Aleena had been clubbing before numerous times in her somewhat dubious past, but never quite like this. The dark, dank, smoke-filled Mos Espa cantina was vastly different from the neon-lit clubs on Coruscant's underworld, both in sight and smell. It was darker here, more dangerous even, and the air was filled with the heavy, musky odor of the galaxy's myriad unwashed criminals and lowlifes. Aleena was used to seeing the array of colors and designs of Coruscant's party-loving residents' clothing, but here it seemed that the beings couldn't care less what they looked like. Thus it was fairly difficult to spot Aquel through the haze, clad as she was in simple brown and gray.
"This is a nice place for strategizing," Aleena noted wryly as she sat down opposite Aquel. She tried not to notice the reddish stains covering the rough, dirty table's circular surface. More than one creature had met his or her end here, probably recently. "How did you manage to find it? It's so quaint."
"Your sarcasm could melt the skin off a hutt," Aquel laughed. The pale Jedi seemed overly relaxed for being in a den of thieves and killers; her arms were folded serenely behind her head, and she watched the crowd with lazy half-interest. "This place happens to be a haven for those who don't wish to be found."
"We don't want to be found?" Aleena asked. "Are we hiding from someone?"
"All sorts of rumors about Jedi Knights exist, even out here. If we were to make ourselves obvious, it might be difficult to accomplish whatever business we need to finish. Do you believe Watto would have bought that hyperdrive unit from you if he knew you were a Jedi?"
It was true, Aleena conceded silently. Secrecy might be the best policy in this situation. "Thank you, by the way, for giving me that hyperdrive unit to sell. I don't know where I would have gotten one."
"They say everything happens for a reason," Aquel smiled. "I almost sold that extra unit prior to our departure, but something told me I might need it. Here I was, thinking my Seinar unit would be damaged, and in reality, I only needed to keep it to sell it way out here!"
"Aren't Seinar units generally reserved for the black market?" Aleena asked suspiciously.
"Of course," Aquel replied airily, unconcerned. "They're the best units out there, after all. My ship deserves only top-notch equipment."
"What else do you have on that thing?"
Aquel laughed again. "If I told you, I would have to kill you. As it is, you'd be wise not to breath a word of this to any authorities."
"You're rather different for a Jedi," Aleena muttered. "What would the Council do if they knew you were parking an illegal ship in their hanger?"
"What would they do if they knew what you and Ben were up to?" Aquel countered.
"Point taken," Aleena said sheepishly. She turned her eyes toward the crowd to hide her embarrassment. "So, where is Malarow?"
"He just left," Aquel replied. "He wanted me to see if I could get any information for him about some human boy."
"So… why are we sitting here?"
"We're waiting for one of my contacts."
"Contacts??" Aleena asked, sounding almost horrified. "What sort of contacts could a respected Jedi Knight have in a place like this?"
"Not so loud," Aquel muttered. "Do you want the entire planet to know we're here?" She furtively scanned the crowd to see if anyone was watching. "I need contacts on these planets to keep me informed. It's always a good idea to have someone in the populace who can tell you what you need to know."
"And dat's what yous need knowledge-brokers like me for," said a gravelly, rough voice from behind them. Aleena nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound, and immediately whirled about to face the speaker.
"Aleena, meet Brolo the Dug – my very underworld contact," Aquel grinned.
"At yous service," Brolo said, clambering up to seat himself impertinently next to Aquel. He was a fairly average Dug, a little shorter than most of his brethren, but still impressive. Dugs are the sort of creatures that you don't want to mess with, regardless of size or gender. Like most of his species he was very muscular, from his small little legs to his long, powerful arms and thick, sinewy hands that he used in place of feet. He had a blunt, square muzzle and mean little eyes, and he had beaded the little strips of skin hanging down off his snout. His black flight jacket was studded with small metal rings and rivets, along with a couple of tiny bones from late adversaries.
"So, what yous want, eh? You looking for a hot night?" Brolo asked, giving a sharp-fanged grin.
Aleena looked absolutely horrified and edged back against the rough, dirty wall, but Aquel answered with perfect calm. "You know I'm not that kind of customer, Brolo. All I want is information."
Brolo gave a harsh, throaty laugh. "Ok, but yous tell me if you change your mind. So, what information can I get yous, eh?"
"Who's the favorite to win the Boonta Eve race?"
The dug suddenly gave a loud, raucous laugh. "Yous be payin' me for DAT info? Here I thinkin' yous Jedi were smart! Yous killin' me here!"
Aquel reacted swiftly, maintaining the same aura of calm and confidence. She whipped out her green saber and placed the energy beam at Brolo's bobbing, wattled throat, and spoke to him with a hint of steel in her voice. "We really will kill you if you don't stop laughing and start talking."
Brolo got the idea. He sobered up, but continued grinning. "I get yous point. All right, I tell yous what you wantin' to know."
The bar patrons disappointedly turned back to their tables as Aquel deactivated her emerald saber and resume her serene posture. They had been expecting a nice, violent fight, but apparently this was one of those rare moments when words, not weapons, had solved a dispute.
"So, yous wantin' to know the favorite. He a good buddy of mine, a Dug by the name of Sebulba."
"How can you guarantee that?"
"Oh, yous be wantin' a guarantee," Brolo chuckled. "He got lots of insurance, lots of illegal insurance."
Aquel nodded and smiled. "Thank you, Brolo. You're as reliable as always."
"Just doin' my job."
"I still need one more piece of information from you, though."
"Ah, dat may be a liddle hard. My throat feelin' parched. Hows about yous order us a drink?"
Aleena scowled as Aquel signaled the bartender. Why was she accommodating this slime? The younger Jedi wanted to shove Brolo out of the booth with her foot. Maybe that would clear the air a little.
"Do you want anything?" Aquel asked as the bartender waddled over to their table.
"An absinthe, if they have it," Aleena replied. Perhaps a dose of the highly hallucinogenic substance would relax her and help her to ignore the fact that this elder Jedi was behaving like a criminal drug-dealer.
Brolo gave a small sigh of satisfaction when the drinks arrived. He took his tall, blue glass in one gloved foot-hand and drank deeply. "This good stuff. All right, what else yous want to know?"
"What can you tell me about the human boy named Anakin Skywalker?" Aquel asked, fixing Brolo with a piercing gaze.
"Ah, human boy… I know him. It gonna cost you more, though," Brolo said, suddenly businesslike.
'This should cover everything," Aquel answered, sliding a slip of paper with several numbers scrawled on it to his waiting foot-hand.
"Yeah, this cover everything," Brolo grinned, slipping the paper into one of the studded pockets of his jacket. "Lessee, Anakin. There not much to tell, really. He a slave boy for a Toydarian name Watto."
"How old is he? What does he look like? I need more facts, Brolo."
Brolo nodded. "And I need to stay alive. Right, he about eight or nine standard years old, blond, blue eyes. He sort of short, and he race pods for Watto."
"Who are his parents?"
"His mother named Shmi Skywalker, and he have no father. He a slave, not so important." Brolo eyed Aquel suspiciously. "Why you want to know all this? Why a Jedi Knight want to know about a slave?"
"My business is my own," Aquel said sharply. Aleena sensed a hint of steel in her normally gentle voice, and realized that even if this older woman conversed with the scum of the galaxy, she was still a Jedi Knight.
"Of course, I not mean to pry," Brolo said quickly. "I leave yous Jedi to you work. Thanks for the drink." With that the dug got up from the table and left, skirting the crowds of creatures and heading for the bar.
Once Brolo was safely out of earshot, Aleena let Aquel know exactly what she had been thinking during the whole exchange. "What were you doing?" she exploded. "Why did you pay that foul creature for telling us information that we could have easily gathered on our own??"
"Brolo is a safe, reliable source," Aquel said calmly.
"Reliable, yeah right! Did you hear what he asked us when he sat down? A hot night??"
"He was only joking. I've been buying information from him for years."
Aleena fumed silently. She was stuck on a desert planet, light-years away from any sort of civilized society, with a crazy Jedi who talked to dirty-minded Dugs. She had such foul luck.
"You know, I think this mission is turning out rather well," Aquel smiled, leaning back against the wall.
"Why do you think that?" Aleena asked suspiciously. Maybe Aquel was a sith in disguise, and she was ready to kill the fellowship…
"Qui-Gon's coming here," Aquel replied brightly.
~-~-~-
Hotaru, Fae, and Tayro snuck towards Theed, silent and cautious. STAPs buzzed overhead with frightening speed, scanning for any signs of mechanical opposition. The three had left their Tauntauns behind a while ago, and now approached the city on foot, ducking beneath bushes whenever danger approached. The droid invaders hadn't yet swarmed over the city entirely; it would take a few more hours for them to organize, but by then Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon would be well inside. Fae and Hotaru had a more difficult job.
"I need to get into that palace before they take the Queen away," Fae whispered as the three crouched behind a pillar.
"We'll have to act fast, then," Tayro muttered. "We shouldn't meet too much opposition until we actually reach the palace. It'll be easy to avoid the guards."
"Let's be sure to destroy any that do see us," Hotaru cautioned. "We don't want them to know we're coming."
The three agreed to avoid as many confrontations as possible, and to eliminate any guards that did see them. They crept further into the besieged city, swimming through clear pools of water and climbing over beautifully carved pillars and walls, always watchful. The lightsabers of the two Jedi and the marksmanship of Tayro kept them adequately protected, and within minutes they came within view of the great Palace. STAPs patrolled in thick swarms here, and tanks wheezed and rumbled along the narrow streets. Battle droids marched beside the durasteel behemoths like ants, aiming their blasters at anything that moved.
"This might be a little tricky," Tayro muttered as the three spied on the scene from a rooftop. "There's no way we can sneak past all of that, and by the time they break up and move on, your Queen will be long gone."
"We need a distraction," Hotaru whispered. "You and I can get their attention, Tayro. That'll leave a way clear for Fae to get into the palace."
"What happens once she's in there? The guards will be just as thick."
"I can take care of myself," Fae smiled. "There won't be tanks and STAPs inside the palace, and battle droids are notoriously weak."
"Contact me if you need any help," Hotaru said. "I'll be in this city for a while."
"And I'll be off-planet, if all goes according to plans," Fae replied.
"Ms. Hotaru, why don't we head for my sister's house? She's ill, and my wife went this morning to see how she was doing. You could use her house as safe lodgings for as long as you need."
"You're very kind," Hotaru smiled. "I don't know how we can ever repay you."
"The fact that you're trying to get rid of this blockade is enough," Tayro replied. "I sense something big coming, and you Jedi can only help our cause."
"We'll do our best."
"May the Force be with you," Fae said softly.
"And with you," Hotaru replied.
Without any further conversation, Hotaru and Tayro slipped from their hiding place and towards the massed Droid guards. Fae waited, alert and watchful, looking for her chance to run across the courtyard and into the palace doors. She got that chance moments later when a blaster bolt struck one of the tanks; the guards immediately turned towards the disturbance, blasters firing. Nimble as a cat, Fae leapt from her hiding spot and dashed into the palace.
~-~-~-
Blade and Obsessive were getting bored, and when two young Padawans get board, there's bound to be some sort of trouble ahead. The two were lounging lazily in the cockpit of the Shield Dodger, tossing a very ripe fruit between them with the Force. They had been through all their meditation exercises already, and thus had nothing else to do.
"They shouldn't have left us here," Blade said as she caught the fruit and took a bite out of it. Juice from the fruit's less lucky predecessors clung to the bulkheads and floors.
"I bet they're having all sorts of fun without us," Obsessive muttered darkly. "They think we're too young to handle 'the dangers of Mos Espa'. Hah, dangers!"
"We were chosen to go on this mission, so they should know that we're competent enough to take care of ourselves."
"Speaking of our mission, why don't we go see if we can start ours?" Obsessive said, chucking the dripping fruit out the window. It landed with a satisfying 'splat', spattering juice and pulp all over the dusty ground. Tiny Womp Rats came out of the woodwork to nibble at the remains, scrabbling and fighting amongst each other viciously.
"What, you mean go spy on that Maul guy?" Blade asked, sitting up.
"Yeah, I bet he's here right now."
"I sense some dark energies, too," Blade muttered. "All right, let's go!"
The two Padawans crept out of the Shield Dodger, heading towards the most dangerous Sith in a century without a care.
A/N: Sorry this took so long @.@ I got kicked off of fanfiction.net, plus all my files were deleted from my computer, so I had to start this whole thing over x.x Next chapter coming soon! Same goes for 'Jedi Fellowship'. Go read 'Can we share? …no' and 'Come What May'!