Tatooine Part 8
Bastila and Revan walked outside into the Tatooine weather one more time, but this time, the weather was bearable. They stopped outside, looking out at the view of the suns starting to set, feeling the wind. It was then that Revan looked at Bastila and asked the question that he knew she needed to answer.
"Do you feel better now?" Revan asked simply, giving his friend a comforting smile.
"Yes, that has brought me a lot of peace, much more than I thought it would have. Thank you for urging me toward it. After all my training, I would have thought it would have been easier, but it shows that I still have much to learn" Bastila told him. He surveyed her simply, looking for deception, but not finding any.
"Are you tired?" he asked instead, surprising her. She only shrugged in response, not telling him anything that he wanted to hear, which was unsurprising to him.
"Well, how about this, Bas. I have some things I want to do before I go back to the Ebon Hawk. You can go back to the ship. I'll be there soon" Revan told her. She looked at him skeptically before agreeing, believing that he was trying to help her.
After Bastila was out of sight, Revan decided to go to talk to Iziz. The jawa leader was still standing in the same spot in the corner, making Revan wonder if the little creature ever moved from that one spot.
Revan walked up to the little creature confidently, hoping that the jawa would recognize him and not feel threatened. It was clear after just seconds that the jawa did recognize Revan.
"You have already saved those from my tribe, and you come again. How can Iziz of jawa assist you?" Iziz asked.
"I actually remember you saying that you would do me a favor for saving the members of your tribe. I would like you to do that. I need this cut into a necklace" Revan said, pulling the dragon pearl out of his equipment pack.
"I need this cut into a necklace. You can use your own discretion, but I need the letters 'B&R' engraved into it" Revan explained. Iziz took the dragon pearl and nodded.
"It will be done. But this necklace is not for you? Is it for your female companion?" Iziz asked. Revan nodded and turned away, a small smile on his face.
"That's why you need to make it good" Revan said simply, walking back toward the Ebon Hawk, passing the swoop arena to see that Meetra was waving at the crowd, so he went in to see what she was doing to get that much attention from the people in the swoop arena. He walked in as she was giving a speech to the crowd. She saw him approach and decided to end her speech prematurely.
"As a result of all that has transpired in my attempts to break Motta's track records, I have decided to use my winnings to sponsor the best young talent that I have ever seen. So, I am going to give my supply of 120 racing bonds that I got from winning the track, as well as the extra 130 racing bonds that I received from my fans as gifts and various endorsements to Nico Senri, so long as he uses the bonds to ride his swoop bike right onto the professional circuit" Meetra exclaimed. The crowd was silent as she took out a little box with racing bonds and handed it to the young swoop rider, Nico Senri. The younger rider was stunned silent at what she was doing for him.
"Nico, will you use these racing bonds to fund your rise to the professional circuit?" Meetra asked.
"Why me?" Nico asked quietly, taking the racing bonds in his hand and looking at them, not really believing that Meetra was giving him all her earnings that she earned from the track.
"You're the best I've seen. If you get on a decent swoop bike, you'll be better than me without a problem. You need to use your talent to rebuild the professional circuit. Will you do that?" Meetra asked him.
"Yes, but I will thank you when I get to the top. What is your name?" Nico asked. She looked at Revan and gave him a defiant smirk before looking back to Nico.
"When you get to the top, make sure you tell everybody that it was Meetra Surik who gave you your big break" Meetra told him.
"I swear I will" Nico promised. Meetra smiled and walked toward Revan, joining him as he left the swoop arena to the shocked fans behind him and the livid Hutt shouting at them to never return to his arena ever again. The two shared a hearty laugh together as they looked back to see the Hutt slithering toward them, shouting before rushing back into the safety of his arena once he saw that the twin suns hadn't completely set yet.
"So, you found the map?" Meetra asked as they approached the Ebon Hawk. Revan nodded and gave her a somber look.
"We also found Bastila's late father's holocron too, so she needs some time to deal with it before we leave for Kashyyyk, so I don't think we're going to be able to leave before tomorrow morning" Revan told her.
"So, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Meetra asked with a mischievous grin on her face. Revan shook his head, following the conniving woman up the entrance ramp to the Ebon Hawk.
"I'm thinking about throwing a cantina party!" Meetra exclaimed, looking back at Revan to see his reaction as she sat down at the table and put her feet up, kicking her chair back onto its rear legs.
"Honestly, as long as everybody gets back to the ship before we leave here at dawn tomorrow, then I don't really care what you do. Knock yourself out" Revan said casually, taking a seat across the table from Meetra.
"You're not going to come join us, Revan?" she asked, though she did not look as surprised by that as her tone indicated that she was.
"No, I think I am needed here on the ship more, but I will come to get one drink with you guys at the start before I leave. How does that sound?" Revan asked.
"It sounds to me like I need to start spreading the word around!" a voice from behind Revan said. He turned to see Mission standing behind him with his hands on her hips.
"Am I going to be allowed to attend the party, Revan?" she asked innocently. He shrugged and looked at Meetra who also shrugged.
"Eh, why not?" Meetra told her.
"Well, then I had better go get ready!" Mission exclaimed, running off toward the other end of the ship.
"I'm going to go tell everybody about the party. We'll be at the cantina shortly" Meetra told Revan.
"Gotcha. Hey, Canderous!" Revan shouted, waiting patiently for the Mandalorian to come to the table.
"Yeah, what do you want, Revan?" the burly Mandalorian asked.
"I want you to come with me on a little adventure" Revan told him. Canderous thought for a second about it and nodded.
"Where are we going to go?" Canderous asked. Revan gave him a small smile and stood up.
"You should come with me to the cantina. There are some drinks there with our names on them!" Revan told him. Canderous smiled greatly and put his hand on Revan's shoulder.
"Then what the hell are we still doing here?" Canderous demanded, pulling Revan off the ship without any further thought.
In the cantina, Carth Onasi was sitting at the bar right next to the one person on the crew that nobody would have expected to see him drinking with.
"Now this is the way I like it!" Canderous exclaimed, clasping his mug with Carth's mug. The two men laughed before they took another drink of their Tarisian Ale.
"You know? I have to say, Canderous. I never expected to be getting along with you so well. I mean, I have to say, this is just totally unexpected" Carth said, taking another huge gulp of his drink.
"Well, I guess this just goes to show what can happen when Avner gets to us" Canderous mused.
"That's true. He has always had a way of inspiring loyalty into others" a voice from behind them said. It was Meetra Surik, who was just coming around to join them for a drink as well.
"Well, you're one to talk, Meetra. I heard stories about how you had the same ability to inspire loyalty into the people who followed you as well" Canderous commented offhandedly. Meetra blushed and looked at the Mandalorian with a shrug.
"I don't know about that, Canderous, but I can't control what the people who served under me say" Meetra explained diplomatically.
"That's true, but it has to be true when even Carth is agreeing with the statement" Canderous told her.
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Carth demanded angrily, slamming his mug on the table and glaring at the Mandalorian.
"Well, Carth, I can certainly remember a couple times that your paranoia was close to getting the group in trouble on Taris, both before and after you all joined up with me. Even with everything Avner had done on the planet to prove himself to me before I decided to join up with you guys, I was honestly worried that your paranoia and lack of ability to trust people would bring the Sith down on our group before we would have enough time to get off of the planet" Canderous told him simply.
"Yeah? So, what's your point?" Carth demanded.
"The point is that after all of that, I'm surprised that you are able to go a complete 180. Now, you trust Avner and you trust Meetra. Hell, it's even getting to the point that you trust me. How did that happen? I never expected this when I embarked on this little quest" Canderous told him simply.
"I don't trust you" Carth snapped, but as he said it, both Canderous and Meetra let out a disbelieving grunt and astonished laugh, respectively.
"Carth, you have the worst poker face I have ever seen, and I've seen some pretty bad ones" Meetra told him, shaking her head in annoyance.
"What is it? Is this our gang up on Carth day or something?" the pilot complained, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at his two companions.
"Wait, did I hear it is gang up on Carth day? Why am I sitting over here?" Revan exclaimed from the other side of the cantina. He was sitting at a table with Mission, both of them with drinks on the table and turning to see their friends sitting there, teasing poor Carth.
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" the teenage twi'lek demanded.
"I have nothing wrong with sitting at the kid's table, Mission. I just want to join in on the fun!" Revan told her.
"Are you talking about the fun of making fun of Carth? I'd love to join in!" Mission agreed. Revan gave Carth a smirk, which the pilot returned with a groan before he set his head down on the table.
"Somebody drink a little too much?" Revan teased, taking another little drink of his own mug.
"I don't think it is at that point yet, Revan, but something tells me that both Canderous and Carth will both be nursing their own little hangovers in the next couple of days. Something tells me this is going to be a fun little trip to Kashyyyk" Meetra joked, clasping mugs with Revan and Mission before they all decided to take a little drink of their Tarisian Ale, causing Canderous to chuckle slightly and shake his head at the three of them.
It took a couple seconds before Carth joined them in a group smile, and once he did, they all clasped their mugs together.
"To peace!" Meetra teased, looking at Revan who laughed at their little inside reference. It didn't go unnoticed to the teenage twi'lek who began pestering at Revan to tell her what was going on. It didn't take much prodding for Revan to agree to tell her, so they all sat around a table and Revan began to tell his story.
"Well, it started off the first day that we went off to join the fight in the Mandalorian Wars. We went to a little party in the cantina" Revan told them.
The music was going strong in the cantina, where the three Jedi were sitting around a table with drinks in their hands.
"So, do you think we're ever going to be allowed back into the Jedi Order again after this is all over?" Alek asked casually, though he didn't care what the answer was either way. It was far before he had lost his jaw.
"I don't know, Alek. But, you just seem ready to go off and fight, not even worried about what could happen" Revan said. He looked over twelve years younger than he did in the present day, despite the present day being only seven years after the memory.
"Well, somebody has to go save the Republic, right? And who better to get the perks than us?" Alek responded with a smirk.
"We're not going out there for perks, Alek! We're only going out there because we have to save the Republic! Nothing else matters, honestly. Our mandate is to go out and save the Republic; if you can't do that, then maybe you shouldn't go with us!" Meetra exclaimed, glaring at her bald companion.
"Lighten up, Meetra. I'm just messing around. I know what we're up against, and I know what we have to do, don't worry" Alek promised, taking a drink before ordering another round for the group.
"Revan, you've been very quiet this whole time. Are you alright?" Meetra asked.
"Yeah, I've just been thinking. I mean, I'm in charge of 1/3 of the Republic fleet. It's a lot of pressure, don't you think?" Revan asked casually, looking up at his two best friends.
"Revan, don't worry about it. We picked you to lead the Jedi into this war for a reason" Alek said simply.
"I guess all that is left now is to ask you, Revan; how did the weapons presentation go?" Meetra asked. Revan sighed and looked at her with an annoyed expression.
"All I saw were giant weapons that blow everything in sight up. Nothing subtle at all" Revan said angrily.
"Well, we have to admit that big weapons will help us win this war" Alek said, shrugging at his companions.
"Well, come on, let's go out and see the last bomb get blown up outside. We all love fireworks" Meetra suggested. They took their drinks and went out to see the last missile being sent into the sky to be blown up over the Dantooine plains.
The missile got shot into the air and the three Jedi sat down, watching the missile. Once it exploded into greatest fireworks show that that they had ever seen, the three looked at each other and shrugged.
"To peace!" Revan exclaimed before the three Jedi clasped mugs and drank their last mug of Tarisian Ale before they went off to war. And to do it under a great fireworks display just made it that much better in their eyes.
After the story concluded, Mission and Canderous were chuckling while Carth was not amused.
"Come on, lighten up, Carth. We were just kids!" Revan told the pilot.
"Avner, you're still just a kid" Meetra teased. Revan glared at her, but the laughs that her comment created in the little group made Revan's angry façade drop off a little quicker than he would have liked to admit.
"To peace!" Revan said instead, clasping mugs with all of his friends again, downing his drink in one large gulp. After he put his mug down, he was caught looking toward the door by Canderous.
"So, are you going to go to her or do we have to sit here watching you long for the princess all night?" Canderous demanded. Revan scoffed in annoyance, but he still stood up and looked back at his friends, giving them a sorry glance.
"Go to her, Avner. We all know it's where you want to be" Mission told him. He sent them one more sorry glance before he felt somebody using the Force to nudge him toward the exit. He shook his head at Meetra before raising his hands in surrender.
"Don't worry, I'm going, I'm going!" he promised, leaving the cantina without another glance back toward his friends.
He left the cantina and immediately started to head back toward the ship, pausing every thirty seconds or so, feeling as though he was being watched, but he couldn't pinpoint the location. He looked around the edge of the swoop arena in the shadows behind the building before turning around in a heartbeat, lightsaber ignited as he finally caught the one who was following him.
Back in the cantina, Meetra and Carth had broken away from the rest of the group. Sarna and Zaalbar had joined the party as well, leaving Mission to go take her last drinks with Zaalbar while Sarna joined Canderous at the bar.
"So, why did you decide to join this adventure, Sarna?" Canderous asked, not letting Sarna dictate the topic of their discussion, as he assumed she would have liked to. She looked at him in thought, surprised at the change of topic, but she shrugged and took a drink before starting her story.
"I joined the Sith only because of Revan. My dad fought in the war and he was allowed to come home two weeks before my mom was due with my little brother. My dad was promised to be able to go home before my brother was born, but it was right before the battle of Malachor V, so my dad didn't think he was going to make it back. My mom thought the same thing, but my dad came home three days before my mom went into labor. When we heard a knock on the door, we were worried that the Mandalorians had found us again" Sarna explained.
"The second the knock came at the door, my mom told me to run and hide. I did what she said, but I ended up hiding behind the couch, just waiting for my chance to see what was happening. When my mom opened the door, I looked out from behind. I couldn't see through my mom, but she staggered back, so I thought that she had been hit. I jumped out and tried to go and help her, but before I could get there, I saw him come in. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. For so many nights I dreamed of seeing my father coming home. I had dreamt about it so many times that I couldn't believe what I was seeing" Sarna explained. She was looking into her alcohol, letting out a sigh to remember the happier times.
"What happened when your father got into the house, after the whole reunion?" Canderous asked, holding his drink in his hand, but for once neglecting to take a drink.
"We had sat down on the couch and a couple of the chairs, looking at each other in silence. I couldn't believe that my father was home" Sarna said, taking a drink before closing her eyes, reveling in the memory.
There was a very young girl, sitting on one of the chairs across from her pregnant mother and her father for the first time since the start of the Mandalorian Wars.
"So, I have to ask; what are you doing back right now? I heard about the string of victories for the Republic and also about the rumors that the final battle is going to be taking place very soon" Sarna's mother asked.
"Well, you're never going to believe this, but I take it you remember when I got transferred to a platoon directly under General Revan? Well, he caught me sending my letters to you a few months ago. He promised me then that I would be allowed to go home before your due date. Well, General Revan came to me two days ago and told me when the final battle was going to happen. I told him that I was ready to fight, but he shook his head at me. He told me that I would be allowed to go home to see my son's birth if I wanted. I told him that I accepted and he was able to arrange for me to travel home, so now, here I am" Sarna's father explained.
"When is the final battle?" her mother asked.
"It is supposed to start in three days" her father responded.
"Revan let you go home three days before the final battle?" her mother asked, shocked at what she was hearing.
"I told you that you wouldn't believe me" he told her simply. And though Sarna was young at the time, she knew that what Revan had done for her father was not normal. Right then, she had made a promise to herself that she would always be loyal to Revan, no matter what the circumstances would end up being.
Sarna opened her eyes and looked back at Canderous. The Mandalorian was looking right at her, not even thinking about interrupting her story. She was grateful to him for that and took a large drink of her Tarisian Ale before continuing.
"Daddy was devastated when Revan was proclaimed dead after he left for the Unknown Regions. When Revan came back as a Sith, my father joined him, promising my mother that Revan would do what was right even though nobody else believed in him. He was among the first to join Revan after he came back. It devastated my mother when he did it. I had no idea how I could do this to my mother, but I remembered what I had promised to myself when my father had come back. It was a while after my father left to join Revan and the Sith, but before too much time had passed, I did the same. I went through basic training, but about two weeks after I started, I heard that Revan had been killed. In order to honor his memory, I decided to stay with the Sith. I eventually got stationed on Taris when the Sith Occupation Force took over the planet" Sarna explained, calling for another round of drinks to be brought over.
"So, how did you end up working with Revan this time around?" Canderous asked instead, finishing off his drink just as the next round arrived.
"Truthfully, it had been just by a little luck, honestly. I overheard you and Revan talking in the cantina about your plan to escape Taris, so I went to Davik and became one of his slaves. I got lucky enough to have signed up for cleaning duties aboard the Ebon Hawk the day that you came to steal it. I was able to stow away when you made your escape. I was lucky enough to be able to escape the burning of the planet" Sarna explained.
"Why didn't you leave when you had the chance?" Canderous asked.
"The same reason you stayed, probably. When I learned that Avner is actually Revan, I realized that I had my chance to make it up to him. I was able to thank him for what he did for my father and, unknowingly, what he did for me as well. I never really knew what it was that pulled me to him before I knew the truth, but once I learned his true identity, I was sold and I was sure I would stick with him no matter where the road took him" Sarna decided.
"Well, I certainly understand that train of thought" Canderous agreed, taking one more drink of his ale before finally setting the mug down for the first time since Sarna had started her final explanation.
A few minutes of silence passed before Sarna stood up and looked at Canderous with a smile.
"I'm really tired, so I am going to go back to the ship now. Thank you for listening" Sarna said, leaving her half-finished drink on the table as she left the cantina. The cantina was nearly deserted by that point. Only Carth remained from their group, so Canderous went to sit next to Carth at the bar. They were alone in the bar, save for a few other men who did not look happy in the corner.
"So, your girl left you too?" Canderous asked casually, taking another drink.
"Yeah, said she was tired" Carth replied.
"Well, I guess that means you're not getting any tonight" Canderous teased.
"I still have a better shot than you do, Canderous" Carth retorted.
"Let's just face it, Republic. We're both stuck going to bed alone tonight" Canderous said ruefully, shaking his head and looking down.
"Serves you right, you two have been hogging the best action we could have had in months!" one of the other men snapped. Canderous and Carth turned around to see him standing behind them, flanked by three more. All four of them were close to falling over, they were so drunk.
"Look, guys, I'd go back where you came before you learn a little lesson the hard way" Canderous told them, putting his drink down and cracking his knuckles, glaring at the four men who tried to come over to them.
"Canderous, try to stay calm. We can't be getting in fights right now" Carth warned.
"Why did those girls stay with you spineless tachs? I think it is time to go find those ladies and show them how a real man performs in the bedroom" the drunken man said. His friends behind him laughed at what he was saying and jeered at Carth and Canderous.
"You were saying, Carth?" Canderous asked.
"Yeah, I'm afraid we're not going to be able to allow you to do that. If you want to get your dirty hands on our women, then you're going to have to go through us" Carth snapped.
"That's exactly what I was hoping you'd say" the drunk man said, lunging at Carth. Then, the fight began. It wasn't much of a fight, as the drunk men were unable to land any successful hits on the warrior/soldier combination, partially because of the amazing agility that the two members of Revan's crew had, but also because the four drunk men could hardly stand up straight, let alone hit anybody with any degree of success.
Canderous ended up breaking one of their noses and throwing another through one of the bar tables. He was definitely using his Mandalorian strength to his advantage. At the same time, Carth had successfully knocked the third drunk man onto the ground, pinned underneath the two men that Canderous had defeated. All of a sudden, there was only one drunk man left to face up against Carth and Canderous all alone.
"So, do you still think you have a chance with our girls?" Carth asked, hoping that the man would see reason and just surrender before anything worse could happen. Instead of responding, the last remaining drunk man swung his fist at Carth. Carth ducked and hit the drunken man with a hard punch. When the drunken man turned away toward Canderous, the Mandalorian hit the drunken man his own right hand. Canderous and Carth played a little game of ping pong with the drunken man before Canderous swung his own fist a little bit harder, successfully knocking the final drunk man onto the ground.
Canderous and Carth looked at the damage that they had caused and looked at the bartender in slight embarrassment. Carth tossed a credit chip at the bartender in apology before leaving with Canderous before the authorities could be called. They rushed off toward the Ebon Hawk, knowing that their little fight in the cantina was something that would be best if Revan didn't hear about it.
The two got back to the ship and went to bed, not noticing that Revan was conveniently missing from his bed as they went to sleep.
In the girls' room, Mission and Meetra had noticed that Bastila was not in her bed, and since she wasn't on the ship, they had a pretty good idea on where she was.
"So, I'm guessing you're going to tell me not to make fun of Bastila too much?" Mission asked, noticing the look that Meetra was giving her.
"Why do I even have to tell you?" Meetra asked instead. Mission looked at the older woman in confusion, so Meetra continued her explanation.
"Look at Bastila with an open mind. Do you honestly think that your teasing her is going to help? If anything, it is going to make it tougher for Revan. Honestly, it will just make it worse, so I think it would be best if you just join the pool and watch from the sidelines like the rest of the crew" Meetra replied.
"Pool? What pool?" Mission asked in confusion.
"You haven't heard? Wow, you're behind. Anyways, I overheard Canderous and Carth arguing about when Bastila and Revan were finally going to officially get together, so I thought about starting a pool about it. We all write down what we think will happen right before they finally get together officially. It costs fifty credits to enter, but whoever wins gets all the money" Meetra explained. Mission's eyes went wide at that before a mischievous smirk came onto her face.
"I am so in!" Mission exclaimed, taking fifty credits out of her bag, tossing the single credit chip at Meetra who put it into a little jar under her bed.
"Place your bet, Mission" Meetra said, supervising Mission writing down her bet before putting the paper back in the jar and going to sleep without another thought.
Author's Note: OK, so here's the deal. I have absolutely no idea when the next update is going to be. My life is so hectic right now. It has gotten to the point that I can only read stories on my phone during breaks at work or during lunch breaks at school. It is bad and I apologize. But, I will try my best to update soon.
I have some very good ideas and I was hoping not to abandon this story, and I won't, but it is on temporary hiatus until my life settles down a little bit. I am sorry to everybody who enjoys the story, but this will be the last update for a little while. I will try to update ASAP, but don't get your hopes up. I'm sorry again.
Thanks for everything you guys, I'm sure I'll see you around.