Jedi Temple
While Ahsoka and Vinny went off to fetch the tour bus, Anakin continued his tour of the Temple. He lead the group to what everyone guessed was a futuristic elevator. "If you take this turbolift here, it'll take you up to the Council Chambers. We've already met Master Windu and Master Koon, would you be interested in meeting more ?"
Glenn cleared his throat. "Sorry for interrupting, but would it be possible for us to have a bite ?"
Anakin led the group in a totally different direction. "It's a little ways off... Follow me." Down the hallways he turned back to Glenn. "Sorry for not thinking about that. Let's just say I often have my mind elsewhere."
Glenn raised a finger. "Don't tell me... the ongoing war ?"
Anakin sighed deeply. "Yes, the war is definitely high in my list of priorities. It's already been a couple of years. It's easy for me to keep track of it since that's when Ahsoka became my Padawan. Not long after the war started, she was 14. In a few months from now, she'll be 17. It's crazy how fast time passed since then."
Mess Hall
Reaching the mess hall, Jedi of all ages and races were caught up in not only savouring their meals but also casual conversation. Once Anakin entered with the group, everyone looked over and it fell silent. "It's alright." Anakin quickly felt the confusion and anxiety from everyone through the Force. "They're with me. They're honored guests which will give us an unforgettable performance in the near-future."
Jedi Master Shaak Ti pointed to Lemmy. "Is it true that this man brought Master Windu down with a mere punch ?" She rose up from her chair and cautously backed away.
"Yes it is." Lemmy admitted. "He had it coming. I only did it because he wasn't exactly being nice to us. He not only berated your friend here, but he also wanted us to leave and take our sick friend with us. I just lost my patience and my fist did the talking... sorta." He slowly but steadily approached Master Ti. "Now I don't know about you, miss, but that's not the way to greet strangers, now is it ?" He removed his cavalry hat and bowed before her. "Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister... A pleasure to meet you, miss. You have nothing to fear from me. And you are ?"
Taken aback by his sudden gesture, she hesitated slightly. "S... Shaak Ti, Jedi Consular. My main duty is overseeing the Clones being trained at Kamino before they are sent off into battle."
Lemmy smiled warmly. "That's a beautiful name. Almost as beautiful as you are."
Ti's lekku stripes immediately darkened. "W... why thank you, Mr... Kil-mister, was it ?"
"Just call me Lemmy. Everybody else does." He finally stepped back, allowing her some breathing space.
Glenn boasted his typical big smile. "Hello, madam. Excuse me for breaking up your little chitchat. What's for lunch ?"
Shaak Ti pointed to her plate. "Nerf steak. There are some vegetables for those that can eat them as well."
Glenn eyed the piece of meat. "Doesn't look too bad. I'm willing to try anything once." He made his way to the service counter, picking up a tray, plate and utensils. "Let's see here. Some of that green stuff. These look like potatoes, but probably not. Ooh ! They've got a sauce ! And a nice, hopefully juicy steak of whatever that woman called it."
Ozzy was next, he looked at all the various food items. "The fuck is all this crap ? Better be good !"
Tony came over, looking over himself. "I'm sure we've all had worse, Ozz. You better fill your plate quick, the others are coming."
Geezer, who was a vegan, filled his plate with all the various vegetables. Tony Martin was next, taking a huge piece of steak and mixing it up with all sorts of vegetables. Phil pulled a medium-sized steak and sprinkled vegetables and sauce on the side. "Fast" Eddie slipped a small steak and a few vegetables and ran off to sit with the rest. Scott took a minute, pulled a decent sized steak, poured sauce over it and had a couple of spoonfuls of veggies. Ian picked a medium-sized steak and what looked like potatoes, without sauce.
To everyone's shock, Lemmy didn't pick any food. He merely sat with a tall glass and poured himself a shot of Jack, adding Coke to it. "This is my thing." He said with a smile on his face.
On the same table as Shaak Ti, sat Twi'lek Jedi Master Aayla Secura. She rose up from her seat and walked over towards Lemmy. "Why are you not eating, monsieur Lemmy ? Are you not hungry ?"
He merely shook his head in response. "Not really, miss. This little drink here keeps me going day in, day out."
Aayla took a whiff. "Wait... Is that alcohol ? Alcohol is forbidden in the Temple !"
He looked up to her with a shocked look. "It is ?! Well, nobody told me that." Aayla nearly made the dangerous mistake of taking the drink away from him. He grabbed her gently by the arm. "Don't knock it till you try it, sweetheart. Want a sip ?"
"I shouldn't." Aayla pleaded. She took hold of his glass. "Oh, very well. Just a sip." She found herself pleasantly surprised. "Mmm. Not bad at all, monsieur Lemmy."
Shaak looked in shock. "Aayla... How could you ?!" She was going to regret her next move. "Curiosity will kill the Togruta, I suppose. Can I try as well ?"
Lemmy had no issues sharing with a couple of beautiful, exotic women. "Ladies, ladies, no need to fight. Give me a moment here." He produced a couple of cans of Coke from his vest. "Get yourselves a glass each, ok ? I'll mix them up." Several moments later, both women were offered a Jack n' Coke, without ice unfortunately. "Take your time, ladies. No need to rush things." He turned towards Aayla, truly attracted to her looks. "Thanks to your friend... Shaak... I now know your first name is Aayla, what is your family name ?"
Aayla's cheeks reddened. "Secura, monsieur."
Lemmy took off his cavalry hat once more. "Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister... at your service, madam."
Aayla giggled in response. "My, my. For such a rough outlook, you are quite the gentleman, monsieur Lemmy."
Shaak took her first sip. "Hmm. Bitter at first. But wait... there is sweetness afterwards. Aayla, I would have to agree with you. This isn't bad at all. But should Master Windu or Master Yoda catch us drinking, we might get in trouble."
"Yeah, maybe I shouldn't have done that. This can be an addictive drink. I should know, I've been drinking it for the last 34 years !"
Shaak nearly spat out her drink. "For the last 34 years ?! How often ?"
Lemmy shrugged his shoulders. "A bottle a day. Nothing, right ?"
Aayla's jaw dropped. "A bottle of this a day ? For the last 34 years ?! What are you ?! Some kind of super human ?!"
Lemmy didn't see what the big deal was. "No, just a guy that lives for Rock n' Roll, that's all."
Both Twi'lek and Togruta stared at each other for a moment, hesitating to return to their drinks. Shaak grabbed her glass. "We shouldn't waste this, but neither can we allow ourselves to be intoxicated."
Aayla nodded. "Let's just drink it and be done with it." As both women raced to finish their drinks, Lemmy rolled his eyes. "No no no no no NO ! You're drinking it too fast ! You won't be drunk, but you might feel a bit lightheaded, though."
"Too late !" Both women chimed as they slammed their empty glasses on the table. Shaak shook her head. "Ohhh... He wasn't kidding about the light-headedness. How about you, Aayla ?"
Aayla took a deep breath. "I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine !'
Thankfully, both women were able to get over their alcohol "buzz" within minutes. Many Jedi would have commented, but all were too shocked to see a man that subsisted mostly on alcohol.
Uscru Entertainment District
As Ahsoka and Vinny disembarked from Rex's speeder, the Clone Captain gave a menacing glance towards the drummer. "Now, don't you try anything against the Commander. I'll know."
Ahsoka walked back towards Rex. "Rex, look at him." She pointed to Vinny. "Does he look like the type of guy that would do anything questionable to me ?"
Rex released his frown. "I guess not. Be safe, Commander." He sped off back to the clone barracks.
Vinny breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks for standing up for me." He looked towards the abandoned tour bus, still at the same place almost a day ago. "Ok, let's get in. I think we have several hours of riding before us." He opened the door and ushered the teenage Togruta in. "Go at the front, ok ? Your seat is opposite to the steering wheel." As she made her way to the front, Vinny rummaged through Tony's extensive CD collection. "Ok. Beatles. Check ! Rolling Stones. Check ! Led Zeppelin. Check ! Deep Purple. Check ! King Crimson. Check ! Judas Priest. Check !" He kept gathering random CDs for the next couple of minutes. He then walked into the driver's seat and plopped a hoard of CDs onto Ahsoka's lap. "Hold on to these, will you ?"
Ahsoka, obviously not familiar with these plastic square cases, simply oblidged.
As Vinny turned the key and the motor started to purr, he turned to her. "Ok, so here's what we're going to do. I'll do my absolute best to explain to you the history of Rock and how it progressed to Heavy Metal. You ok with that ?"
She raised a cautious eye marking. "Sure, I guess."
He glanced at her. "Seatbelt, kid. Fasten it, please." Once both had fastened their seatbelts, Vinny took a look at the surroundings. "First up, I'm going to back up a little bit so we can turn around. Hopefully, the people here recognize when a vehicle is backing up. Here goes !" As Vinny put the gears in reverse, there was an audible "BEEP BEEP BEEP" tone going, alerting passerby and thus avoiding unfortunate accidents. People of all ages and races watched in amazement as the lenghty vehicle backed up and slowly turned to the opposite side.
As they began their lenghty journey towards the Temple, Vinny searched through Ahsoka's hoard. "Ok. Here we go. Pretty much anything and everything that has gone on in Rock, we owe to The Beatles. They were a quartet. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison. They began in the early 1960s to 1970. Back in the day, people, girls especially, were crazy for them. So here's one of their best known songs, "I want to Hold your Hand"." Playing the simple song, Ahsoka found herself smiling and tapping her feet.
Vinny turned to her, pleased by her reaction. "You liked that ? Great ! Another band that started their run in the 1960s was The Rolling Stones. A guy by the name of Mick Jagger provides the vocals, Keith Richards plays the guitar, Charlie Watts is the drummer and Bill Wyman is the bass player. Well... that was the original lineup. One of their most popular songs is "I can't get no Satisfaction", so here it is."
Ahsoka smiled back at Vinny. "Good music so far, keep it going."
"Ok !" Vinny gave her a thumbs up. The first of many. "Alright, we're moving further a bit. The year is 1969. The band is called Led Zeppelin. We've got Robert Plant as the singer, John Bonham as the drummer, Jimmy Page as the guitar player and John Paul Jones as the bass player. From their debut album, here is the very first song, "Good times, Bad times."."
Once the song was over, Ahsoka shook her head. "Is it my imagination or is the sound getting heavier and heavier ?"
Vinny just chuckled in reply. "Oh yeah, but we're gonna take a sharp left at Progressive Rock before we keep going to possibly the most influential band of all. So, we're still in 1969. The band is called King Crimson. So we've got Robert Fripp on guitars, Greg Lake on vocals, Michael Giles on drums, Ian McDonald on saxophone, keyboards, etc and finally Peter Sinfield just working on the lyrics. Their best known song is "21st Century Schizoid Man". It's a wacky, wacky tune. Ready ?"
The vocals were heavily distorted and the guitar sounded out of tune. She simply scratched her montrals once the song was done. "Ok, can't say I had a clue how the song was going to end up sounding... Weird is the only word that comes to my mind. It's not bad at all... just "different" from what we've heard so far. So... what is that super influential band you hinted at ?"
Vinny cleared his throat. "Black Sabbath, kiddo. They were the first to be super heavy and doomy." He picked up an album from the lot. The cover art looked like a painting, giving a creepy ambience with a lone woman standing behind an old house. "So, the band initialy formed in 1968, but would not release their first album until early 1970. Ozzy Osbourne was the singer, Geezer Butler played bass, Tony Iommi played guitar and Bill Ward played drums. They were supposed to be a Blues-Rock band, but once Tony lost two of his fingertips in a factory accident, everything changed. So their debut album is also called Black Sabbath. Wanna take a stab at what they titled their very first song ?"
Ahsoka gave a haughty laugh. "They didn't just call it "Black Sabbath", did they ?"
Vinny quickly nodded. "Ding, ding, ding ! We have a winner ! Ok, kid ! Here goes, hang on tight !" As Vinny pressed play on the CD player, they were treated to various sound effects. First rainfall, a church bell, then rumbling thunder. All of a sudden, Tony's heavy guitar tone came blaring out, accompanied by Geezer's rumbling bass and Bill's thunderous drums. After a moment, everything quieted down, allowing Ozzy to begin his creepy tale about a dark, shadowy shape pointing at him. He certainly sounded terrified, often calling out to someone named "God" for help.
Once the song was over, Ahsoka huddled herself. "That was kind of scary, you know ?"
"Yeah, that was their initial intention." Vinny admitted. "Now I could easily spend hours talking about Sabbath, but I'm not going to do that, ok ? You're going to have to explore the music with those kids we've seen earlier. I think Tony's idea to let you make our setlist is one not to be wasted. I have a feeling you and those kids will choose nothing but the best songs." He rummaged further through the CD lot, picking one with a cover of 4 shirtless men, looking pretty attractive for the ladies. "Ah ha ! Here's one I know you'll get a kick out of. So we're moving along to 1973. In San Francisco, another quartet made an amazing debut. The band is called Montrose, because the guitar player's name is Ronnie Montrose. There's also a then-unknown Sammy Hagar on vocals, Bill Church on bass and Denny Carmassi on drums. So, without further ado, let's listen to a great song called "Bad Motor Scooter"."
As the song began, Ahsoka would never have guessed that Ronnie's guitar was mimicking a motorcycle's startup sound. Once it got going, she couldn't resist the temptation to dance in her seat. The vocals, the riffs, the drumming, everything was perfect. Once it was over, she looked at Vinny with so much anticipation. "Wow ! That was fantastic ! Will your next choice trump this ?"
Vinny once again looked through. What he came out with brought a huge grin to his face. "Oh yeah ! If this one doesn't blow you away, nothing will." He showed the cover to her. There were 5 heads of people made out of wax, each looking different with a flame on top of each. "Now... You'll excuse me if I totally skip Ian Gillan here, ok ? The band is called Deep Purple and there has been many lineups, but this here is my favourite. The year is 1974, after Mark II broke up, sending away singer Ian Gillan and bassist Roger Glover. In their stead, then-unknown David Coverdale joined as the new lead singer and Glenn Hughes, fresh out of a band called Trapeze, joined as bassist and helping Coverdale with vocals when needed. Ritchie Blackmore is the guitarist, Ian Paice is the drummer and Jon Lord is the keyboardist. So, let's listen to "Burn", shall we ?"
As the song began, Ahsoka could tell these guys were not fooling around. Blackmore's guitar riffs and solos were tasty, as were Paice's drum fills. Lord's Hammond Organ runs made her drop her jaw in shock. But what caught her off-guard was Hughes' insanely high notes. What Coverdale couldn't reach, Hughes did. Despite that Coverdale had a wicked soulful voice, Hughes stole the show vocally.
Seeing that she was so impressed, Vinny tilted to her. "Great song, right ? Now, we're getting to some fun stuff. We're moving a year further, to 1975. We'll take a look at two different bands, whom both allowed very famous vocalists to get their start. First up is a band called Hawkwind, this album here is called Warrior on The Edge of Time. The song we're going to listen to is called "Motorhead". Guess who wrote it ?" Vinny winked at her.
She wasn't sure, but she took a wild guess. "Lemmy ?"
Vinny couldn't hide his contentment. "Yeah, that was easy. Hey, High Five, kid !" Vinny cleared his throat. "Yeah, it was the last song he wrote for them. Other than him on bass and vocals for "Motorhead", we've got Dave Brock on guitars, vocals and keyboards, there's Nik Turner on saxophone, flute and also providing vocals, Simon House on violin, mellotron and various keyboards and finally, we have Alan Powell on drums and percussion. So, let's hear it."
Lemmy's distorted bass started things off, then his gravely voice came through. What was unusual was the inclusion of saxophones and violins. The song was also surprisingly slow-paced. Once the song was over, Ahsoka quickly shared her thoughts. "Really not what I expected, considering what I've heard him play back at that cantina. So, who's the other singer that got his big break ?"
"That, my young friend..." Vinny began. "...is where a legend began. The other band is called Rainbow. It was formed by both Ritchie Blackmore, whom was part of Deep Purple, and... our good friend Ronnie, when he had his own act called ELF. The two of them met by chance and found that they had a common vision in music. The formation of Rainbow, however, came at a heavy cost. It broke up ELF in the process. Anyways, aside Ritchie and Ronnie's obvious roles, there was three other ELF members : Craig Gruber on bass, Gary Driscoll on drums and Mickey Lee Soule on keyboards. Anyways, I'm not gonna ramble further, so let's listen to one of Ronnie's greatest songs with Rainbow, "Man on The Silver Mountain". Let's go !"
As soon as the track began, Ahsoka knew she was going to hear something special. Right away, Ronnie's vocal prowess was clearly evident. And backed up by gifted musicians, it was a masterpiece in its own right. Once it was over, she hugged her body. "Oohhh... Wow ! That was fantastic ! His first major break and he was already aceing it ! He was born to sing, wasn't he ?"
Vinny snorted a laugh. "Major understatement there, kiddo ! Ok... let's move on to something else here..." He shuffled through the CD artworks. He found one with an angel surrounded by flames. "Oh yeah, can't talk about metal without mentionning Judas Priest. Now these fellas really turned things up a notch. This is their second album, called Sad Wings of Destiny, released in 1976. Lineup consists of the unimitable Rob Halford on vocals, K. K. Downing and Glenn Tipton on guitars, Ian Hill on bass and Alan Moore on drums. So, we're going to listen to a little song called "Victim of Changes". Here goes !"
This one was definitely heavier in tone, plus Halford's screaming voice surprised Ahsoka, especially by the end, when Rob suddenly belted out a particularly high and long note. She shook her head. "Not bad at all ! I can hear the sound getting heavier and heavier."
Vinny picked a couple more albums. "Ok, I'll talk about two more and then we'll shut off the player to give our hearing a break, ok with you ?"
She felt her sore montrals. They hurt, but she still enjoyed the loud music. "Sounds like a plan !"
He held a CD in his hand. "Ok, we've heard Lemmy when he was in Hawkwind, here we'll listen to him in his own band, which he named after the last song he wrote for them. Here is Motörhead's 2nd album, called Overkill, released in early 1979. Featuring what many consider to be the "classic" lineup of the band : Lemmy on bass and vocals, Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor on drums and "Fast" Eddie Clarke on guitar. We'll listen to the title track, it's a speedy number highlighted by Phil's use of double-bass drums. Here we go !"
Ahsoka couldn't put her finger to it, but the music was definitely fast-paced, raw and exciting. The introduction was even played three times, giving the impression that the song never wanted to end. Once the final note ended, she struggled to think how she'd describe the song. "I'm really not sure with this one... It's fast, it's loud... but it also sounds... "dirty" ?"
Vinny snorted a laugh. "Oh yeah, at that point, they were considered the dirtiest band ever. Lemmy himself had said something along the lines of : "Our music is so loud and dirty, if we moved right next to you, your lawn will die !"" He picked up the last CD they'd listen to for the time being. It featured a creepy character controlling a red devil through puppet strings. "Ok, last but certainly not least, we'll have a look into a little band called Iron Maiden. This is their third album, called The Number of The Beast, released in 1982. This is the first album to feature mainstay vocalist Bruce Dickinson, replacing Paul Di'Anno from the first two albums. It's the last to feature drummer Clive Burr. Like Judas Priest, Maiden has two guitarists, Dave Murray and Adrian Smith. The lineup is completed by Steve Harris on bass. So, let's keep things simple by listening to the title track. Here goes !"
As the song began, it was a telling from the Bible. Soon after, the guitars kicked in and Dickinson's voice came through, soon surprising Ahsoka with an operatic scream unlike she heard before. Basically, the song was about the devil having a number, a human number, being 666. It soon became apparent to her that Dickinson had incredible vocal abilities and used them to perfection. Once the song was over, Ahsoka rubbed her montrals, being quite sore from the barrage of music she endured since her ride back to the Temple began. "Ooooohhhh... Good music, Vinny. Real good music, but my hearing really needs a break."
Vinny smiled. "Well, hopefully I've done good with my take on Heavy Metal History 101. Did you learn a lot just now ?"
She nodded. "Definitely, though I can't guarantee I'll remember all those names."
"Don't worry about it. The more you listen, the more you'll get into it." He suddenly stopped at a slight crossroads. "Oh ? Where do we go from here ? Left or Right ?"
"Left !" Ahsoka pointed. "Look in the skyline, you can barely make out one of the Temple's top spires in the distance."
Vinny looked out, slightly shocked. "Gee... that is high ! Ok, left it is ! Here we go !" Before he stepped on the feeder, he put the lever on "park". "Before we move on, would you care for a drink and a snack ? I know I could use one."
Ahsoka's stomach began to grumble at the slight mention of food. "I'd like that. What do you got ?"
He took a moment, trying to recall what was left in the cupboard and in the fridge. "Nothing fancy, just chips and soda. Give a minute." He walked over to the small kitchen area, searching into the cupboard and then into the fridge. He brought out a couple of small bags of plain flavoured chips and a couple of cans of Coke. Sitting back into the driver's seat, he handed over a bag and a can. "Here we are ! As I said, nothing fancy, but it'll tide us until the next meal comes around."
As soon as Vinny started driving again, she tore into her bag of chips. Popping a couple in her mouth, she was pleasantly surprised. "Mmmm ! Crunchy and salty ! I like these !" She then opened her can of soda, once Vinny explained to her how to do it. Once again, she was pleased by the new taste experience. "Oh wow ! Sweet and refreshing ! This is great !"
Vinny nodded at her newfound pleasures. "You're welcome, kid ! Plenty more where those came from."
Jedi Temple
Several hours later, they finally arrived at the bottom of the long stairway leading to the Temple's entrance. Once they both stepped out, Ahsoka briefly stretched herself before doing anything else. "Ooohhh... Glad to be able to move a bit, my butt was getting sore."
Vinny snorted a laugh. "Tell me about it ! Ok, now here comes the fun part : We got to get all the instruments inside. There's a lot of them, so maybe I can get somebody to give us a hand." Looking upwards on the stairs, Vinny saw the fammiliar sight of Lemmy and Phil having one of their many smokes. "Hey guys ! Could you give us a hand with this ?"
Phil looked down on Vinny, completely in shock. "The fuck, man ?! You didn't even say please !"
That answer caused Lemmy to laugh out loud. "Ha ha ha ! Oh Phil, that was great ! Alright, sure we'll help out."
As Phil came down, Vinny flipped both birds on him, causing Ahsoka to be very confused. Phil's reply confused her even more. "Look man, I know I'm number 1. No need to say it further !"
Vinny just rolled his eyes. "Ok, that didn't work as intended. Whatever man, let's just focus on getting the instruments inside." He turned over to the Togruta. "Say, where would we play ? We need a big, big room and plenty of seats. Is there anywhere like that ?"
She cupped her chin in thought, pacing around. "Hmm. Actually, I think I might know the perfect place for your performances. The Funeral Pyre Room has ample space, with plenty of seating. Yes, with a bit of tinkering about, we can turn it into a music room, so to speak."
Phil helped himself with a portion of the drum kit. "Ok, I'll carry these. If we get a good load to carry along, we'll follow you whereever that place is."
Lemmy reached in for his familiar Rickenbacker bass. "Hello, darling. Did you miss me ?"
Vinny carried the other portion of the drum kit while Ahsoka helped herself with all the wiring and microphone.
Funeral Pyre Room
About 10 minutes later, they reached the Pyre Room. Lemmy took a glance around. "Lots of room here. Oh yeah, we can definitely make plenty of noise here." He placed his bass on the floor, right next to one of the sections that Jedi caskets are lowered in to be cremated.
On their second trip, the remainder of their instruments were gathered. Ahsoka was able to gather some amps for when there was a big announcement being made. Lemmy paced around the amps and was checking if they missed anything. "Could've sworn there's something else..." Then it hit him like a wall of bricks. "Murder One ! Of course ! How could I forget ?"
"Murder One ?" Ahsoka raised an eye marking. "Care to explain ?"
Lemmy was all-too pleased to share. "The amp for my bass, child. It's what gave Motörhead its signature tone since the very beginning. But did I bring it along ? I don't think I did..."
"I'll go have a look." Phil offered. "I don't think we forgot anything else, I mean the full drum kit is here, several bass and guitars, keyboards, microphone, stand, all sorts of wires and amps. It's just a matter of hooking everything up."
Vinny had a second look. "Aside from Lem's amp, everything else seems to be accounted for. So we might even be able to make a test run."
Phil nodded. "Ok, I'll go and check if we did indeed bring Murder One along with us. I'll be back in a few."
As he headed back towards the bus, Vinny then parted company from the rest. "Ahsoka, I think you can handle the rest on your own. I'm gonna go check on Ron. See you guys later."
As Vinny left off for the Healing Wing, Lemmy sat and patted the seat next to him. "Come here, girl. While we wait, why don't we check out some of my best clips on my phone ?" As Ahsoka sat besides Lemmy, he reached out in his pocket and pulled out a cellphone with a touchscreen. "Do we have access to the Internet here ?"
She looked at him with a confused look. "The what ?"
Lemmy shrugged his shoulders. "I guess that's a no. Good thing I saved them on my phone. Give me a moment." He scrolled some and found one. "Aha ! Here's a good one ! It's a cover of "God Save The Queen" from The Sex Pistols. So it's me, my more recent guitarist Phil Campbell and my more recent drummer Mikkey Dee. Have a look."
As the video began to play, Ahsoka was shocked to see a shaved Lemmy in the clip. From what she could make out, the trio were playing on top of a moving vehicle in what looked like a great city. An aged lady showed up from time to time.
She pointed at the screen. "That's the Queen referred to in the song ?"
Lemmy smiled. "No. The real Queen isn't one for Rock n' Roll, this lady, whom looks a lot like her, was a good sport. She even joins us during the solo. I really enjoyed making that cover. Was a lot of fun."
Once it was over, Ahsoka already had the song stuck in her head. "I actually enjoyed that. Anything else you think I might like ?"
He scrolled some more. "For sure ! Hold on, let me get the one we did for "Eat The Rich". It's a fun one."
As the video began, she saw some people gathered in what looked like a cantina of sorts. Once the music kicked in, she swayed her head a little bit from side to side. As she enjoyed the visuals and instruments, most of the lyrics went over her head. She would never know what "Shetland Pony, extra Pepperoni" really was.
Once it was done, she wanted to know more. "Who were all those people ?"
Lemmy laughed softly. "Ah, they were actors. This video was made to accompany a movie that I also had a small acting role in that had the same name, it also promoted my latest album at the time. Of course, both movie and album didn't do so well. At least things changed for the better afterwards."
Before they could watch another video, some voices in the hallways got their attention.
"Hey Mister ! What's in that box ?"
"You're not supposed to go into the Pyre Room. Does Master Yoda know you're going there ?"
"Now now now kiddies, don't make me drop this, all right ? This "box" belongs to Mr. Kilmister and he's in there with... ah... ? What's her name again ?"
"Padawan Tano ?! What are you doing in here ?" A young Tholothian girl made her way in, followed by a young Human boy and Phil trailing slightly behind them with his hands full.
Ahsoka welcomed the two Younglings. "Katooni ! Petro ! How nice to see you both !"
As Phil placed Murder One on top of one of the typical amps, he glanced back at the children. "Is it ok if they followed me ? They just saw me and..."
Ahsoka wrapped both around her arms. "Not a problem, Phil. They're good children. They won't cause any trouble at all."
Lemmy was busy connecting some wiring between the normal amp and Murder One. "I guess they can stick around while we make a quick sound check. Hopefully, they're not too sensitive to loudness."
Petro's curiosity kicked in. "What do you mean loud ? What are all those weird things lying around ?"
Phil nearly choked on laughter. "Woah woah woah woah ! Are you telling me you have NO clue what these instruments are ?! REALLY ?!"
As Petro was about let out a witty retort, Lemmy decided to have a little fun. "Ok, so you've never heard these ? That's all right. It's fine. You'll get used to them soon enough." He ushered the two Younglings to some seats. "Well, I guess it's only fitting I give you children a "sneak peek". Do you like the sound of that ?"
Petro nodded excitedly while Katooni wasn't sure what Lemmy was hinting at.
Lemmy picked up his bass and set Murder One on standard settings. "Most bass players sound like this..." He played a few bland notes. "Where as I..." He quickly changed the settings, dropping the bass and treble to 0 and raising up the mids to 10, causing an obvious fuzzy hiss to come out of the speakers. "... sound quite different !" He gave a goofy smile as the first chord sounded heavily distorted, almost like a guitar. He kept on playing, watching the Younglings' reactions. Petro had a big smile plastered to his face while Katooni covered her ears. "Like that !"
Petro was so excited, he nearly jumped out of his seat. "Wow ! That was so wizard ! So the music you play sounds like that ?"
Phil tried so hard not to mock Petro's obvious ignorance. "Like that, only louder ! Much, much, MUCH louder ! LOUDER ! GRRRR ! This music grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go until we're done playing ! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha !"
Lemmy made shushing sounds at his overly excited drummer. "Geez, Phil ! We're supposed to get these children excited, not scare them off ! Chill out, bro !"
Ahsoka cleared her throat, trying to break the camaraderie between the two. "Well... I've not only got a taste at their loudness at the cantina the other night, but Vinny played one of your early songs... I think it was called "Overkill". Not completely sure, but that's what I think it was." She turned to Petro and Katooni. "That was pretty loud, fast and... how do I put this ? Dirty ?"
Lemmy beamed at the mention of the classic song. "Oh yeah ! Overkill is great ! We usually save it for last during shows, really gets the crowd going ! Bare in mind, young ones, that our studio works are nothing like when we play those live !"
Phil pumped both fists up. "FASTER AND LOUDER ! GRRR ! GRRR ! GRRR !"
Lemmy tilted his head towards Phil, snorting a laugh. "Overexcited much ? Take it easy, ok !"
Phil, wanting to do the comedian, raised his hand in a salute. "Aye aye, sir !" He nearly knocked himself out while doing it, causing the Younglings and Ahsoka to have a good laugh.
Healing Wing
As Vinny entered the room where Ronnie was, he noticed Tony and Geezer sitting nearby. The ginger-haired bassist raised his head up upon Vinny walking in. "Oh, you're back ? So the bus is outside this place ?"
"Yeah, myself and Ahsoka had a lot of fun on the way. We listened to a lot of music."
It was Tony's turn to look up to Vinny. "So, she reacted well ? Then she'll likely pick us a fine setlist."
Vinny nodded. "Yeah, I really like how open-minded she is. Then again, most young people are like that." He turned towards Ronnie, who was slowly stirring from his sleep. "Hey Ron, how you feeling ?"
Ronnie slowly opened his eyes and set himself against the pillow. "Hey, Vin. Oh, I'm doing so much better. It's the first time I've slept so well in months."
Vinny grabbed hold of Ronnie's hands. "Glad to hear, you really had us scared. Anything we could do for you ? Anything at all ?"
Ronnie's newly healed stomach began to grumble. "Well, since you're asking, I would kill for a nice, hot plate of British-Style Curry. Not likely to find that here, right ?"
Geezer raised from his seat, walking over to Ronnie and Vinny. "We might not find it here, Ron... however, don't we have some frozen dinners in the bus ?"
Vinny suddenly smiled. "Hey, now that you mention it... I do remember seeing those in the tiny freezer we have ! Yeah ! Pretty sure it's your favourite too, Ron. Lamb Vindaloo Curry, right ?"
"Did somebody say "Curry" ?" A voice called out as the familiar sight of Glenn came into view. He boasted his typical big smile to the group. "If there's extra, I'm definitely up for it !"
Ronnie didn't object. "You got me into spicy Indian cuisine all those years ago, Glenn, so of course we'll spare one for you !"
"Two curries comin' up !" Vinny rushed towards the bus, feeling content and excited that his close friend recovered fully from his illness. Once inside, he searched the cupboards for a couple of plates. Quickly reaching into the small freezer below the fridge, he picked out two frozen dinners, making sure they were the kind asked for. Several minutes later after being microwaved, both meals were transferred onto the plates. He also grabbed a couple of plastic utensil sets before heading back inside the Temple. Quickly rushing through the many corridors, Vinny finally reached the Healing Wing.
As he entered, he tried to make the best waiter impression. He stopped at Ronnie's bed, offering the plate. "Here we are, sir. I hope you'll find your meal to your satisfaction."
Ronnie quickly grabbed the plate and tore the plastic bag containing the utensils and napkin. "You know I will !" As he began to eat, everyone watched to see if he'd have some trouble eating, but thankfully no. "Ohhhh, this is great ! I almost forgot how fantastic curry is ! Thanks a ton, Vin !"
Glenn then savoured his meal. "Mmmm. Oh, this brings back memories of my Trapeze and Purple days. I think my greatest memory is when I brought... Tommy Bolin... to... one of these... Indian restaurants." He then broke into tears.
Tony walked over to Glenn, giving him a much needed hug. "Hey, it's all right. Tommy was a great player, nobody will argue that. That one album he did with Deep Purple was nothing short of a masterpiece. Sadly, his addiction issues took him far, far too soon."
Glenn wiped the tears from his eyes. "He had so much to give, so much to do. It breaks my heart everytime I think about him. Aside Jon, Tommy was the one in Purple I connected with the most. We both enjoyed having fun, even if we did party a little bit too hard on many occasions. Fucking drugs ! Why, why, WHY did he have to die so young ?! 25 is barely enough time to get your bearings straight."
Tony also wiped a few tears of his own. "I wasn't any better, Glenn. It took me years to get off coke. Just be glad that he was able to complete his current works before his untimely and tragic passing. We both have been fortunate and strong enough to face and defeat our inner demons. Not everyone is capable of this."
Glenn took a deep breath. "You remember "In Memory..." that we wrote on Seventh Star ? I insist that I play it during our coming performance... and I'll dedicate it to Tommy."
Tony nodded. "I think he'd approve of the gesture, Glenn. We'll do it."
Ronnie cleared his throat. "I really hate to break up this moment and I don't want either of you to think that I'm putting proverbial salt on fresh wounds, but I'd like to perform "Die Young" from the Heaven & Hell album. Are you two ok with that ?"
Glenn looked to Ronnie, his smile slowly returning. "No offense taken, that is a great song. I'm sure the audience will love it."
Tony tilted towards Ronnie. "Do you want me to do my solo at first, like I did back at the Radio City Music Hall back in 2007 ?"
Ronnie smiled and raised a fist in the air. "That's a great idea ! Yeah ! Let's do it !"
Voices from the hall caught their attention. "We're almost there. Now remember, don't bombard him with questions. He's likely still tired."
"Ahsoka ? That man really sings well ? Better than Mr. Kilmister ?"
"You liked his voice, Petro ? I thought it was too rough, it's not beautiful."
"All right, you two. We're here. Behave yourselves." The familiar Togruta teen entered with a couple of Younglings by her side.
Ronnie waved to her. "Hi there ! I don't think we've met. I'm Ronnie James Dio. Pleased to make your acquaintance. From what I've been told, it's thanks to your Master's quick actions that I'm here and better."
Ahsoka's lekku stripes darkened slightly. "That's my Master ! Always doing things on impulse. I'm Ahsoka Tano. These two Younglings here are Katooni and Petro. I think I'll have them stay with me and help out to prepare the list of songs all of you will play."
Tony approved her choice. "I have a good feeling about you three. Whenever you feel ready to dive into our music, just give the word."
"Fast" Eddie suddenly entered. "Hey Ron ! How are you feeling ?"
Ronnie gave a thumbs up. "Much better, Eddie. Thanks for asking."
Eddie nodded and turned his attention to the three Jedi. "I've heard that you'll be picking songs for us to play. Now, I assume that myself, Phil and Lemmy will start things up before Sabbath gets their show going. I only have one request." He gave Ahsoka 5 CDs, being Motörhead, Overkill, Bomber, Ace of Spades and Iron Fist. "Please choose out of these, since these are the ones I've done with the band. Nothing against what came after me, but I'd rather play songs I'm familiar and comfortable with."
Ahsoka accepted. "I don't have a problem with that. Even with only these, there's more than enough to choose from."
Eddie patted her shoulder. "Atta girl !"
"Ok, we've got one part of the show covered. What about the other ?"
Vinny raised a finger in the air. "Give me a few minutes, kid. I'll be right back !" He ran back to the bus, finding a medium-sized box, he gathered all the albums. There was even room to place a small CD player with built-in speakers inside. Once reaching Ronnie's room, he handed over the box to her. "You'll have it all in here, there's even some room for those Motörhead albums that Eddie gave you. So, where's your private room ?"
Excitement grew and Ahsoka lead the way. "It's not too far. Technically, however, it's not just my room, I share it with my Master. Makes me wonder how he'll react to all the loud music playing."
"I think he won't mind. He had enjoyed our show the other night, right ?" Vinny asked.
She felt her montrals, they were as good as new. "He did. Probably more than I did then, but after all that music I heard with you, I have a feeling I'll enjoy it more than him now."
Anakin and Ahsoka's Quarters
Finally entering her and Anakin's quarters, she was not surprised that he wasn't there. "Probably once again went to see Senator Amidala. There has to be something going on between them." She stopped at her room. "This is it, it's not much, but it does the job."
Vinny helped out by placing the player on the floor and plugging it. "This baby hasn't been operated in many years, hopefully it still works." Opening the top, he blew off the dust that gathered over years of not being used. "Let's just pop in a random CD." He chose Mob Rules. Upon pressing Play, "Turn Up The Night" began. After a few seconds, he pressed Stop. "Yep, still works after all this time ! Awesome ! You kids are all set ! Happy listening !" Vinny turned around and started to exit the room, but Ahsoka caught his foot.
"Wait a minute ! In what order should we listen to these ? I mean... I know it should be chronological, but I have no idea of that."
Vinny raised a finger. "Good point ! Let me write these down somewhere..." He searched his pockets and found a conveniently folded, empty sheet of paper. "Why did I keep this again ?" He searched another and found a pen. "Ok, give me a minute here."
Several minutes passed as he wrote down the list. Handing over the sheet to Ahsoka, this is what she saw.
Motörhead
Motörhead, Overkill, Bomber, Ace of Spades, Iron Fist
Black Sabbath/Heaven & Hell
Black Sabbath, Paranoid, Master of Reality, Vol. 4, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Sabotage, Technical Ecstasy, Never Say Die, Heaven & Hell, Mob Rules, Born Again, Seventh Star, Eternal Idol, Headless Cross, TYR, Dehumanizer, Cross Purposes, Forbidden, The Devil You Know
Tucked in the very bottom of the box, Ahsoka found another CD. From what she could tell, the band was called Dio while the album itself seemed to be titled Angry Machines. "Hmm... Maybe he put that one in there by mistake."
Vinny had a quick glance before turning away for good. "Nope ! No accident at all, kid ! Once you've listened to everything else, give it a spin. You'll be blown away !" He then shut the door behind him to leave the three to their task.
Nearly a week went by as Ahsoka and the children listened over and over to 25 albums. In the end, they struggled to make what would be the absolute setlist. It came as follows...
Motörhead
1. Bomber (From Bomber)
2. Ace of Spades (From Ace of Spades)
3. Dead Men Tell No Tales (From Bomber)
4. Stay Clean (From Overkill)
5. Motörhead (From Motörhead)
6. No Class (From Overkill)
7. Iron Horse/Born to Lose (From Motörhead)
8. Iron Fist (From Iron Fist)
9. Metropolis (From Overkill)
10. Overkill (From Overkill)
Black Sabbath
11. Black Sabbath (From Black Sabbath)
12. Trashed (From Born Again)
13. Devil and Daughter (From Headless Cross)
14. In For The Kill (From Seventh Star)
15. TV Crimes (From Dehumanizer)
16. Under The Sun (From Vol. 4)
17. Anno Mundi (From TYR)
18. Mob Rules (From Mob Rules)
19. Turn to Stone (From Seventh Star)
20. Stonehenge/Disturbing The Priest (From Born Again)
21. Iron Man (From Paranoid)
22. Dying For Love (From Cross Purposes)
23. Die Young (From Heaven & Hell)
24. Nightwing (From Headless Cross)
25. Don't Tell The Kids (From Angry Machines)
26. Johnny Blade (From Never Say Die)
27. The Dark/Zero The Hero (From Born Again)
28. Symptoms of The Universe (From Sabotage)
29. Rusty Angels (From Forbidden)
30. The Sphinx/Seventh Star (From Seventh Star)
31. Killing Yourself to Live (From Sabbath Bloody Sabbath)
32. The Shining (From Eternal Idol)
33. Children of The Grave (From Master of Reality)
34. Born Again (From Born Again)
35. Children of The Sea (From Heaven & Hell)
36. Danger Zone (From Seventh Star)
37. Bible Black (From The Devil You Know)
38. Heaven & Hell (From Heaven & Hell)
39. Angry Heart/In Memory... (From Seventh Star)
40. Paranoid (From Paranoid)
This was it. There was no turning back now. While Katooni and Petro were caught up in their Younglings training, Ahsoka went with her list and presented it to the key members of both groups. Her first thought was to meet with Ronnie. She made her way to the Healing Wing.
Healing Wing
As Ahsoka approached Ronnie's room, the familiar voice of Jedi Healer Vokara Che was heard. "Your speed of recovery surprises me, Mr. Padavona. You have a much stronger constitution than I initially thought. A few more days of rest and I believe you'll be able to return to your friends."
Ronnie sat up, propping himself against the pillow. "That's great news, doc ! Yes, I like to think that I have a stronger resolve than most. I was brought into this life for a reason... and as far as I'm aware, I'm nowhere near done yet !"
Ahsoka knocked on the walls of the entrance, not wanting to startle anyone. "Hi ! Can I come in ?"
Ronnie was overjoyed to see her again. "Hey, kiddo ! How are you ? Haven't heard from you for a few days. What's up ?"
"Doing well, thank you sir." She came upon his bed with her datapad. "Myself and the two Younglings you've seen a few days ago have been hard at work. We've listened to so much over and over and I like to think that we selected a pretty solid list of songs for you all to play." She offerred him her datapad. "Have a look and tell me what you think."
Ronnie quickly went over the tentative setlist. His eyebrows went straight up. "Wow ! So much variation ! Wha- ?! There's even an Angry Machines song on here ! That must be Vinny that pushed that one onto you. Be honest. What did you think ?"
Her lekku stripes darkened. "W-well... It's uh... different ! And I mean that in the best way possible."
Ronnie nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it was a difficult time for me and many other bands out there. Grunge was the flavour of the decade, but I don't follow trends at all. Never have, never will. The album didn't do so well... I realize I might have strayed a little bit too far from fan expectations. People would tell me "Oh yeah, we like it." But deep down, they wanted something like my earlier works, such as Holy Diver and The Last in Line. Well, I did that with Magica, while it didn't sell exactly like hot cakes, it did better than Angry Machines. I wanted to move forward, but that meant having to let go of Tracy G, an incredible and unique guitarist. At least we got off on a good note, respecting each other."
Ahsoka raised an eye marking. "Do you think Mr. Iommi can play his part ?"
Ronnie nearly choked in laughter. "Tony channeling Tracy ?! No way ! While their sound is similar, their technique are so different from one another. "Fast" Eddie might be able to, he's kind of a crazy player too. We'll have to ask him about it. I'm going to take a snooze now, what I want you to do is to pass this list by Tony and see what he says."
"Got it ! I can't wait to hear what he'll say." She went off to find him. Looking at her chrono, it was early morning, so she could possibly find him in the mess hall, sipping tea.
Mess Hall
Upon reaching her destination, Ahsoka found her man as expected, sitting at a corner by a window, sipping on a cup of hot tea. She made her presence known as discreetly as possible. "Good morning."
Tony looked up. "Ah, good morning, my young friend. What can I do for you ?"
She handed her datapad. "Have a look at this. Tell me what you think."
"Cor Blimey ! What's this then ?" He quickly glanced at the list. "Oh ? OH ! Goodness ! What a list you and those children came up with ! Bravo, bravo !" He almost fell off his chair when he noticed a couple of unexpected surprises. "Ah ! There's even a Dio track wedged in there ! And Johnny Blade from Never Say Die ?! I'm not even sure if we ever played that live or not..."
"I really enjoyed that one sir, it's so much fun to listen to !"
Tony patted Ahsoka on her shoulder. "You know what ? We'll put in extra effort into our performance when it comes up. Hopefully Ozzy won't mind, even though he really hates that album." He pointed at a lone man at a distant table. "Lemmy's over there having his drink, show him what you've chosen for his band to play."
Without skipping a beat, Ahsoka went ahead and sat next to Lemmy. "Good morning ! How are you ?"
Lemmy waved to her, giving his warm smile as always. "Mornin' to you too ! What do you have there ? Can I have a look ?"
"Of course ! Here you are."
Handing over her datapad, Lemmy took a quick glance at the full list. "Some great choices here ! Wow ! I find it especially interesting that all your Motörhead picks are from the first major run with Phil Taylor and Eddie. Nothing wrong with that. There's just enough to get people really excited before Sabbath have their shot." He shook her hand. "Congratulations on a job well done ! I had a feeling that you had good taste in music ! Really, I'm flattered by how you selected the songs. Phil and Eddie will enjoy themselves as much as I !"
Before Ahsoka went back to her quarters, Lemmy leaned closer to her. "All right if we give you a shout out before we're done ? You deserve a round of applause for your contribution and dedication, really !"
Her lekku stripes darkened momentarily. "Why, thank you sir. Sure, you can let everyone know that I helped out. Just don't leave out Katooni and Petro, because they helped out too."
Lemmy tipped his cavalry hat. "I'll be sure to remember that ! You take care and we'll meet again, count on it !" He waved her goodbye.
She left the mess hall, a warm feeling forming inside of her. She knew that these musicians were going to give their all. Anybody that would have the fortune to attend would be in for a show of the highest caliber.
And done ! I've taken extra time and extra thought into this particular chapter. As you can see, Ahsoka gets along really well with the musicians. Though the big show won't happen yet, because we're missing a very special attendee. Without spilling the proverbial beans, she'll definitely appreciate the show after the intense stress she's been under. An old friend comes to help... with an unexpected ally. I'm not saying more ;) You will all find out in the coming chapter. As always, reviews are always appreciated !