Chapter 4: Wookiee Rebellion
The fragile peace between Min and Carth ended spectacularly shortly after the Ebon Hawk entered Hyperspace.
The crew gathered in the common room for an evening meal that Juhani had thoughtfully prepared. Min was glad, having no desire to eat the gunk that came out of the synthesizer and even less of a desire to cook for herself. She wondered whether the Cathar was cooking because she enjoyed it or because she felt guilty. Min sincerely hoped it was the former, because if it turned out to be the latter, she wasn't sure she was a good enough person not to take advantage of Juhani's guilt.
The meal was pleasant enough with most of the conversation once again carried by Min and Mission. Juhani was too shy to participate and Bastila was too serious to be any fun. And Carth had been surly all day, not saying more than two words to anyone other than Mission. That left Canderous who, to Min's delight, launched into a story about his first battle on his basilisk war droid. Surprisingly, Canderous was a wonderful storyteller and Min listened intently, hypnotized by his deep gravely voice.
"I remember sitting there in my armor, linked directly with the Basilisk thrumming beneath me. My heart racing with fear at the coming battle. Every new warrior has to fear to understand how to beat it." He nodded in Min's direction. "You must know that."
"The doors opened in front me and the air was sucked out of the drop bay, scattering crystals of frozen vapor across my path. I can't describe what it feels like to look directly down at a world, falling continuously as you circle it, with barely fifteen centimeters of armor plate protecting you. When the magnetic locks disengaged on my droid, I plunged out of the drop bay towards the battle that waited below."
Canderous' eyes gleamed as he remembered his past glory. "The exhilaration, the euphoria, I felt as I streaked into the atmosphere, dodging self-guided projectile and beam weapons, was unmatched. An eighty kilometer plunge through the atmosphere, dodging and weaving, the outside of my armor glowing like the sun with the heat of re-entry. And with barely thirty meters to spare, I twisted and skimmed the surface, firing at the giant beam generators that were in my path. The explosion from that sent shockwaves that leveled the entire complex around it. It was the moment of my life."
Mission said what Min was thinking. "I want a Basilisk war droid!"
The light faded in Canderous' eyes, leaving them empty. His voice became reflective. "I'll never forget those times, but things are different now. We can't go on fighting the way we had. There are too few of us left. I trust I've satisfied your curiosity for now?" Min nodded.
He stood and walked over to the punching bag that had mysteriously found its way onto the Ebon Hawk. Min suspected that Canderous had stolen it from the Jedi enclave training room. She watched as he taped his hands up and began pummeling the bag.
Juhani insisted on clearing the table, despite the combined, but somewhat weak, protests of Carth, Min and Bastila. After she finished, she excused herself and went to perform her evening meditation. Mission and Zaalbar settled on the couch in front of the holovid player, flipping through the pre-recorded programs in search of something that would interest her fourteen year old self.
Min, Bastila and Carth drank their caffa in silence half watching the sappy teen angst drama that Mission picked out. Feeling her IQ dropping every minute she watched the stupid show, Min grimaced in distaste and turned to Carth.
Time to find out what crawled up his ass. "You've been very quiet, lately, you know that?"
He stared intently into his mug as if the contents would somehow reveal the secrets of the universe. "Have I been quiet? I suppose I have." He looked directly at Min. "I guess I just don't like being left out of the loop."
She smiled back at him, still in a good mood from eating a dinner that she did not have to prepare, and took the obvious potshot hoping to diffuse the tension. "Sorry Carth, you were born out of the loop."
"Very cute. If you got any cuter, you'd pass for a Gammorean's sister."
She resorted to grade school wit. "Better than a Gamorrean's mother."
"Look, I'm serious. No one seems to want to tell me anything and it's starting to irritate me."
Damn it. Trying not to start an argument, she asked cautiously, "What do you want to know?"
"For one thing, I want to know what the Jedi Council said to you. They pulled you in there and refused to tell me anything about it."
Bastila jumped feet first into the conversation that she was not a part of, snapping at Carth. "That is none of your concern, Carth, and you would do well to leave the matter be."
"I respect you, Bastila, but you've been as close-mouthed as the rest of the Council. If you won't talk to me, then maybe somebody else will."
Min protested. "I'm not the one leaving you out of the loop, Carth."
"No? Well, you certainly aren't helping matters any, and it's really starting to irritate me."
"If you wanted to know something, all you had to do was ask."
"Fine. I'm asking now. Why didn't they keep you on Dantooine for training?"
"They thought it was more important that I help find the star maps than stay."
"And why is that? You were a great help on Taris and Dantooine, but why would they keep you with us?"
"You know why. This was the job I was hired to do. What difference does it make now that I'm…" she paused, not quite believing what she was about to say, "…a Jedi."
"Don't they have to train you? I may not know much about the Jedi, but I do know they aren't famous for taking on old Padawans and sending them on dangerous assignments.
I'm not old! Thirty is not old!
Oblivious to her internal outrage, Carth continued. "And what about her?" he said, gesturing towards Bastila, "Shouldn't she be with the Republic fleet where her battle meditation would do the most good?"
"They said there's a bond between Bastila and me." It sounded as unconvincing coming out of her mouth as it had coming from the Council.
"A bond? What kind of bond? You mean to say that they told you were 'tied' to Bastila in some way? Heh. I have trouble believing that."
So would I, if I hadn't felt it myself.
Carth stood abruptly, practically twitching in agitation, and continued his rant, his voice getting louder with each passing word. "And what does that mean? Is this more of that destiny garbage that the Jedi keep talking about? Well, that can't be it!" He stopped and blasted Min from the other side of the table. "You're a neophyte Padawan who's been saddled with the responsibility of tracking down these Star Maps. Why? That's not normal!"
By this time everyone in the common room was watching them. Canderous stopped boxing and Mission and Zaalbar paused the holovid program and stared at them from across the back of the couch.
Min stood, and faced off with Carth, tired of trying to placate him. "Are you saying I'm not needed? Well I'm here, and that's not going to change. Get over it."
Carth raked a hand through his hair and tried again. "I'm not trying to provoke you or imply that you're somehow responsible for the Jedi Council or that you're not needed, but give me a hand here, there has to be a reason."
"I agree with you that it's unusual. Suspicious even. But I'm telling you, that's all I know."
He startled her by slamming his fist into the top of the table. "I'll tell you this much, I am not going to wait around until I'm betrayed again!"
"I am not going to betray you! I am not Saul!"
He leaned across the table menacingly, his voice deadly quiet and his eyes completely cold. "Well, we'll just see about that, won't we?"
The common room was completely silent as Min flinched; she was shocked at how much his words hurt. Profoundly uncomfortable silence stretched, as she looked away, nodded to herself and left the common room without saying another word.
Walking out of the room she heard Bastila, of all people, leaping to her defense. "That was a vile thing to say."
Carth stood before the punching bag that he had liberated from the Jedi training room three nights later. The ship was silent, everyone had retired to their bunks hours before. They were not due on Kashyyyk for a few more hours. Taking the night watch, he'd decided that he needed to work off his frustration on the punching bag. Pulling on the boxing gloves, he began his assault. Maybe next time I'll do this first before attacking other people.
It had been a long time since he had felt this bad about anything. He'd been a nasty bastard and he knew it. He just wasn't sure how he was going to make it right with Min.
The entire crew had been cold to him after that; there was no doubt he was in the dog house. Admittedly, pissing off three Jedi women, their street urchin side kick and a giant Wookiee hadn't been the best move he had ever made. Bastila and Juhani would only speak to him if he addressed them directly. He didn't really care since Bastila was normally aloof and he didn't know the Cathar well enough to value her opinion, but Mission's anger had stung.
The day after his fight with Min he'd noticed Mission prancing around happily in what looked suspiciously like Davik's purple armor. Canderous had scavenged it off of Davik's body before he shot Davik himself unceremoniously out the airlock.
"Where'd you get the fancy set of armor kid?"
"Min gave it to me. She had it resized when we were on Dantooine.
"That was generous of her." He meant it, Davik's armor was top quality and having it resized must have cost a good deal of money. But he wasn't surprised; Min seemed to have a genuine soft spot for the girl.
"I know. How could you say those things to her Carth? I thought you were a nice guy. How could you be so mean?"
Mission hadn't waited for an explanation, she practically ran out of the room in tears. She refused to speak to him at all after that.
The male contingent of the crew wasn't any better. Zaalbar roared menacingly at him every time he came near and even though he didn't know the Wookiee's language, the intent was clear. Canderous hadn't shown any actual hostility, but he wasn't helping matters any.
"Next time save yourself the trouble of speaking and just backhand her across the face." The Mandalorian sneered as Carth sought sanctuary in the cockpit.
Min herself had been the worst. He'd ticked her off royally before, but he'd never seen her hurt like that. Carth never wanted to see that look on her face again; it made him feel like the biggest core slime in the galaxy.
It was amazing actually that she was able to avoid him almost entirely on a ship this small for three whole days. He figured it must be because of her Jedi senses. When he did see her she completely ignored him. It was impossible to get her alone to apologize; she was always surrounded by at least two of the other women. It was as if they were worried that he was going to lash out at her again and were determined to protect her.
It had been a very long three days, during which he had come to some very uncomfortable conclusions.
His frustration had been building since Admiral Dodonna had reassigned him. It was compounded by the fact that he had been so close to fighting Saul, when the Endar Spire went down. And then there were the Jedi, whose actions made absolutely no sense to him. He was still suspicious about their motives. But so was Min, she had agreed with his suspicions and he had blasted her anyway. Instead of putting their heads together like adults to try to figure out what the Jedi were up to, he had lashed out at her like some kind of school boy pulling the pigtails of a pretty girl. And that's what it came down to really. He was angry with her because he liked her. It was as simple as that.
He really didn't want to like her. That made everything so much more…complicated.
His muscles rippled, and his punches were now landing harder and faster on the punching bag. His fingers began to ache. Be honest, Onasi. You more than like her. She's the first woman you've been attracted to in a very long time.
But he was still trying to figure out why she was so wounded by his words. He'd said things that were just as bad back on Taris. She had been insulted and furious, but he never had gotten the impression that he had actually hurt her feelings; she had just dismissed him with contempt. So what was different now?
She likes me back. A slow heat crept through him that had absolutely nothing to do with boxing.
So what are you going to do about it? Carth stopped, and took a second to catch his breath.
For one thing, I could stop being such an ass. He also knew that he was going to have to apologize and that she deserved to hear the whole story from him. Maybe together they could figure out what the Jedi were up to. Who knows, maybe we can even manage to be friends.
Having decided on a course of action but not wanting to think any further than that, he stripped off his boxing gloves and returned to the cockpit.
A few hours later the Ebon Hawk was in orbit around Kashyyyk. Min, Zaalbar, Carth and Bastila stood in front of a three dimensional holographic map of the planet and watched T3 link into the Ebon Hawk's sensor array. Min discovered that the Star Map on Dantooine gave off a distinctly strange energy signature. She was hoping that they would be able to pick up the same energy signature from orbit and pin point its location on the surface.
She knew that there was a Star Map on the planet because she and Bastila had shared a dream about it last night. Unfortunately the only clue to its location was that it was somewhere on the forest floor, which was not very helpful on a planet mostly covered with kilometer high trees.
T3 entered the sensor data from Dantooine into the ship's computer, and after a few minutes of scanning, they were able to narrow down the area to a one kilometer square.
Carth studied the map and pointed. "The closest place we can land is here at a Czerka launch facility." Min nodded, and Carth returned to the cockpit.
Min looked up at Zaalbar who had been quiet this whole time. His mood had gotten more and more surly the closer they had gotten to Kashyyyk. "Do you know anything about this area?"
[It is difficult to tell from space, but it looks like it is close to my home village of Rwookrroroo.] Zaalbar refused to give up any more information and Min knew that the Wookiee was holding back something, but there was little she could do about it at the moment.
Approaching the gates of Rwookrroroo, surrounded by Wookiee guards carrying enormous sharp weapons, Min knew that they were in Very Deep Shit.
"What's going on here Zaalbar?" she demanded.
[I should have prepared you for coming here, but I don't know if I've prepared myself.]
Since she had tried to get him to talk numerous times before, Min was seriously peeved. "It's a little late for warnings, fur ball."
If she had known they were going to run into trouble like this, she would have brought more than just Mission with them. The rest of the crew was back at the Czerka landing base making preparations for the trip to the forest floor. Min had decided to scout out the great walkway, having heard that the Wookiees had some kind of elevator nearby that traveled to the forest floor. But shortly after leaving the Czerka landing area they had been surrounded by a dozen Wookiee warriors.
Mission was looking at the Wookiees with a mixture of awe, fear and defiance.
[I didn't leave Kashyyyk voluntarily. Mission must have told you how I was fleeing slavers, but there was more. My brother made deals with the slavers and allowed them to get a foothold. I found out and attacked him. The fight was stopped, but my father did not believe me when I told him about my brother's actions.]
"Why didn't your father believe you?"
[When I attacked my brother I was so mad, I used my claws. You don't understand what that means to a Wookiee. Our claws are tools, not weapons. To use them in battle is to become an animal. It is madness without honor. I was made an exile, disowned by my home and people. I should not be here. Now my brother is chieftain, and my people are willingly sold into slavery.]
He roared mournfully, [I am sorry Minuet Avery, I have put you both in danger. If I had known, I would not have come.]
Before Min could reply, the village gates swung open, and the three of them stepped through. Min wondered if they would be able to make it out alive.
Mission and Min returned to the Ebon Hawk without Zaalbar two hours later. Gathering everyone in the common room, they quickly filled the others in on what had happened. Chuundar, Zaalbar's brother was now the Wookiee chieftain and had imprisoned Zaalbar. In return for Zaalbar's freedom, they were to go down to the forest floor and kill a rogue Wookiee who had been attacking the Czerka slavers. As proof, he wanted them to bring back the blade the Wookiee carried.
"Even if we do ask he asks, he's not going to let Zaalbar go. He won't want to leave his brother alive for any possible dissenters to rally behind." Min said.
Mission turned a shade of pale blue. "Well we can't just leave him there!"
"For now we have to. If we don't we're going to have to fight an entire Wookiee village to get to the Star Map."
Min began to pace, thinking out loud. "There must be some reason why he won't send other Wookiees to do his dirty work. Since Chuundar needs us to do it, he'll keep probably Zaalbar alive as long as he thinks that were working on it."
"Probably?" Mission squeaked.
"Do we have any surveillance cameras on this ship?"
"Yeah. There's one in almost every room and several outside the ship." Carth said. "Why?"
"How big are they?"
"Not very."
"Can they pick up sound?"
"Yeah."
"Can they be detached and used independently from the ship?"
T3 chirped an affirmative to Min.
"Good. Then I think I have a plan."
Min's plan was simple. Mission and Juhani would sneak into Rwookrroroo and plant the surveillance cameras in Zaalbar's holding cell and the great hall Chundar used as his throne room. The two of them would stay on the Ebon Hawk and keep an eye on the Wookiees. That way, if Chuundar was going to kill Zaalbar, they would know. Juhani and Mission could break him out and get into orbit. Hopefully.
The rest of them were going to head to the forest floor. Gathering up their gear, the four of them headed to the great walkway.
The only way non-Wookiees could get to the lower shadowlands was on a gigantic wooden lift. Min stood next to one of the giant vertical beams and tried not to think what would happen if one of the giant cables snapped. She closed her eyes and swallowed the bitter bile at the back of her throat. Heights were not her strong suit.
To make things worse Carth stood over her right shoulder with his hand on the railing effectively cornering her. They'd been told by the Wookiee operating the lift not to move from their position once the lift was in motion and not to make any loud noises. Many predators lived in the giant wroshyr trees and would be drawn by sudden movement or loud sounds. Carth had waited until the last possible moment to move next to her, trapping her as the lift lurched into motion with a low moaning creak of wood. She was tempted to move away, vicious animals be damned, except she really didn't want to know what kind of predators lived in kilometer high trees.
That sneaky bastard.
But both Carth and her fear of plummeting to her death were forgotten as they made their decent through the tree branches. The trees themselves were beautifully majestic, the scope of their size amazing. They stood together in silence for awhile, just appreciating the scenery.
Finally he spoke, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. "I, um...I'm not very good at this. I know I owe you an apology; more than one, probably. I was just so desperate to finally face Saul directly in the battle over Taris, and now the Jedi have us looking for these star maps. I know this mission is important, it's just that I feel a bit useless. I can fight, sure, but I'm no Jedi. All this feels completely out of my league."
Surprised by such a frank admission, she was sucked into a conversation with him despite her resolution to ignore him. "Why don't you return to the front lines?"
"Well, I was ordered to stay. I probably could return if I pushed it, but I didn't because this is more important. This may really, finally, make a difference. I suppose even if I can't figure out everything that's going on, I still want to help if I can. I just hate not knowing what's going on and feeling this helpless. But I shouldn't have taken that out on you. I've been a royal pain in the backside, haven't I?"
"Mmm-hmm."
"I guess I should be at least a little pleased that I haven't lost my touch. Still, I should know better by now."
She waived a dismissive hand towards him and stared out at the trees. "Don't worry about it."
He was getting the distinct impression that she had not actually forgiven him. Damn it, look at me woman. He tried to keep the frustrated edge out of his voice. "No, I do worry about it. I've traveled the lanes more than once, I should know better than this. So...I'm sorry. Will you accept my apology?"
I don't understand this man. How can he be so cold one minute and so unbearably kind the next? She turned then, and searched his face for answers. "Tell me why you want revenge on Saul so badly."
When he spoke, his voice was wooden, but his eyes clouded over with old, unbearable memories. "Saul led the Sith attack on my home world. I had a wife and son on Telos. I thought they would be safe there. But my task force arrived too late to be of much help. We didn't have enough medical supplies. The colony was burning and the dying were everywhere. I remember holding my wife and screaming for the medics. They didn't come in time." He was grasping the guardrail so tightly that she could see his knuckles turning white.
Oh, Carth…. She didn't know what to say. 'I'm sorry' was so inadequate. Instead she covered his hand with hers, and was surprised to feel the tension slowly uncoil under her fingers.
His eyes focused back on hers as he continued. "I had nothing left after that, really. Saul took everything from me, even my trust. I hope you can understand that."
"I do. I'd feel the same way. To be honest, I'd probably crawl into a bottle and never come out."
His voice became rueful then. "Oh, I tried that. I found out quickly that it didn't help. It doesn't stop the pain, you just wake up with a hangover. I devoted myself to the fleet instead. Hunting Saul was my only purpose." His voice went hoarse, and his pain was a tangible thing. "I miss them. I know killing Saul won't bring them back, and it won't make me happy again, but I have to do it. I have to pay him back for what he's done. I have to. It's all I have left."
"It just seems like an awfully empty place to be." They stood in silence for a while longer. She realized that Carth had moved his hand so that their fingers were now intertwined. The simple intimacy of it made Min tremble.
Min hoped she wasn't shooting herself in the foot, but she had to know. "What was your wife like?"
"She had courage and she was stubborn. I could never talk her out of anything once she put her mind to it. And she hated it when I signed back onto the fleet at the start of the war. I had planned on leaving soon, to join her."
"What happened to your son?"
"I don't know what happened to Dustil. The colony was a complete ruin, and we never found any trace of him. I made inquiries and followed the reports from Telos for years, but...I stopped. Anyway that's the story, for what it's worth."
It's worth a lot to me. "Thank you for telling me."
It wouldn't occur to him until much later that she hadn't actually accepted his apology.
The search area was approximately thirty or so kilometers away from the bottom of the lift. However, progress was slow the giant knotty roots of the wroshyr trees creating a maze like obstacle in their path. Finding a way around, over or through the roots the size of small buildings was proving to be quite difficult. Attacks from the local wildlife were also a problem. By the end of the first day they had only gone ten kilometers, but they were completely exhausted.
Canderous turned out to have the most outdoorsman experience. The rest of them just followed his lead as he chose a suitable campsite, started a fire and caught fresh meat for dinner. Min had to admit that in a caveman like way, he was most effective. She hated camping, sleeping outside in the dirt with bugs and god knows what was simply not her idea of fun.
Watching Canderous butcher and clean the game he had caught for dinner had made her horribly nauseous. What was truly embarrassing was that no one else seemed to have a problem with it, even normally prissy Bastila actually knew how to cook raw meat over the fire. She tried to hide her distaste when Canderous handed her a greasy cooked haunch of meat that used to belong to some poor woodland creature.
Noticing her flinch, Canderous found this all very amusing. Farm girl, right. Her reaction to his butchering of the Tach confirmed his suspicions. It was a good thing the flyboy had been gathering wood and checking the perimeter during all of this, otherwise he would have definitely been pinning Min with some seriously uncomfortable questions. There was no way that anyone who was raised on a farm would be squeamish about the slaughtering of animals. To most farmers it was an every day part of life. Although he wondered why she was lying, he ultimately didn't give a damn one way or another. It was her business really. But that didn't mean that he couldn't have a little bit of fun. He stared at her with a mocking look and the unspoken challenge was clear. I dare you to eat this.
She surprised him. Never one to back down from a dare, she arched one haughty eyebrow in response, and proceeded to eat the entire thing without retching.
Impressed, he relented when she asked him to tell another of his stories. As his story unfolded, he could that she finally began to relax.
Bastila took first watch as the others bedded down for the night. After doing a perimeter check, and tossing more wood on their campfire, she settled in, leaning against the thick root of the wroshyr tree they were under.
She looked over at Min, who was already sleeping. Bastila was glad that Carth and Min had apparently come to some kind of understanding. She had felt Min's hurt and anger through their shared bond for the last three days, and it was more profound than the older woman would have admitted to anyone, including herself. He must have done something right on the ride down, because Min's pain had practically evaporated, and was being replaced tentatively by something that Bastila couldn't recognize yet. As long as it was limited to friendship she would remain unconcerned. She would just have to make sure that it didn't progress any further than friendship, for both their sakes.
Her mind wandered from her current companions to old memories of her family. It was hard not to think of them in this setting. Her parents had been treasure hunters, traveling from world to world in search of rare artifacts. Often their excursions would take them far into the wilderness where they would have to camp for days. It occurred to her that her father would find this whole mission incredibly fascinating, and not for the first time she wished he was here.
She hadn't spoken to her parents in years, since the Jedi Order discouraged personal attachments. Bastila tried to be a good Jedi, and usually she was successful at keeping them from her thoughts, but lately it was increasingly difficult. Maybe it was the mission she was on or maybe it was the result of being so nakedly exposed to another's emotions. Sighing heavily, she resolved to work harder at it. She cleared her mind and extended her Jedi senses to the area around them, using the force to scout out for any dangerous predators that might come too close.
That's when she felt him watching. Tentatively, she reached out with force, trying to determine who was out there. She definitely felt a presence, but it wasn't malicious, merely curious and perhaps a little annoyed. She scrambled to her feet, and was about to wake the others when he disappeared. She probed again, but he was gone, perhaps out of her range of perception. But that was doubtful; one of the reason's why Bastila had her battle meditation ability was because she was able to stretch her empathic senses across long distances, influencing the emotions of thousands of people. That meant only one thing, the other person could block her senses. Since her empathic abilities were pretty powerful, this was not a very comfortable thought.
With nothing more she could do, she settled back down in front of the campfire and waited for her watch to end.
The next day it rained, making everyone absolutely miserable. The air became sticky and humid as the day wore on, and although the rain stopped Min found that wearing her long sleeved armor was absolutely unbearable. Eventually, she broke and pealed off the top half of her armor, revealing a tank top underneath. She stuffed the armor jacket into her satchel, feeling a hundred times better. Bastila had stripped down to the lowest layer of her Jedi robes. Carth and Canderous, both trained soldiers, were used to wearing battle armor in uncomfortable conditions, left theirs on, although both men appreciated the eyeful that they were currently getting.
The party trudged through the dark and gloomy underbrush slowly. Min looked at the younger women's tall figure and full curves, and felt a twinge of envy. She reflected that it was typical, people always wanted what they couldn't have. It was just somewhat disappointing to discover that she was no better than anyone else. She decided to put her thoughts to better use stretching her senses to see if she could sense the observer Bastila had felt last night. Finding nothing, she turned her attention back to Bastila, who was clearly agitated about something. Min was torn. On the one hand she was nosy and bored and she wanted to know what was bothering Bastila. On the other hand, if she encouraged Bastila to speak, she risked getting a lecture. Boredom won. Throwing caution to the wind she asked, "You have something you want to ask me?"
"How did you know?"
"Well, your face is all scrunched up like a kinrath pup." Min observed.
Bastila scoffed, "I am a Jedi. I am far too disciplined to betray my emotions with outward physical displays. We both know the real reason you have some idea of what I am thinking: the bond we share." Carth and Canderous, walking behind the Jedi women, suddenly became very interested in their conversation.
Min made a non-committal sound.
"Why do you still try to deny the existence of this bond between us? Like it or not, we are linked, as our shared vision of the star map proved. Our connection allows us glimpses into each other's mind. We can feel some of what the other feels. And what I feel within you troubles me."
"What do you mean?"
"A Padawan must receive considerable training. They must learn to control their emotions and darker impulses. Often it takes years before using the Force can be considered safe. The fact that you are so strong in the Force and have had such relatively little training could have terrible consequences. For you, and for everyone around you."
"What do you think I should do?"
"I don't think there is much you can do. If things were different I would recommend several years of training under one of the Jedi Masters. But I fear that won't be possible. Thankfully you have exhibited a degree of compassion and self-control up to this point. I sincerely hope you can maintain these traits in the future."
"Wow, Bastila. I'm flattered. That was almost a complement."
"Without the proper training, however, I'm afraid you will find the path difficult even with the best of intentions. There is great danger ahead, for both of us. Our destinies are intertwined. Everything one of us does will have consequences for the other. Any reckless behavior on your part is likely to affect me as well."
"You could warn me when I do something bad. Blink once for dark side, twice for light." Behind her, she heard Carth choke back a laugh and could almost feel Canderous' smirk.
"This is not a joke! The choices you make could affect both our destinies, not to mention the fate of the Republic and the entire galaxy! There is much at stake."
Min was deadly serious now. "I'm aware of the stakes Bastila. If you remember, I felt an entire planet die." She shivered involuntarily despite the heat. "I get to live with those nightmares for the rest of my life. Sometimes humor is the only way to keep your sanity." At Bastila's pained look she relented. Maybe I'm being too harsh on her. "This bond, it works both ways, doesn't it? You could help me stay strong."
"Yes, that is true. I will do my best to guide you, but I am no Master. Not yet. And there are times when I find the sheer strength of your power almost overwhelming. I am not trying to harass you. But you must understand the trials and perils that lie ahead. For you, and for me. I'm sorry if I come across as harsh. But I am concerned. For you, for our mission. And for myself, as well."
"I appreciate your concern. I really do. I'm just trying to muddle through this the best way I can. I would welcome any help you could give me Bastila. But I'm fairly certain that lecturing me is not the way to do that."
Bastila finally had an epiphany, and the look of horrified chagrin on her face was rather comical. "You must be getting sick of my lectures about the dark side and everything else." She looked at Min with a new appreciation. "I spent all my years being hounded by my instructors, being told so often how gifted and important I was until I was sick of it. I remember when I was younger I used to swear that I would never become as self-absorbed and stodgy as the Jedi Masters. It's ironic, really."
Min picked her next words with care. "I don't need you to be a Jedi Master, Bastila. I need you to be my partner. You have a sharp mind and good ideas, not to mention a really cool looking lightsaber. I'm going to need your help to do this."
"I…will try."
"Good." Min decided to quit while she was ahead.
Carth sat on a rock and watched Jolee tinker with the Czerka force field. They'd met the cantankerous Jedi yesterday, although he had been observing them since they entered the shadowlands. It bothered him that, other than the one time Bastila sensed him, none of them noticed that they were being followed, even Canderous. When they reached the force field, Jolee's curiosity had gotten the better of him and he finally revealed himself. The man had simply materialized out of the brush. The old man was either very good or they were very sloppy.
Jolee was willing to help them get past the force field, which was a good thing, since it was simply enormous in size. Trying to find a way around or over would have been a nightmare since they didn't have the equipment to do it. Even better, he knew where the star map was located.
Of course, the old man had wanted something in return for his help, the removal of nearby Czerka poachers who were indiscriminately slaughtering the small froglike tach creatures.
Min's irritation had been obvious to everyone.
"Why not just go get rid of them yourself? Aren't you a Jedi?" The old man wore brown Jedi robes with a lightsaber hanging from his belt.
"I follow the Jedi way and I command the Force, yes, and I suppose that makes me as much a Jedi as anyone, but what of it? Look, they know me quite well, and are always on alert when I approach. The only way I could get rid of them would be violence, which would eventually lead to trouble for the Wookiees. I want them gone, but with as little fuss as possible. They have already caused enough trouble as it is.
"This isn't some kind of stupid Jedi test, is it?"
"You're a little old for that master/student fuss, aren't you? I know I am." That answer had mollified her somewhat.
"Then why do you care if they're here?"
"They don't respect this place. They are butchering wildlife and threatening entire species. It's getting under my skin. Besides, the Captain of the lot is the one that earned my ire. Mishandle my garden, will he? Hmph!
"I see. So the aged semi-Jedi wants me to get some kids off his lawn."
"Yes, yes, I'm an old man that's getting fussy. Call me foolish if you will, I don't care. You still have to do it. After you do that, I want to join up with you. Then I'll remove the barrier between you and the lower Shadowlands."
"Can't I just pay you? I hate jumping hoops."
"No. Now shoo!"
Since the idea of hiking all the way back to the Czerka dock and back again didn't hold much appeal for any of them, they had done as the old Jedi had asked. Although, Canderous had been extremely annoyed.
"Why don't we just make the crazy old man tell us how to get around that field?"
"I'm not sure we could make Jolee do anything that he didn't want to do." Min replied.
"I bet I could." Canderous said, cracking his knuckles menacingly.
Carth agreed with Min. Jolee might be old, but he must be tough to live down here. Besides, the old guy was a Jedi, who knew what he was capable of.
The force field abruptly vanished, and the party began to step through.
Carth looked a Jolee and sighed. Just what we need, another god damn Jedi.
Getting Jolee to come with was worth the bother. Having lived in the shadowlands for over ten years, he knew almost every nook and cranny. Taking them on paths that they didn't even know were there, he cut their travel time down considerably.
Soon they were standing in front of the Star Map which was currently sealed shut. Someone had installed a computer interface to the map. Min and Bastila were currently trying to get it working. Min was communicating with T3 over her the hand held comm link.
Carth took the opportunity to speak to Jolee about the task that Chundar had set them on.
"What do you know about the Wookiees?"
"Intriguing creatures. I like that they have little patience for bureaucrats."
"They seem to tolerate the Czerka slavers."
"Yes, that is mostly their chieftain Chuundar's doing. Czerka Corporation was smart to put him in power. He's as good at destroying Wookiee culture as dropping corpses full of Ardroxian Flu. It's sad really, but why do you care? The problems of a few Wookiees don't amount to anything before the concerns of the Jedi.
"Well now it's become our problem whether or not we want it to be. Do you know anything about an exiled Wookiee down here?"
Jolee's tone became very guarded. "Why do you ask sonny?"
Carth passed on Min's description of what had happened between Zaalbar and Chuundar.
"This Zaalbar is a friend of yours?"
"Kind of. Min saved him from slavers, he swore a life debt to her. Although, I think she's desperately trying to find a way to get out of it."
"That's very…interesting." Although his words were casual, his approval was apparent. Jolee considered for a minute. "Yes. I know the Wookiee you speak of. I helped him pass to the lower forests where only a Wookiee could follow. His name is Freyyr and he is Chuundar and Zaalbar's father you know."
"Uh, no. We didn't."
"Chuundar wants you to kill him because he is afraid his father will lead the Wookiees in rebellion. If I took you to him, would you kill him like Chuundar asks?"
"Not unless there is some reason that we should. But we need to at least find him so we can figure out what to do. If we don't return with that blade, he's going to kill Zaalbar. Although, he'll probably kill Zaalbar anyway."
"As soon as we're finished here, I'll take you to him."
Carth realized that Min and Bastila had gotten the interface of the map up and running and were speaking to a holographic figure of a race he had never seen before. He and Jolee moved closer so they could hear the conversation.
"Evaluation commencing. Results will be compared against the pattern in memory. Just act like you should."
"Wait, what pattern in memory?" Min asked.
The computer ignored her.
"Hypothetical: You travel with a Wookiee and have encountered complications. You and this Zaalbar are captured and separated. If you both remain silent, one year in prison for each of you. However, call Zaalbar a traitor, and he will serve five years, while you serve none. He is offered the same deal, but if you both accuse the other, you both serve two years. What do you do? What do you trust him to do?
"How do you know about Zaalbar?"
"I hear what happens on Kashyyyk, and a good deal beyond. Answer the question I have posed."
"I trust Zaalbar. I would say nothing, and neither would he, neither of us would serve time."
"Your loyalty is dangerous. Your companion could take the opportunity to benefit by turning on you.
"Yeah, well, he owes me a life debt. He wouldn't talk."
"Zaalbar's family is mired in treachery. What loyalty do they know? Your answer is incorrect. The previous incorrect response will be discounted. Future incorrect responses will result in rejection."
"Wait, that's total bullshit!"
Carth stared. Leave it to Min to argue logic with a computer.
The computer ignored her protests again. "Hypothetical: You are at war. Deciphering an intercepted code, you learn two things about your enemy. A single spot in their defense will be at its weakest in ten days, and they will attack one of your cities in five days. What do you do with this information? What is the most efficient course of action?
Min considered for a minute. "I prepare my forces to attack in ten days. I do nothing in the city."
Bastila looked at Min in horror, but Carth understood why Min had answered as she had, even though he didn't like it or necessarily agree.
"Very good. If you had moved to evacuate the city, you would have alerted the enemy to their lost codes. Ultimate victory required the deaths of the people in that city. You wisely ignored sentiment in your decision."
"The victory is irrelevant. Stopping the war saved many more people."
Her reasoning disturbed the computer. "You achieved the proper result with logic that does not match the pattern in memory. I shall adjust my evaluation."
"Wait, I get the right answer, and I don't get credit for it?"
The computer ignored her a third time.
"Hypothetical: remove the ongoing war from the previous example. Consider enemy states to be weak and remote. With no external threat, your empire stagnates. Your people become complacent and begin to question you. Same scenario as before; you discover an impending attack, but also a weakness that will come after. How do you react?"
"I do nothing, and allow the attack. My people will rally beneath me against the common enemy."
"Neural patterns indicate that you are lying. Access denied. This system will purge the subject as false. Defense mode initiated."
It was the screech of the rusty metal hatches opening that saved them.
"They're coming from behind!" Carth shouted as blaster fire erupted. Everyone dove for cover. Two Sith battle droids emerged from an underground hatch. Carth could hear Canderous's repeater firing, but the bolts just bounced off the droid's blaster shields.
He looked over at Jolee. The old man was crouched behind a log. His eves were closed and it looked like he was muttering to himself. His attention was ripped from Jolee, by a loud explosion. He turned his head in time to see Min chuck a second grenade at the droids. Ion grenades. Nice.
With both shields down, both Canderous and Carth opened fire on the nearest droid. Within seconds it was down. He was about to take aim at the second droid, when the droid was enveloped by white lightning bolts. The droid began to spark and sputter and then collapsed into a heap.
After a few more seconds of silence, everybody started to stand up. Min turned to Jolee. "You have to teach me how to do that!"
Defeating the Sith droids satisfied the Star Map's obstinate interface. Mysteriously stating that the neural requirements were now met, it opened the star map allowing Min to record the data. The interface turned itself off, and could not be restarted again.
Min, still angry at not getting the answers she wanted from the interface, and showing a good deal of obstinacy herself, decided to take it apart and haul it back to the ship for further inspection. More accurately, have Carth and Canderous haul it back to the ship, since it was too heavy even piecemeal for her, Bastila or Jolee to carry.
Carth seriously doubted whether hauling the computer thirty kilometers or so back to the Ebon Hawk would accomplish anything productive, but since the Mandalorian took the extra weight without a word, he refused to say anything either.
Min must have picked up on his annoyance, because with her eyes crinkled in amusement she mocked him in a voice only loud enough for him to hear, "Aw, poor baby…."
He resolved to find some way to get back at her. I should be able to come up with something good. After all, I have a thirty kilometer hike to think about it.
But before they could head back to the Ebon Hawk, they had to find Zaalbar's father.
Jolee led them even deeper into the shadowlands and eventually they found him. Even in his half crazed state, the grey haired Wookiee was a fearsome sight. He didn't give them time to talk, he just attacked.
Or at least he tried to. Bastila quickly wrapped him in a stasis field, and the Wookiee eventually calmed down once he realized that they were not slavers. He recognized Jolee, who had helped him flee from the slavers his own son had sent after him.
After hearing that Zaalbar had returned, and was being held captive by Chundar on the surface, Freyyr decided that it was time to take back his throne from his recalcitrant son. He told the party, to go to the surface where he would find them after rallying his sympathizers, and they would rescue Zaalbar. He left them, climbing straight up the wroshyr tree, and Carth with his muscles aching, wished that he could do the same.
Mission sat bleary eyed in front of the computer terminal. The others had been down in the shadowlands for four days, while she was stuck monitoring the security cameras she and Juhani had placed in the Wookiee village.
At first it had been exciting, sneaking around the Wookiee village was a challenge. It would have even been fun, if she hadn't been so worried about Zaalbar. She'd spent the rest of the time staring at the monitors in the Ebon Hawk's computer bay.
She had to be the one who watched the monitors, Juhani didn't know the Wookiee language. Mission thought that spying on the Wookiees would have been more interesting, like in the holovid spy shows. It was, unfortunately, the most boring thing she had ever done. But at least Zaalbar wasn't in any danger, as far as she could tell. She mournfully looked at her friend on the viewscreen. We'll spring ya soon, Big Z.
But at least she had Juhani to keep her company. The Cathar was quiet at first and Mission, who was usually quite sociable, had been too intimidated by her to say much. But boredom and curiosity overcame intimidation, and Mission discovered that Juhani was just shy, and not mean. And once they discovered they were both from Taris, they all the sudden had a lot to talk about.
Juhani entered the room, kindly bringing Mission some lunch.
"Have you heard anything from the others?"
"Yeah. They called a while ago. Said they were starting to head up on the lift and would be back here in about two hours. We're supposed to wait here till they get back."
Mission had just taken a big bite of the kalani wafer when Juhani said, "That's odd."
Mouth full, Mission managed a muffled, "What?"
"That human speaking with Chuundar. He does not look like he is from Czerka."
Mission turned her attention back to the monitor. Uh, oh. She turned the sound up, and what she heard made her start to panic.
Min fumbled for the beeping comm link. It was Mission.
"Min! Are you there? We've got a big problem!"
"What's wrong Mission?"
"It's Calo Nord, he's here – and looking for you guys. I just saw him talking to Chuundar. I think…I think he's headed to the lift right now."
Min looked over at the others and discovered that they were all looking at her, waiting for her to tell them what to do. How the hell did I wind up in charge?
She did some quick mental calculations. They'd been on the lift now for about an hour, and had another forty minutes to reach topside. They were already running at maximum speed.
She realized that they had two options. Up or down. If they went up, Calo could ambush them at the top, or worse yet cut the cables. If they went back down, they might be able to ambush Calo at the bottom, but they ran the risk of being stranded down there if Calo cut the cables. Unless Calo cut them while they were still on the way down. She looked at the thick metal cable, which ran to the giant pulleys up at the top. What are the odds that he has something that can cut through that?
"Jolee, is there another way up, other than this lift?"
Jolee was at the control panel. The Wookiee who normally ran it was conspicuously absent. Min was afraid that it meant that Chuundar was on to them.
"Not unless you can convince a Wookiee to carry you up on his back." That wasn't very likely, unless Freyyr managed to save Zaalbar. But she had gotten the distinct impression that Freyyr was going to need their help to take back his throne. How much longer would Chuundar wait until he executed his brother?
Shit.
Could they make it topside before Calo got there? Forty minutes was cutting it close. What about Juhani and Mission?
Jolee cut across her thoughts, "Kid, we gotta decide now. Up or down?"
She looked at the others, who had remained silent. Hoping that she wasn't making the wrong decision, she said, "Up."
She lifted the comm link. "Mission, I need you and Juhani at the top of this lift, yesterday."
"Right."
If the others had any doubts, they kept it to themselves. They prepared for battle in silence as agonizing minute after minute passed.
They almost made it. But forty meters from the top, the lift stopped. Too late, Min realized that there must be a way to manually override the lift from the top. They were in the worst possible position now.
Figures appeared at the top, but Min was focused on only one. Calo Nord looked down at them, his pinched features illuminated by the glowing energy shield that surrounded him. His companions were Wookiees. Chuundar's flunkies.
Idiotically, Calo couldn't resist the opportunity to gloat. "You've led me on quite a chase, but no one gets away from me in the end."
"You've come a long way to die, Calo." Canderous rumbled.
"Given your position, that's very optimistic of you, Canderous."
Canderous, tired of talking, responded by opening fire on Calo. The blaster bolts bounced off his energy field, but Calo did stumble backwards out of sight. Blaster fire rained down on them, and energy fields smoked and crackled.
Min reached out with the force, and felt the grenades coming. But Jolee had anticipated her, she felt him yank the grenades to the side where they exploded out of harms way.
But Calo and his Wookiees weren't their only problem. Min felt them coming, attracted by the sounds of battle. Huge horrible winged insects with gigantic barbed stingers swooped to attack. Bastila and Carth concentrated on taking out the monstrous insects. Lightsabers and blasters flashed as they were attacked from all sides.
And then things got really bad.
Two simultaneous explosions ripped through the air, followed by a horrible zipping sound and the metal cables whipped past them. One snaked across Canderous' back, only his armor preventing him from being cut in two. He collapsed into an unconscious heap.
The heavy wooden platform began to fall.
Mission, Juhani and T3 arrived in time to see the detonators on the pulleys go off.
We're too late! Mission wanted to cry, she pictured her friends falling through the trees.
Juhani grabbed her shoulder roughly. "They are fine. Look." She pointed to Calo and his Wookiee goons. They were still firing. Calo, shocked and angry, began to open fire on their friends below.
Mission choked out a strangled, "How?" when Juhani pounced. The cathar brought her lightsaber down hand on Calo's back. It bounced of the energy field, leaving Calo unscathed. But the lightsaber did manage to short the field out. Calo raised his pistols at Juhani, but she was faster. With a vicious sideways swipe, she decapitated Calo Nord.
T3 and Mission opened fire on the remaining Wookiees.
The deck fell about a meter before stopping with an abrupt jerk. Stunned, it took Carth a couple of seconds to realize that they weren't falling anymore. Instead they were rising. The others recovered quickly, Jolee was stood over Canderous' limp form, using his lightsaber to deflect the blaster fire. Bastila held off the gigantic insects with a combination of force and physical attacks.
Min! He saw her then, taking cover behind one of the giant support logs, hand extended, eyes closed with a strangely serene expression on her face.
He yanked his attention back to the battle. Once the lift rose enough so that they were in range of his pistols, Carth opened fire on the Wookiees.
After another minute of confusing battle, the sound of blaster fire petered out into silence.
Carth saw a flash of purple at the top and then heard "Are you guys alright?"
They were about twenty meters from the top now. Jolee and Bastila were huddled over Canderous, whose blood had pooled on the wooden deck. Carth looked over at Min, and could see that she was starting to break a sweat, the strain beginning to show on her face.
This thing must weigh several tons.
"Yeah, I think so." Carth said, trying to sound more confidant than he felt.
Silently and gently the lift continued to rise through the trees. After a few more minutes of tense silence, they made it to the walkway. Min set the lift down with a soft thump.
Min slowly opened her eyes as if she were just waking up. Everyone just stared at her.
Mission broke the silence. "That was awesome!"
Min gave Mission an acknowledging nod and joined to Bastila and Jolee. "Is he going to be alright?"
Jolee answered, pointing towards the ugly slash in Canderous' armor. Underneath Carth could see the white kolto packs that Jolee must have applied. "Most of the force was absorbed by the armor. He will be sore for awhile, but he should heal just fine."
Canderous who had regained consciousness, stated gruffly, "I can walk."
Mission stood in front of Carth. "You guys look like crap."
She was right. Not having bathed for days, they were covered with mud, sweat and blood. Carth rubbed a hand over the four day growth of beard and responded wryly, "Thanks, kid."
Mission's head tails were twitching, her pretty face was scrunched up and her eyes were bright with unshed tears. Realizing the girl was about to lose it, he dropped his arm over one of her slim shoulders and pulled her into a bear hug. Mission clung to him in relieved silence.
They wanted to head back to the Ebon Hawk to clean up. Instead they were met by one of Freyyr's sympathizers and taken to Rwookrrorro, where they watched a family tragedy unfold. Confronted with his lies and betrayals by his father and brother, Chuundar was forced to fight back and at the end of the day, he lay dead at his brother's feet.
Min wasn't sorry that Chuundar was dead, after all, the Wookiee had sold his own people into slavery. But she was sorry that Zaalbar was the one who had to do it.
But they had bigger concerns. During the scuffle with Chuundar, they had killed four of his Czerka bodyguards. Once Czerka's representatives found out about it they would retaliate.
Min stood in the great hall, with Carth, Canderous, Zaalbar and Freyyr pouring over the schematics of the Czerka base. "How many Czerka bases are on this planet?
[Just this one. All of the Wookiee slave traffic goes through here. Czerka had plans to expand but they haven't been able to implement them yet.]
"How long until the shift change for these men?" She pointed to he dead Czerka employees.
[About four hours.]
"Then you need to attack now, while you still have the element of surprise."
Freyyr disagreed. [We need time to regroup and gather our forces.]
"Look, you may eventually out number them, but they have you outgunned. If they find out in advance they can entrench themselves and you will have a hell of a time getting them out. They may even be able to last until outside help comes, and then you will truly be in trouble"
[But we don't have very many warriors here yet.]
"You don't need that many. You don't have to kill everybody, just drive them to their ships. Most of the employees here are bureaucrats, not soldiers. If you put up any kind of decent fighting at all, they'll run to their ships. Once the Czerka employees are gone, it will take days for them to regroup, by that time you can burn down all of the landing pads and lay waste to their complex. If you do that, Czerka will have a hell of a time mounting an attack with no place to land their ships. Plus, you can use their own anti aircraft systems against them, to keep them from bombing you. With luck, Czerka will realize that it is too unprofitable for them to try to reestablish a base here, and move on to easier, more profitable territory. Czerka isn't a conquering army, they are a corporation. All you have to do is impact their bottom line. Besides, you have four Jedi and two soldiers to help you out."
In the end, Min prevailed. It was one of the most glorious sights that she had ever seen. Fifty or so Wookiee warriors leapt from the trees. She was right, the surprised Czerka employees didn't put up much of a fight. The Wookiees were able to rout them to their ships and they scurried off like rats abandoning a sinking vessel.
The next night, Freyyr insisted on throwing a victory celebration. While he thought it was somewhat premature, Carth had to give it to the Wookiees, they sure knew how to throw one fine party. Their gigantic thunder drums boomed a primal beat as Wookiees danced around giant bonfires. Huge platters of nondescript meat were passed around the feasting tables as well as generous amounts of Gralinyn Juice.
Many Wookiee speeches were given, which Mission, who was sitting next to him, dutifully translated for awhile, until she got bored and ran off to find Juhani. He didn't mind, the speeches were strangely similar to ones given at Republic state dinners. Zaalbar was presented with an ancient Wookiee blade by his father, the significance of which Carth was unsure, but the Wookiee looked honored. Min spent much of the time deep in conversation with a Wookiee called the "keeper of the laws," Jolee and Canderous kept each other entertained. Even Bastila loosed up enough to make polite conversation.
The party ran late into the night, eventually winding down. And everyone had scattered, either talking quietly in small groups or heading off to bed. Yawning deeply, Carth excused himself from Jolee and Canderous and wandered off to find the sleeping quarters that the Wookiees had graciously provided.
He had just spotted the building when he noticed Min sitting by herself on the floor of the walkway looking out into the dark trees, her back against one of the logs that served as makeshift Wookiee bench. He could barely see her in the darkness, and he wondered if she was passed out or if she just wanted some solitude. His mental debate over whether or not he should check on her was interrupted by her speaking.
"So, Onasi, are you just going to stand there or are you going to come join me?"
Fatigue forgotten, he sat down next to her. They were silent for a while then, he asked "Are you alright?"
She sighed, "I think so."
He knew what was bothering her. "You're thinking about what happened on the lift, aren't you. Replaying everything in your mind and wondering whether or not you made the right choice."
She turned towards him. "How'd you know?"
"I've been a Republic soldier for over twenty years Min. I was a squadron leader for a long time until I got my own command. Trust me, I know about making judgment calls and taking calculated risks." More than you will ever know. "I think you made the right call."
"I should have realized that there was a manual override on the top."
"Maybe, but would it have changed anything? No. Nord knew we were on that lift Min, he had to have placed those explosives on the pulleys before the fighting started. If you'd decided that we would go down, we still wouldn't have made it to the ground before he detonated them, we probably would have been worse off."
"You don't know that for sure."
"You're right, I don't. All I know is that your choice wasn't obviously wrong and that we are all here to talk about it. It makes it a success in my book."
She nodded slowly. "That was the conclusion I had come to myself. But it's nice to hear it from someone I respect."
She respects me. Until now, he didn't realize that he'd even wanted that from her. Before he could tell her that the feeling was mutual, she changed the subject.
Looking down at her mug of juice, she asked, "What the hell do the Wookiee's put into these things?"
"Fermented Gralinyn juice. It's pretty strong stuff." He had stopped drinking after the first mug, realizing that if he kept it up he wouldn't be able to get out of his chair. He wondered if she was too drunk to stand.
"Oh. Good. I thought it was just me."
It came out totally the wrong way. Kind of. "Do you need me to take you to bed?"
She laughed softly. "Well, I don't know. That depends. What exactly are you offering to do?"
He felt his stomach tie itself into knots. Anything you want. He stood, and offered her his hand. "Ah…I…How 'bout a hand up."
She took it. He wasn't sure if it was wishful thinking on his part, but she sounded slightly disappointed. "Okay."
She wobbled slightly but quickly regained her balance. He walked with her to make sure that she didn't fall over.
"When do you want to leave tomorrow?" he asked to fill the silence.
"Whenever we can round up everyone."
"Are you serious about bringing Jolee along?"
"The old guy is certainly useful, and he's entertaining. Why, you don't think we should?"
"He seems alright. For a Jedi. What about Zaalbar? Will he be staying?"
"I tried to convince him to stay; his people need his leadership right now. But he wouldn't hear of it because of this stupid lifedebt. I spent half the party talking to their 'holder of the laws' trying to find a way out of it. I think I only managed to offend him." She was quiet for a minute, and then continued, "I wish we could stay and help the Wookiees. Czerka will be coming back, you know."
"I know. But I think this is something they have to do for themselves Min."
"You're probably right."
She opened the doors to the guest quarters. Noticing his hesitation she raised an inquisitive eyebrow.
"I, um…I think I'll stay up for awhile." There was no way he was going to be able to sleep now.
She couldn't hide her mirth. "Suit yourself. Good night Carth."
"'Night, Min."
He watched her disappear into the building, with a mixture of amusement, regret and guilt, and went in search of more Gralinyn Juice.
Thanks for the kind words Tim. I'm glad you're enjoying the story. I'm trying pretty hard to keep my version different enough to keep it interesting. For those of you who haven't read Tim's own kotor story, go there now (I have it listed under my favorite authors). It's the most original and well written kotor fan fic that I've read.
I also have to give credit to the lovely ladies of the Onasi Order over on bioware's message boards. They were the ones who came up with the idea of Carth boxing. I liked the idea so much I stole it for my story.
Anyway, I hope you all have as much fun reading this as I am writing it.