As stated in my profile, I make no claims to the characters, names, or places depicted in this story. They belong to Lucas Arts, Bioware, Obsidian, and probably others I have no clue about.
"Acknowledgement: Good afternoon, pleasant traveling companion to the master."
"HK, that was rather gracious; good afternoon to you too," Bastila said as she approached Jiara's suite.
"Statement: Thank-you, organic. Query: Would you mention to the master that I am being….nice?" The droid seemed to twitch.
"That I will. I commend your efforts HK," she said with a slight nod.
"Exclamation: Thank-you! This organic is much more agreeable than that meatbag pilot."
"You mean Carth? He was here? When?" Bastila asked with great interest.
"Statement: The annoying human was here sixteen standard minutes ago after a duration of twenty-three minutes with Master…which is twenty two minutes too long, I may point out."
"I see," Bastila commented as her thoughts drifted. The information seemed new to her, but oddly familiar. She tried to piece together if the dark energy she detected coincided with the time Carth spent in Jiara's room, but her missing memory prevented her from making any definite connections. Did something during Carth's visit trigger the disturbance? But that made no sense—Carth would never anger her so. In truth, his behavior towards Jiara had been the very model of courtly romance and virtuous intent. Bastila grudgingly admitted—to herself—that she was jealous of the attention he lavished on her. It was so controlled, so principled…so Jedi-like. "Please step aside, I wish to speak with Jiara," she asked as her thoughts completed their circle in her mind.
"Query: Do you wish to fight with the master too?" HK asked as he stood his ground in front of the comm-link to the suite.
"Did Carth argue with her when he was here?"
"Statement: No, The meatbag pilot was sad, not mad, when he left. He was a very pathetic organic; I almost felt sorry for him."
"Then explain: who else has been here and had a fight?" Bastila asked, sure she was on to the trail of the dark source.
"Explanation: No one. I refer to your confrontation with the Mandalorian here in the hall. Observation: It was a most impressive display, even without bloodshed."
"MY fight…with Canderous…just now?" Bastila was unable to hide her confusion. Is this what was removed from her memory?
"Observation: No need to be modest. If that old meatbag hermit did not interfere, I am sure you would have 'mopped the floor' with the mercenary."
So, it was Jolee who had invaded her mind—and apparently with good reason. She would thank him later, and maybe ask what it was she and Canderous had gotten into…as if there weren't any number of topics to select from. Now she fought back the alarm and disappointment at realizing she had so easily succumbed to the dark energy that had mysteriously collected around them all.
"Observation: I believe my favorite moment was this," HK began. A clicking, then a whirring noise was followed by Bastila's own voice coming from the droid. She stood transfixed as she listened to herself remind Canderous of her fall to the Dark Side, and that a second stumble would be all the more easier. Bastila blanched three shades closer to cadaverous: her voice was fierce and sharp as she reveled in the memory of having fallen, as well as the apparent anticipation of returning, to the shadow.
"Erase that! Erase that at once!" she demanded. "You shall NOT speak of this ever again, do you understand?"
"Statement: Of course, as you wish," HK answered coolly.
"Now stand aside, I wish to consult…" before she could finish, the doors opened. She stepped up to the threshold; as she passed HK, she cautioned sternly "No one, never. Understand?"
"Statement: Of course, organic. And you will not forget to mention how nice I was, will you?" This time the droid did not flinch. Bastila swore she could almost detect a sneer as HK–47 turned away from her and resumed his patrol.
"I can't remember how I got here," Carth's voice was a mixture of confusion and annoyance. Jolee found Carth standing in the center of the hotel room, doing nothing… just standing there.
"I, uh, invited you in," Jolee stammered.
"You used the Force on me, didn't you; got all in my head."
"Yeah, you got me, son. But it was just a little! Wasn't anything against your will—you are too stubborn and too strong-minded for anything like that. I had to get you away from them."
"It was getting hot out there. I suppose I owe you one…but you COULD have asked." The confusion was gone now, and Carth's voice was growing in steady anger.
"No time to check if you were thinking straight—I had to cool them off quick. Things were getting out of hand. I swear, Bastila was about to give Canderous a beating he, for once, deserved more than usual."
Carth chuckled slightly. "Yeah, what WAS all that?" Jolee motioned towards a small table near the window and they both took a seat.
"Well now, that is what I'd like to find out. And since you're here, I'll start with you."
"Me? You think I had anything to do with that? I was trying to end it out there. You got your facts wrong old man!"
"Now settle down, son. I am not talking about how it ended, I am talking about how it all got started," Jolee said evenly.
"Well, ya lost me there. Is that your version of Jedi-Code-Speak?"
"Just work with me, will ya?" Jolee pleaded.
"Fine, what do you want to know?" Carth spat, tossing up his hands. "Look, I was in the hall, I bumped into the Mandalorian, we had some words, and next thing I knew, Bastila was there ready to give him the deluxe Sith treatment."
"Yes, but what about before that? I see you have your best on…"
"IT'S TOMORROW," Carth grunted through unmoving lips. "For the billionth time, the dinner is tomorrow!"
"I know that! I might be old, but I still know what day it is. Now, sometimes I don't know where I am, but…uh, where was I?"
Carth rolled his eyes. "My uniform?" he said petulantly as he gestured to his chest with both hands. Jolee narrowed his gaze.
"You still have some aggression there, Carth. Try to hold it together now."
"You're right, I'm sorry. Its just, I feel so jumpy right now, and everyone seems on edge. What is going on?"
"Now that's what we're working on, son, so stay with me. This whole dress whites with full plating—you weren't just wandering the halls aimlessly, were you? You were over there with Revan."
"Yes, I did stop in to see Jiara," Carth corrected with emphasis on the name.
"Uh-huh, and while you were with Revan," Jolee continued with his own emphasis, "did anything, well, strange, happen?"
"No sir, she turned me down again, nothing strange there!" Carth exploded in total frustration. "I don't understand, I mean, when we were out there on the beach, when she came back, she said she loved me…"
Jolee held up his hand. "We all remember that day, too well." His eyes were shut tightly, as if he were trying to squeeze the memory of the sight from them. "I get cavities just thinking about how damned sweet it was." Carth nearly blushed.
"So, what is the problem here? Okay, so maybe asking her to marry me as we were walking off the podium from the medal ceremony was not the right time or place…"
"Coming out of the airlock on Manaan from the 'Great Ancestor' Tribute or whatever that thing was wasn't the best timing on your part either, son. What was that ceremony anyways? Most bizarre thing I have done yet!" Jolee stared off into the past, reliving the three-day event held on the water planet with Revan and the Ebon Hawk crew as the honored guests. "I didn't know fish could do that."
"Yes, well, okay I realized I screwed up, that time too and the next time when we were surveying the damage on Dantooine…"
"Now THAT was the worst one. Carth, what WERE you thinking?"
"I wasn't, I admit it. That woman has my damn head on backwards! But I thought it through this time, I wanted to get it right, so when the ring came this morning…"
"Ring? Ooh, lets see, son, hand it over!" Carth fished the box from his pocket and set it on the table in front of Jolee.
"Well, when it got here, I didn't want to wait. So I got out the dress whites, because she told me she prefers this one over the dress black, and I went to her room where there would be no crowd, no fish, no smoldering ruins…just me and her, the way it should be."
"And then of course she would have been wearing this tomorrow at the dinner, hmmm?" Jolee said picking up the box.
Carth smiled sheepishly. "Well, sure, but that would have been a bonus."
Jolee opened the box, his eyes nearly popping from their sockets as he looked at the ring. "Now that's a rock. What do they pay you in the Republic?"
"Being a hero has some perks to it," Carth chuckled.
"Telosian perfect aqua diamond. Don't get any rarer than this…or bigger! This thing should be in a museum." Jolee held the ring up to the window. Light danced across the stone casting small rainbows around the room.
"Too bad Jiara wasn't as impressed as you," Carth said sadly as he took the ring and gazed into its twinkling blue facets.
"Oh, she was impressed, alright. Just not the way you intended."