-Wan grabbed his arm and dragged him back to the boats.
The boats took them to the cleansing areas, which were warmer than the other locations. There was so much steam Anakin could barely see what was ahead. However, when he saw that the boats were separating, he went on alert.
His boat stopped on a smooth polished stone platform. In the center of the stone was a pool of the steamy warm water. Yoalan men surrounded it. Folded neatly beside the pool was what seemed to be a silk robe.
"Oh, no, no, no," Anakin shook his head fervently. "I don't need a bathing party, sorry,"
"You must be cleansed before entering the holy praying area," one of the Yoalans said.
"I'm clean enough, thanks." Anakin snapped.
"All Jedi must cleanse themselves before praying," the Yoalan continued. "This is a basic principle. How do you not know this?"
"I already told you, I'm clean," Anakin stressed.
"No one is ever clean enough to enter without cleansing first," the Yoalan argued. "How can you possibly be clean?"
"Because I just am," Anakin folded his arms stubbornly. "Now let's keep going."
The Yoalans looked at each other uncertainly. Then the one who had been speaking approached him. "Only one can enter without being cleansed, and that is Boté. You must be cleansed, honorable Jedi."
"Then I must be Boté," Anakin said sarcastically.
The Yoalans gasped and covered their faces. The lead Yoalan shouted through his hands, "Do not say such sacrilegious things, honorable Jedi! It is the warning hour; this is when the darkness approaches!"
Anakin laughed harshly. "I've been to the darkness, my furry friend. I'm not afraid of the dark."
"You are a fallen messenger?" The Yoalan peeked out of his hands, looking at Anakin in horror.
Anakin could see this going down a very bad path, so he sighed and tried to retrace his steps. "No, it's complicated… I just don't need a bath, okay?"
"How are you a fallen messenger but not a fallen messenger?" the Yoalan pressed urgently.
Sighing, Anakin regretted ever mentioning it. "It's a long story."
"You must tell us," the Yoalan said fervently. "Dark messengers cannot enter the sacred prayer room."
"I have to tell you?"
"Yes,"
Anakin moaned. "What's there to say? I made a few mistakes in life, that's all."
"What do you mean mistakes?" The Yoalan asked curiously.
"Look, being the Chosen One just makes things complicated, okay?" Anakin snapped.
At this statement, all of the Yoalans gasped once more, but they all stared at him instead of hiding their faces. "You are the Chosen One?"
Anakin knew he had said something wrong now. They were all staring at him with the strangest expression he had ever seen. He wasn't even quite sure how to register it. "Eh, no, well, that is to say…"
"He is the Chosen One!" the Yoalan leader said to his companions. "That is why he does not need to be cleansed!"
Anakin suddenly liked this development. "Yes, exactly! I'm the Chosen One, born to bring balance to the Force, etc. etc., now can we go?"
"Of course Wégú-Töfînala-Boté," they all shouted in unison, bowing deeply.
Anakin raised an eyebrow at the odd title they suddenly gave him, but at least it got him to the 'prayer room'.
The boat smoothly rowed along the water until reaching a room made purely of rock and dirt from the mountain. Stairs that had been carved into the walls led up to the mountain's peak.
Anakin quickly climbed the stairs, and a few moments later he heard Obi-Wan arriving. He laughed, looking back at his former master but was surprised to see that Obi-Wan had not been forced into bathing. "They didn't pull the bath stunt on you?"
"Oh, they did," Obi-Wan replied as he rushed up to Anakin. "However, another party of Yoalans suddenly appeared shouting in their language and they rushed me here, saying that I needed to watch 'Wégú-Töfînala-Boté'. I'm not quite sure what they meant."
Anakin awkwardly looked at the Yoalans, who were all prostrate on the ground bowing to him. What had suddenly made them act so strange (well… stranger than before)?
"The warning prayer session has begun!" the voices continued to shout.
"Come on," Anakin began to run up the stairs once more. "Let's get to the top and see what this is all about."
I love throwing you guys across the galaxy. :-D
Bleah, it took me forever to synchronize the galactic standard calendar and the Yoalan calendar to get those dates right... and I can't even pronounce the names I made up, lol. Here are the pronunciations for anyone who's interested.
Wégú-Muä = Way-Go-oo-Moo-(tongue click)Ah
É-Lófô-Ca = Ay-Loh-F(click with back of tongue (soft k))o-Sah
My tongue's getting all twisted just thinking about it! Oh, and here's the next Imperial profile: Kobayashi!
http:/ img25 .imageshack .us /img25 /8250 /newpicturevc .png (copy/paste and get rid of the spaces)
Don't forget to review!
