Author's Note:
Whoa! Thanks, guys. When I updated this last week I thought you all had forgotten me—:(—but, nah. It was God's providence, considering I needed to fix some pertinent flaws in that chapter. So... Here's the next one. Falcona, you should like this—more Misti [cough—you-know-who]. :)
And a new reader! (Well, one that reviewed, anyway.) Yay! :) (I'm wondering, though, why no one's leaving any negative reviews. There's gotta be somebody who can see flaws in this or outright doesn't like it… :? )
Namonaki Pharoh, no, Anakin Jr.'s situation is certainly not fun. But don't worry—it gets worse! :D You asked me to update ASAP, so here you are… but I can assure you ASAP won't always be this quickly!
Yippee! Falcona, still letting me know what details stick out to you! :) Who's the extra? :) Tell me a story you've written and I'll review, sir.
[dropped jaw] Wow, Penguin Monk! You noticed! I thought that was just going to be one of those things no one paid attention to until after they know who/what/etc. she is. It's a composite side affect involving— Well, I think I'll have to wait till the sequel to reveal the complete story behind that. Remind me, okay? ;)
If anyone's freaking 'cause I'm already mentioning a sequel, don't worry about any soon-coming ending. I have plenty of ground to cover in this one, yet!
More Yni in this chapter!
And Tahiri meeting Barriss is just going to be your normal I-don't-trust-you-so-I'm-gonna-make-you-feel-unwelcome spiff, right? —Do I need to answer that? This is Tahiri... (& the explanation of why she's so bubbly is still on the way. I haven't forgotten. ;)
Enjoy! :)
TWENTY-THREE
Vreeeep... Access denied.
Vreeeep... Access denied.
...Access denied...
Senator Misti Whitesun stared brown blaster bolts at her computer terminal. Fatigued and gaunt, she glanced warily about.
She closed her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she looked back at the screen.
She tried one last time.
"Access planet royal library: Naboo."
Passcode needed.
The Tatooinian Senator hesitated only a second before firmly typing a code.
She bowed her head, eyes closed once more. The final part came reluctantly.
Access confirmed.
Senator Whitesun searched the files.
Someone skid to a stop right next to him. "Luke! Have you seen Senator Whitesun?"
"No. I've been meaning to go see her." Jedi Master Luke Skywalker frowned. "What's wrong, Kyp? Isn't she in bed?"
Master Durron shook his head. "No! I was there guarding her, but I fell asleep. When I awoke, she was gone!"
Luke frowned. What would a politician be so interested in doing that she'd sneak out of medcare to do it?
He corrected his thoughts. What would Senator Whitesun do?
"I think," he said after a moment. "You should check her office."
"Where are you going?"
Lando Calrissian started, nearly dropping his pack. He stared a moment at the speaker before getting a hold of himself. "Home."
"Oh." Yni Lecarr sat down, one leg straight out, the other up, and she rested her chin on her knee. She'd tied her hair up, today—all but that odd little side braid, that is.
He didn't go up his ship's ramp. "Why do you sit like that?"
"Like what? This?" She frowned and shrugged. "I dunno. It's comfy."
She popped her neck and put her head back on her knee. "I know a Twi'lek; she sits like this, sort of." She straightened her back and put her bent knee down as if she was sitting cross-legged. "She's a Hutt's bodyguard, so she pretends to be his..." Her face scrunched. "Whatever those ones Hutts keep closest to them are."
Lando didn't feel like educating her. "Oh? Why is she guarding him?"
Yni's brandy brown eyes were innocent as she beamed. "He's a nice Hutt—really! He's helping her find out how to help her Master recover!"
The girl gasped and covered her mouth, looking hastily around, face guilty.
He was still trying not to laugh at the thought of a 'nice Hutt'. "Master Thracia isn't here."
"That's not the problem," she whispered, still sending scared looks around the hangar. This wasn't any fear-of-animals look—she was terrified of something far worse.
"Yni?"
She threw his arm off her shoulder, suddenly on her feet and in a defensive crouch. What she scanned for, he had no idea.
"What is it?"
She dove at him, sending him to the floor as a bright orange lightsaber buzzed through where he'd stood to where her head had been.
"Sithspit!" she cried, frustrated.
What? That was a new one.
The lightsaber didn't even hit the floor. It hovered a moment, deactivated, then flew back the way it had come. It landed in a man's palm.
"Lecarr. A fine name. Tell me. Have you any relation to Lelila Lecarr?"
"Maybe." Yni kept between them. She discreetly nudged Lando towards his ship, chattering as she did so. "Let's see..." She counted on her fingers. "You're a Dark Jedi, black-haired, green-eyed, have a thing about my last name, and got a cute bum. Let me guess..." Her face brightened. "Gerin Jade?"
Lando stifled a laugh at her last 'note'. He'd seen enough of her to know that kind of thinking was absolutely foreign to her. He realized he was in the presence of a very clever eccentric.
The man's jade eyes—like Mara's!—glowed menacingly, and he ignited his blade.
A huff escaped Yni, but she smiled weakly immediately afterward. "You, uh..."
'Gerin Jade' waved his lightsaber menacingly.
"Do know..."
"Know what?" he growled, stepping forward.
"I'm a freak!" she yelled happily as she dodged underneath him and landed a kick on his foreleg.
He immediately compensated, but she somehow got out of the way, though even Lando could tell it wasn't by any grace on her part. "Oh, dear!"; "Omf!"; "Aw, Sith!"; and "Not wizard!" were a few of the yelps she produced. Nonetheless, she managed to get to her feet unharmed.
Mostly unharmed, Lando quickly corrected, spotting the burn that skimmed her arm. He carefully took a step towards the docking ramp—
The Dark Jedi swiped at him, driving him away from his ship.
Lando debated his situation. There had to be some way to get out of this...
Unfortunately, any possible options escaped him.
"I told you it would be on me, now give me that reciept!"
"No!" Tahiri cheerily replied. She'd found out how fun it was to tease this dead Jedi. "I need to use up the money my husband left me before someone notices it in my account."
Apprentice Healer Barriss Offee—cough, Durron—rolled her eyes. "Then go on a shopping spree! Buy jewelry! New clothes! Gifts!"
Jedi Veila grinned mischievously and tossed Barriss the receipt. "Great idea! I'll get you something colorful to wear!"
For some reason the dead woman turned bright red. "Absolutely not!" she snapped.
"Why not? Emperor's bones, you wear black all the time!"
"That's because—" Barriss closed her eyes and huffed. "You and Solo were made for each other."
"Thanks!" Waiting until just after she'd paid, Tahiri grabbed her arm and dragged her from the counter and out the door.
"Stop! Knight Veila this is absolutely absurd—"
"Right! Knight Veila, and you're a lowly Padawan." She grinned.
Durron's jaw dropped. "You're pulling rank on me?"
Talk about prime! She accepts it! I've gotta tell Anakin about this! She just met the woman's dark gaze.
Barriss groaned. "But I'm Mirialan!"
"So?"
"If I wear a color I'll be advertising!"
Tahiri shrugged. "It's not as though you're a virgin." Dark eyes glared at her. "I mean, you did have two kids—"
"In my original body, yes!"
Passersby were trying not to stare at this episode between a young semi-famous Jedi and an obviously deranged stranger.
Barriss abruptly whirled on the observers. "I am not insane!"
She took a scolding stance. "Now, you know better, Durron—"
"Tahiri—"
"Durron!" she shouted gleefully. "Durr—"
Barriss leapt on her back and stuck her arm in the blonde Jedi Knight's mouth. Tahiri struggled, but the dead Padawan knew more about hand-to-hand combat than she did and Tahiri ended up being thrown into a far wall without any Force assistance.
Offee-Durron's smooth transition into calm observance suggested it had been a part of her training. The woman removed her black cloak and smoothed her matching tunic.
She tossed her head as the caught off-guard Knight Veila regained her feet.
"I thought you said you were a Healer."
Barriss didn't flinch. "With or without lightsabers?"
"Huh?"
"Since you insist on resolving this the old-fashioned way."
After seeing the riled dead Jedi a moment earlier, Tahiri wondered where this overly stern woman had come from. "Uh... with?"
A slight nod in her direction, and Barriss had her yellow lightsaber out and ignited.
Tahiri blinked. She hadn't seen where that had come from. She stood warily, pulling out her own lightsaber and thumbing the activation switch.
Barriss lifted her hilt lengthwise to her forehead and bowed. Though left-handed, Knight Veila copied the gesture, trying not to show her surprise at the dead Jedi's use of rituals in battle.
"This isn't a battle, Tahiri." A deft movement, and Barriss had her blade ready to strike, her face unmoving. "But don't think I don't know how to whup your pretty little bottom hard enough for your husband to seek my hide."
"But—but you're a Healer!" she sputtered.
Barriss's eyes narrowed at her. "Rules: though Forceplay is acceptable, maiming your opponent is not. If your control is slipping, say something or only spar with training sabers."
Done quoting, she added, "Oh, and 'Forceplay' includes kata."
Tahiri froze. "Kata?"
Suddenly Barriss sprung a swirling diagonal kick to her chest, the momentum carrying the Apprentice's lightsaber after it, though the blade abruptly reversed its attack. Still startled by the kick, Tahiri rolled out of the way and leapt to her feet, panting already from her searing stomach.
She had a bad feeling about this 'kata'.
Author's Reminder:
Review, please! The more, the happier I get & the faster I want to update! :)