"Uh..." Obi-Wan looked back at Nahlia, still in his arms. She let out a small embarrassed laugh. He suddenly realized his hand was still on her thigh and began to blush. "Yes. Of course, Master." He put her gently back on her feet.

Qui-Gon eyed the two of them - displeased. "You must be Nahlia."

"Yes." She answered. "You're Master Jinn?"

"Yes. I am Obi-Wan's Master."

"Master?" The young man spoke up. "His superior in other words? Excellent, I would like to file a complaint against your uh-" he pointed at Obi-Wan a moment, searching for the word, "employee."

"Padawan Learner." Qui-Gon corrected.

"Whatever." The man stepped closer to an increasingly annoyed Qui-Gon. "You see, I was just minding my own business, trying to talk to my girlfriend-"

Nahlia spoke up. "Ex-girlfriend."

The man glared back at her a bit. "Fine." He continued to the Master Jedi, "I was talking to my ex-girlfriend and your boy here attacks me!"

Qui-Gon, arms folded, flashed his blue eyes quietly in Obi-Wan and Nahlia's direction. "So I saw."

"He was attacking her,Master." Obi-Wan insisted.

"I was not attacking her."

"Enough." Qui-Gon said firmly - quieting both men. "Nahlia?"

Nahlia sighed. "He and I were arguing when he grabbed me and kissed me. Obi-Wan must have thought he was going to hurt me."

"But I wasn't." The man added for clarification.

"Mmm." Qui-Gon scratched his bearded chin a moment. "Well. That solves that."

"That solves nothing." The young man told him. "I want you to fire him... or at least beat him senseless."

"The Master-Padawan relationship doesn't work that way." Qui-Gon responded.

"Oh," the man raised an eyebrow. "And how does the 'Master-Padawan relationship' work?"

Qui-Gon squinted back, not liking the insinuation. "Obi-Wan, did you hit him at all?"

"Not yet." Obi-Wan responded through gnashing teeth.

"Pity." Qui-Gon responded almost under his breath.

The man waved his fingers at Obi-Wan in invitation. "Bring it on, braid boy."

Obi-Wan started forward but was stopped by Nahlia. "Stop." She told him quietly before turned to the man with a much sterner. "Stop it."

"We have work to do, Obi-Wan." Qui-Gon interjected. "We have people to find remember?"

"People?" Nahlia asked, concerned. "You mean there are others missing?"

"Yes, one was last seen here." Qui-Gon pulled his holoprojector out and brought up the image of the missing Ithorian. "Have you seen him?"

"No." Nahlia shook her head. "Sorry."

Qui-Gon brought up another image of a human female. "What about this girl?"

"No." Nahlia answered. The man watched the changing images with mild interest.

Qui-Gon changed the hologram again to a Twi'lek female. "What about this one?"

"No."

"How about these two?" Qui-Gon brought up an image of twin humanoid females - each with two antennae coming out of the long dark hair on their heads.

"Zana and Fiana." The man said with a lustful tone. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Nahlia shooting him an angry look. He tried to appear innocent to her. "Friends." He turned back to Qui-Gon. "So they're missing?"

"Yes." Qui-Gon Jinn answered coolly.

"Oh." He suddenly realized the implications from the Jedi's stares. "Um... I had nothing to do with that, you know."

"I'm sure." Qui-Gon told him as he and Obi-Wan slowly moved closer. "It would however be greatly appreciated if you could give us any information that would help us find your friends."

Intimidated, and not wishing to ever spend another night in a Coruscant jail, he answered willingly. "Well there is a bar where they used to hang out. Rondo's bar. It's just down Lynu Street."

"Thank you," Qui-Gon remained just in front of the man, reading him to be sure he was telling the truth. "Mr. - ?"

"Wilco." The man introduced himself finally. He offered Qui-Gon his hand. "Zep Wilco." After a moment, Qui-Gon took his hand and shook it.

"Mr. Wilco, we appreciate your assistance and may be in contact with you later on." Qui-Gon released the man's hand and pointed at him. "In other words, don't leave Coruscant. Obi-Wan, seeing that you appear to no longer be welcome in the club, I think you should go to Rondo's bar instead and see if anyone knows where these ladies may be. I'll continue checking for leads here."

"Yes, Master." Obi-Wan watched as Qui-Gon headed toward the club entrance then turned his attention back to Nahlia and Zep.

This didn't escape Qui-Gon's notice. "Right now, Obi-Wan." He knew where his Padawan's concern lay. "Mr. Wilco won't be bothering Nahlia, anymore. Will you Mr. Wilco?"

"N-no. Not at all." Zep answered. "Well not unless she wants me too." He joked nervously.

"I'll be fine." Nahlia said softly to Obi-Wan and smiled. "Don't worry."

Obi-Wan nodded reluctantly then bowed to her. "Goodbye."

"Bye." Nahlia watched as he turned and left her. She wondered if she would ever see the handsome young Jedi again. But Coruscant was a big place, and Jedi rarely traveled to the dark depths of the city planet. It seemed to her that they were too consumed with galactic matters, settling disputes, preventing war to spend time with girls from lower Coruscant.

Qui-Gon left Zep and Nahlia outside and entered the club again. He could feel the attachment growing between Nahlia and his Padawan already and this made him feel both touched by their feelings and deeply concerned for Obi-Wan's future as a Jedi. Since he had met the boy and taken him as his apprentice, there seemed to be nothing more important to Obi-Wan than becoming a Jedi Master. But a Jedi cannot commit to both the Jedi Order and a love. To commit to both would blatantly break the code as well as cause a rift in the Jedi himself that would ultimately lead to his downfall. At the same time, Qui-Gon's compassion reached out for this young girl, doomed before she was born. Neither he nor Yoda could figure out precisely what place Obi-Wan had in her life or if he was even a Jedi Knight in this future but both were concerned about the implications. Yoda had voiced his doubts but Qui-Gon was not ready to give up on his apprentice. Qui-Gon saw him as a young man incredibly dedicated to the Jedi Order with potential to be a great Jedi Master one day. He could not accept that his vision of Obi-Wan's future wasn't true.

Trindi, holding Nahlia's black coat in her arms, pushed her way through the crowded club and past Qui-Gon Jinn just inside the club's entrance. Upon getting outside, she hurried over to her friend. "Nahlia! Oh, you poor thing! Are you all right?"

"Trindi, I'm so sorry." Nahlia said, trying to hide her lack of disappointment by the turn of events. "I guess my work here is done... permanently."

"No way." Trindi handed her the jacket. "I'm going to talk to the owner tomorrow, pull a few strings-"

"That's really not necessary." Nahlia told her as she put on her jacket.

"Nonsense! You're my friend. I can't just let them fire you." The tall Twi'lek woman opened up her arms and pulled Nahlia into a hug - crushing Nahlia's head to her bosom. "Now, don't you worry. I will take care of this for you." Just then, Trindi spotted Zep nearby. She shot him an angry look and mouthed the words "Leave her alone." As displeased as she was to see him there, she knew she had to get back inside the club soon or she too would be out of a job. She finally let Nahlia go. "I've got to get back."

"I understand." Nahlia answered. "And don't worry about the job, I -"

"I will get your job back." Trindi said, determined, before disappearing back through the club's entrance.

Nahlia turned and looked at Zep, who was now leaning against the wall of the club and looking smarmier than usual. She sighed and looked in the other direction, she could see still Obi-Wan walking down the street. She looked back at Zep again considering her options. He smiled and opened his mouth, as if he was about to say something, when she suddenly looked back in Obi-Wan's direction and began to pursue him. "Obi-Wan! Wait up!"

Stunned, Zep's smile had disappeared as he watched her catch up to Obi-Wan. The Jedi had stopped and waited for her, a little surprised himself. Zep watched them speak a moment then continue down the street together. "This is going to be a long night..." He muttered to himself before running to join the two.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rondo's Bar: rarely in all of his travels with Qui-Gon Jinn, had Obi-Wan ever witnessed such a hive of scum and villainy. Dark corners of the club hid the vilest of creatures from all parts of the galaxy. He could sense their apprehension when he first arrived. On Coruscant or not, it was clear to Obi-Wan that it was not a place where Jedi were welcome. This made it all the more difficult to question the patrons about the missing twins as any creatures he approached there regarded him with suspicion, resentment, and/or anxiety. Although concerned for Nahlia's safety, he was also glad she had come offering help in the investigation. He was less pleased with the appearance of Zep at the bar, shortly after their arriving. He had kept himself to a quiet corner table of the room, drinking, sulking, and watching Obi-Wan and Nahlia's efforts.

Obi-Wan stood watching her from the other side of the bar as she spoke in fluent Huttese to a rough looking humanoid male with one eye and a pug nose. She then thanked him and went back to Obi-Wan.

"Good news." Nahlia told him proudly. "It took a while, but after a few drinks and a mild amount of flirtation, I found out that the last time the twins were seen here was early last week with someone named Volacca. Couldn't get much of a description though, just big, blue, and ugly."

"Well that's a start." He noticed her looking, a little unsettled, over at Zep. The confusion of the incident earlier, and her guarded nature, left Obi-Wan uncertain about what she was feeling and unsure of how to handle the situation. "You don't have to help me, you know. If you have somewhere else you want to be."

"Oh. No." Nahlia answered, her focus returning to Obi-Wan. "I want to help. Besides, it's not like I have a job to go do." She laughed.

"I am sorry about that." Obi-Wan said sincerely.

"No... uh..." She took a step closer to Obi-Wan and spoke softly to comfort him. "You must stop apologizing. It's all right, really. I didn't like that job anyway."

Obi-Wan nodded, still feeling bad about the whole thing.

"There is one person who might tell us more about this Volacca." She suggested. They both looked over at Zep then back at each other. Obi-Wan nodded reluctantly and he and Nahlia walked over to the table and sat down.

"Come up with any leads?" Zep asked before taking a swig of his favorite green ale.

"Are you familiar with a creature named Volacca?" Obi-Wan asked bluntly.

"Mmmm..." Zep feigned hard contemplation. "No. I'm not."

Obi-Wan squinted suspiciously at him. "You're sure?"

Zep chuckled then leaned in closer and looked directly in the Jedi's eyes. "Yes, actually I am." He then leaned back in his seat, his long legs stretching out into the walkway between the tables.

"What now?" Nahlia asked Obi-Wan.

"I'm going to stay here for a while see if this Volacca shows up." He said as he surveyed the crowd at the bar. "If you want to go-"

"I'll stay here with you then." Nahlia said decisively.

A small smile crept over Obi-Wan's face in response, while Zep began to wonder if there was a bucket nearby he could throw up into.

Nahlia smiled back. "It must be exciting... being a Jedi. I mean, going on adventures to planets all over the galaxy. I've never even left Coruscant."

"Really? Never?" Obi-Wan asked. "But space travel between planets is common."

"Never really had an excuse to leave, I guess." She mused. "Or enough credits..." Nahlia admitted. "I wouldn't mind seeing Alderaan... or Naboo. I hear they're beautiful."

"Perhaps one day you will." Obi-Wan reassured her.

"I have a question..." Zep chimed in, mischievously. "Aren't Jedi supposed to be eunuchs or something?"

Obi-Wan's jaw dropped. "What?"

"No." Nahlia told Zep angrily. She suddenly realized how little she knew about the mysterious order that Obi-Wan belonged to and turned back to him. "You're not are you?"

"No!" Obi-Wan declared.

"You can't have sex though, can you?" Zep pointed out.

Obi-Wan's face had gone almost completely red in the course of thirty seconds. "It's not technically forbidden." He answered finally. "Marriage is forbidden, because a Jedi cannot have attachments."

"Soo..." Zep took pleasure in his interrogation. "How does that work? Jedi just go around the galaxy having meaningless sex with whomever they chose and making loads of little Jedi Masters?"

Obi-Wan took offense. "No."

"So... what?" Zep asked. He could tell from the look on Nahlia's face, he was in trouble, but didn't care much. This was just too much fun making a Jedi squirm.

"Sexual relations isn't technically forbidden but it is..." Obi-Wan searched for the way Qui-Gon had worded it. "Frowned upon."

"Frowned upon," Zep laughed. "Funny, usually I've got a big grin on my face when I'm-"

Under the table, Zep felt Nahlia kick him in the shin hard enough to make him yelp out in pain. She got up from the table and pointed to a doorway near the back of the bar where the restrooms were. "Zep. Over there. Now."

Zep got up, still rubbing his shin. "Excuse us..." He whispered to Obi-Wan. "Ex must want a quickie before we officially call it quits."

"All right." Obi-Wan said, confused yet relieved to get out of answering anymore embarrassing questions. 'What the devil is a quickie?' He wondered.

By the bathrooms, Nahlia had grabbed Zep by his shirtsleeve and pulled him into the slightly more private hallway. At a nearby table, a woman with white skin, long blue hair and a gruesome scar over her right eye, noticed them pass, then returned to her drink.

Nahlia could barely contain her anger. "What is your problem?"

Zep shrugged. "You're the one who dragged me over here, I assumed you had the problem."

"You know what I mean," She folded her arms. "Asking Obi-Wan those questions, he was mortified!"

"So?"

"As a Jedi he has sworn his life to keep peace and order in the galaxy." Nahlia preached. "Don't you have any respect for that?"

"Mmm..." Zep contemplated. "No, actually I don't. Peace and order," He shrugged again, "overrated really. Come on, Nahlia, I was just having a good time. You remember what that's like, don't you?"

"You know what I remember, Zep? I seem to remember when we were dating, hearing that you owe my father over 15,000 credits in gambling debts. Last time I heard, you still do."

"So?" He answered nervously.

"Sooo... I've had some time to think about this since Trindi told me you were back, and it occurred to me that you don't want me because you care about me, you want me because you're scared."

"Scared..." He snorted, trying to sound amused. "Riiight."

"Because, when we were dating, my father ignored that debt didn't he Zep?" She deduced. "But then when we broke up, suddenly he remembered and he sent his cronies to collect it, didn't he? But you didn't have the credits, because well... you're an idiot and couldn't use the time you had while we were together to get it for him."

He gave up the pretense and started to spill out an explanation. "I tried to get it, I did. I had almost 10,000 won in a game of sabacc but then I put the whole thing down on a nuna ball game that I had a very hot tip on. But the team lost and I was wiped out."

"So let me get this straight. You tried to get the credits back to pay off a huge gambling debt - by gambling?"

"It seemed like a good idea at the time."

"Brilliant." Agitated, Nahlia turned away from Zep and looked back into the club. She saw that Obi-Wan had left the table to continue questioning customers about the missing twins. Unbeknownst to all of them, the blue haired woman had been listening to Zep and Nahlia's conversation with interest from her table - with the help of a silver mechanical ear that replaced her original right one.

"Speaking of your father," Zep quietly stepped up behind her and followed her eye line to Obi-Wan. "I wonder what he'd say if he found out his own daughter had a thing for Jedi."

"What?" Nahlia asserted. "I do not have a thing for Jedi."

"You don't? And I quote:" He batted his eyelashes and spoke effeminately. "You're not are you?"

"I don't know what you are talking about. We're just friends." She insisted. "Besides it wouldn't matter if I did have a thing, Jedi can't marry or have physical relationships so what would be the point in pursuing-"

Zep whispered in her ear almost seductively. "It is not technically forbidden."

"Even still." She glared. "I do not have a thing for Jedi."

Zep took a step back from her. "I stand corrected. You don't have a thing for Jedi."

"Thank you."

"You have a thing for Obi-Wan."

"I do not have a thing!" She protested.

"Please, I see the way you've been looking at him, all moony eyed." Zep reached out and touched her chin softly to raise her eyes. "You used to look at me that way."

"And we know how well that turned out." She said bitterly.

"Look, Nahlia, I'm just saying as a friend, I'm concerned about you here. Jedi are bad news for people like us."

She stepped forward and told him eye to eye. "I am nothing like you."

"Maybe not," Zep tried to hide his hurt feelings at the remark. "But your father certainly is... and that is the real reason you brought me back here for a chat - you don't want your little Jedi 'friend' to know what you come from."

"My father has no place in my life and neither do you." She huffed. "Now you can stay here or you can leave but if you are going to stay, for the sake of your 'friends' I suggest you try helping us find their kidnappers instead of sitting around sulking and picking fights."

TO BE CONTINUED...