Chapter 6

"Kyp!? For Force's sake! What are You doing ?!"

The Jedi Master stopped abruptly in the middle of a lightsaber slash. The voice was disturbingly familiar...
He reached out with the Force to touch a presence hidden beneath the sithly hood and robes... It's emanation in the Force was surprisingly weak, but the presence itself was known. Indeed, very well known... Oh no...

"Are we home yet, daddy?" Little Ben asked sleepily, shifting his position in the man's arms, rubbed the eyes with the small fists, and yawned.

"Almost" Luke Skywalker answered softly, pushing back the hood. "You've woken him up Kyp" he added, looking at him with accusation. "What have you been up to, by the way? For a second I thought You were some Sith..."

"And I thought You were ..." Kyp mumbled, still deep in shock. Luke's eyebrows lifted questioningly, then his eyes narrowed a bit. "Everything okay? You can put away Your weapon then?"

"I-I'm sorry Master Skywalker " Kyp stammered, and first remembered to extinguish his lightsaber. "I guess... I mean, I've been concentrating only on Ben, so I didn't recognize it was You".

"That's possible" Luke said after having considered the statement briefly. " I've been actually training on that technique with diminishing your Force presence that Vergere had shown us."
Today! Off all days! Must be my kriffin 'luck' Kyp shook his head. "Anyway, it's good that You've got him back."

"Got back who?"

"Ben of course" Kyp lifted eyebrow in surprise .

Luke Skywalker seemed even more confused: "What do You mean?"

"What I mean? That he got kidnapped from the kindergarten, presumably by a Dark Side user - right? And Mara and I have been looking for him for half a day!"

As he talked, Luke looked more and more surprised.
"You've been looking... Mara's been looking for Ben? Wait... kidnapped? From the kindergarten?!"

Kyp only nodded.

"But... Nobody was kidnapped. I mean, I took Ben earlier from the kindergarten, cause I won tickets to the Pakka Circus show in the Grand Skyhook, and wanted him to see it, but I left Mara a message at home. How could she not notice it?"

Kyp's face had a painful expression: "I don't know. Maybe she wasn't there since. After all You were supposed to be still in the Outer Rim."

"I came back a little bit earlier..."

"I've noticed " Kyp commented dryly. "Or rather, I haven't noticed, which was the problem. Anyway: just great! We've been looking for a kidnapped kid , who wasn't kidnapped at all, just because Your wife didn't read Your note!" He hit his forehead with the palm. "Wonderful!"..."Never trust women with red hair" he added quietly for his own use.

"What did You say?" Luke asked.

"Oh nothing, just a kind of proverb " Kyp explained bitterly. " A very accurate one by the way." Then he remembered something: "Couldn't You just comm her. What is that for an old fashioned custom with handwritten notes on the kitchen table?!"

"It wasn't handwritten, and I left it in the living room..."

The younger Jedi only rolled his eyes : "Spare me for the details, please."

"I mean" the Jedi Master continued "Uncle Owen used to leave such messages for Aunt Beru, and I'm trying to keep the tradition-" Another roll follewed " -And I guess that the skyhook was out of reach for a commlink anyway."

Kyp definitely wasn't impressed:"And what the hell have You been thinking by stealing Your own son away from the playground, without telling the teacher or anyone. And using some mind tricks on kids as far as I could judge?!"

"Please, don't curse when Ben's around. The teacher doesn't know me very well, and I was in a hurry to reach the show. I decided she wouldn't even notice Ben's absence since there were so many other children. And mind tricks, yes-" he cleared his throat " -One girl there, a Firrerreo, is Force sensitive. I had to avert her mind from Ben and me, otherwise she would have alarmed everyone."

"What a brilliant plan" the younger Master's voice dripped with sarcasm, though inside he was forced to admit that the whole story was as much funny as it was unnerving...

"Daddy" Ben's voice, accompanied by a stomach rumble interrupted their discussion "I'm hungry, can we eat soon, please?"

"I'm sorry, son" Luke looked at his son with concern and such love that Kyp's heart twitched. "Let's get in." He glanced at Durron and added: "Come with us, Kyp. I guess I have to ask You some more questions."

xxx

"So, tell me Kyp. Where is my wife?" The two masters were sitting by the kitchen table over steaming mugs with caf, and little Ben was literally devouring his cereals with blue milk from a big bowl with a little bantha cub painted on.

Kyp sighed. He told Master Skywalker about this afternoon's events briefly, but this was the question he was somehow afraid of. "She's at the TV Republic."

"For what?" Luke asked, surprised "I thought she definitely refused to take part in that 'Extreme change' program."

"She was going to have a plastic surgerey?!"-Kyp gasped in astonishment. "But she doesn't need it. I mean, I think she looks ok, I mean for her age and..."

"Kyp!"

Durron stopped abruptly in the middle of a sentence, and his face reddened. He didn't want Luke to think he was evaluating his wife's body. Cause he wasn't. And honestly, if he was to think about changing anything in Mara Jade Skywalker, it would be first and foremost her character.

"Kyp, it's not about plastic surgery. They invite people who managed to change their lifes completely. You know: like Mara who was an Emperor's Hand, and now she's a Jedi Master and a GFFA's hero."

"Oh..."

"Yes, but she said she didn't want to participate" master Skywalker continued. "Do You know why she'd changed her mind?"

"As far as I know, she didn't. She's going to appear in the program called 'Anybody seen? Anybody knows?' to ask for help to find Ben" Kyp explained. "Don't worry" he added, seeing terror on Luke's face "she's going to be in cover up, so that nobody can recognize her."

"I wouldn't be so sure. Her face is quite known. When does this program begin?"

Kyp checked the chrono: "In about 20 minutes. What do You want to do?"

"I'll try to comm her now, and prevent her from showing herself there. Meanwhile, could You please help Ben with getting ready for bed?"

"Sure. I have a lot of experience with kids."

xxx

Alone in the half-darkened room belonging to Ben (who himself was in the bathroom right now), Kyp tried to put an order to the day's events.
The more he thought about it, the more ridiculous the whole situation seemed to him.What a set of coincidences! Seroiusly, what chances there were for Luke coming back earlier, winning circus tickets, and training on the hiding Force presence technique just today, and Mara not dropping in at home, and not reading his message the very same day!?

Kyp shook his head. Now, when he put it that way, he couldn't help himself and started to giggle. That is very funny. After a while he sombered, and added: But definitely not for master Skywalker, who will have to deal with Mara's wrath when she gets to know the whole story... Well... on the other hand: he should have known what he was doing when he married her...

"Master Durron?" Ben's muffled voice coming from the refresher snapped Kyp out of his thoughts. The kid sounded somewhat troubled. For a brief moment Kyp felt the surge of panic at the thought that maybe he needeed assistance at the toilet, but then the refresher's door sled open, and Ben came out - with the pajamas buttoned awry, a trace of toothpaste on the chin, and anxiety written all over his small face.

"Master Durron, I cannot find Wickie" the boy addressed him with a pleading look.

"Who is Wickie?" Kyp inquired, coming to a kneeling position before Ben and buttoning his pajamas the right way . Then he gently wiped the toothpaste from his face.

"He's my teddy-ewok. I left him in the fresher in the morning, but i can't find him now."

"Let's go look once again" Kyp suggested.

For a couple of minutes they were both occupied with rummaging through the piles of towels, sponges etc., but Ben's toy wasn't anywhere to find. What they did find, though, were two night gowns - one of deep green, soft fabric, and one, the larger one, of a light blue frotte with puffy white clouds on.

Ughh Kyp stiffled a giggle.

At last they had to give up.

"Well, Ben, I'm sure we'll find Wickie tomorrow" the Jedi master tried to reassure the boy.

"But I never sleep without Wickie" Ben announced sadly.

Kyp quickly catalogued in mind things he had with him: A lightsaber, a blaster, reserve batteries, an ID-card, a handkerchief, a three months old, half-eaten ration bar, a commlink, two datacards, a pocket holocube, and an archaic corellian screwdriver he got from Han on Hapes (after he had used the lightsaber to remove the screws instead). Stang! Nothing that could serve as a replacement for an Ewok-toy...

"Uhh, err..What about me holding Your hand while I'm telling You a goodnight story?" he offered finally.

The boy measured him for a second or two, obviously considering it.

"Mum says I shouldn't get in touch with You Master Durron" he said seriously. "She says You're courageous."

"Huh?!" Mara said so?? I don't believe...

"Well,err...I think it was something like that..." Ben wavered. " Or maybe it was conagious ? I'm really not sure, it was a difficult word" he explained.

"I suppose 'contagious' was the word" Kyp drawled dryly.

"What does it mean?"

"Never mind. So - what do we do? Shall I go and find Your daddy?"

"He's busy, isn't he? And he asked You to stay with me, so You can't be so dangerous after all, can You?" he asked with a bit of uncertainty in his voice. "I mean, if dad said so..."

Hooray for father's authority! Kyp thought. "No, I'm perfectly harmless" he said aloud and smiled. Maybe not always, but You don't need to know it yet he added for himself. "So - the bed awaits" he made an exaggerated gesture towards the bunk.
Ben jumped into it giggling and placed his small fist in the Jedi master's large palm.

"Oookay, young man. Which story do you want to hear? 'Little lost bantha cub'? " he asked, remembering it was one of Jacen and Jaina's favourites when they were about Ben's age.

"Nooo 'ts boring'' Ben wrinkled his nose. " Thereepio keeps telling me it each time he comes, and I know it by heart already... or almost . Can You tell me something scary" his eyes shone with excitement.

"Scary, huh?!" And the next thing I know would be Your mum's saber in my guts for frightening her baby "How scary?"

"Very scary. Like 'The Knights of Old Republic: Jedi vs. Sith'. It rocks! "

There it goes. The kriffin series about the kriffin Sith again! What the Sith am I supposed to tell him?! 'Darth Agnan and the Three Mandalorians'?? It's not a fairytale ! - Which of the Sith tales are fairytales anyway? Stang!

"Master Durron??"

"Ehmm."(Think Durron, think!) Suddenly Kyp got an idea. Back on Deyer his father used to tell him this particular story to make him fall asleep...

"Some time ago" he began "on a planet far, far away, there was a huge ocean... Do you know what an ocean is?" he asked. After all Bent spent most of the time on Coruscant, where all natural water reservoirs lay underground.

The boy nodded:"I've seen an ocean on Corellia. On a holiday with uncle Han and aunt Leia"

The Jedi master acknowledged it with a smile and continued: "Yeah. Then You know how it looks like. And in that ocean lived fish. An awful lot of fish, big and small, but this story is about a particular group of small fish. They lived in shallow water near the shore, ate plants and were generally very well-behaved, peaceful creatures..."

"Master Durron" Ben interrupted him " are you sure that it's really a scary story ?" he asked doubtfully.

"Of course it is." Kyp flashed him a mischievous smile. "Be patient, little Jedi".
Ben's face beamed at being called a Jedi, and he concentrated on listening.

"Not every creature in the ocean was perfect though. In the dark corner of our fish's bay, among the rocks dwelled a big bad and hungry crab." The Jedi master uttered the end of the sentence with a low, ominous voice. Ben stirred uncomfortably and squeezed his hand. Good that I didn't tell him the story about Darth Agnan Kyp decided. "The crab saw the fish, and decided that they would make an excellent dinner. He knew, however, that they could swim faster than him, so he decided to set a trap..." The Jedi master presented an evil grin, and from the Ben's expression and widened eyes he could tell he had boy's full attention now.

"First of all, he lurked near the fish's place to watch their habits. He observed that they used the tails to swim forward, and when they came to an obstacle they would turn and swim back. When he saw it, he knew what he was going to do. He found the smallest and youngest fish in the flock..."

"And ate her!" Ben whispered .

"No, of course not. He wanted to set a trap, remember? Besides do You really think that a single fish, a small one at that, would do? "

"Noo.. He was veery hungry."

"You see? So - he found the youngest fish, who has never seen a crab yet. He introduced himself as an another fish, and said there were plenty of delicious plants to eat among the rocks. He asked the little fish to tell it to the rest, so they could eat them, cause he wasn't able to eat everything alone. And he told her that she could tell them that it was her who found the plants, for that would gain her respect among the elder fish. Can you guess why he did it?"

"So that they wouldn't ask her how this 'fish' who told her that looked like!" Little Ben's eyes literally shone with excitement. "And...?"

"And the little fish did as the crab told her. The other fish in the flock believed her, and they swam to the rocks where the crab set his trap. "Kyp bowed closer to Ben, and continued in a low, menacing whisper: "They came to a narrow passage between the rocks, and swam into it. The little fish told that the plants they were looking for were at the other end of it. But when they came through they discovered that there was nothing there but another rock that blocked the way. " Ben stirred uncomfortably. Master Durron was bent so close over him... like the rocks around the poor fish... And he had a dangerous gleam in his eyes...It felt a little bit...claustrophobic...

"In the meantime" Kyp continued the story, seemingly unaware of Ben's stirring "the crab came to the passage from behind. He knew the fish didn't have enough place to turn, so he could eat them one by one from behind and they wouldn't even know what hit them." Master Durron's smile is really scary . Maybe mum was right? Ben tried to move away from the Jedi Master hovering over him.
"Ooops. Seems like I'm putting to much heart into the story Kyp thought, noticing it. But he's got his very scary story, hasn't he? he chuckled silently.

"But the crab didn't predict one thing...Or maybe he just hadn't observed the fish long enough to notice it. When the fish realized that there weren't any plants to eat, and that this was a dead end with no place to turn, and when the last one felt a bite at her tail - They used their belly fins to swim backwards! "

"Oh!"

"The crab got completely taken aback - and more - he got hit at the head with a fish tail, so in the end he just lay dumbfounded on the bottom, and saw the fish swim backwards past him, using their belly fins." Kyp threw a quick glance at Ben, who just a moment ago squeezed his hand. Now the boy was relaxed. No end like happy end, huh?! Just wait, it's not the end yet he grinned inwardly, remembering why he as a kid eventually hated the fish-story. "You see - fish usually swim straight forward using their tails. When they come to an obstacle, they turn and swim another way. But sometimes, sometimes they just have to swim backwards, and then they use their belly fins. But of course most often they just swim forward using their tails..."

Ben glanced at him suspiciously. It wasn't going to be easy... " So they managed to escape, Master Durron?" he asked very matter-of-factly.

"Yeah" Kyp sighed, hiding his amusement. Fortunately Ben's eyes seemed more and more sleepy... It won't be long anyway. No one stands to stay awaken long during this story...
"Yes, they escaped this time, but remember that the crab was still alive. And he was even more hungry and angry now. And he knew about the trick with belly fins and swimming backwards. He made a new plan." he suspended his voice...

"What plan, Master Durron?" Ben asked animatedly, quailing the yawn.

Come on! Would You sleep already! Don't tell me this story is so interesting!- On the other hand-if the usual stuff You get is 'Little bantha cub' by Threepio... Then I can't blame You. "Well, he decided that he needed a cover up. He gathered some algs and other stuff, and hid himself under them, pretending to be just a part of the sea bottom, and waited near our fish's home to capture them when they come back. But they were out for a long, long time, so he waited, and waited... and waited-" Ben's eyes fluttered close "- and waited..."

"And?" the boys eyes snapped open "I want to know the end!"

Stang! Why can't You just fall asleep?... Kyp shook his head. "And waited some more..." He tried to fake a reassuring smile, but Ben squinted and looked at him with an 'You-won't-get-away-that-easy' expression. The Jedi Master sighed . "And finally the fish returned home. But then it occured that in the meantime the algs and other plants the crab covered himself with, grew around him so that he couldn't make a move!"

Ben giggled happily. "Cool! And what did he do next? Did he manage to free himself? Cause otherwise he would die of hunger! "

Kyp lifted sight to the ceiling: Sweet Force, Help me...!

xxx

After a couple of minutes - and the crab's vicious attempts at hunting the fish -all of which turned unsuccessfull, Ben finally fell asleep. Kyp stood up carefully, and gently disengaged his palm from the boy's grasp. Ben stirred, mumbled something unintelligible, and clutched the sheet.

Please, don't wake up again The Jedi Master begged silently. He looked around the room. On the upper shelf, between two pots with something green, sat a furry Ewok-toy.
Mara must have taken it from the bathroom he made a guess. Well, it's still good that I've found You he said taking the toy from the shelf. Care to help me with making Ben sleep, Wickie? he grinned as he placed the mascot on the boy's bed. Ben reached for it immediately and hugged it. A peaceful smile graced his face when he burrowed the nose in Wickie's fur.

Kyp stood for a while with an uncharacteristically soft expression, simply watching him. Then he turned the lights off to minimal power, and left.

xxx

He found Luke Skywalker pacing restlessly in front of the holo set. He realized that telling Ben the good-night story took quite a long time, and that the 'Anybody seen? Anybody knows?' program was about to start.

Right now, however, there was an angry lady on the screen, talking about her hair, which got damaged due to some kind of shampoo. Indeed, it's colour was something between filthy orange and brown. Ughh...

"You haven't contacted Mara, have You?" Kyp concentrated on Skywalker's nervous face.

"No. She turned the commlink off. They must be forbidden during the program and right before it." He sighed " I have bad feelings about this..."

"Somehow I have them too. Despite the fact that You know I'm not the one for having premonitions."

"Yeah, I know. What about Ben? Is he asleep?"

"Uhmm"(Seven traps! Holy Sith! I should probably slice C3-PO into pieces next time around.) He glared at Luke and drawled: "By the way, You have a nice nightgown, Master."

Luke's face flushed bright red: " I've got it from Mara" he mumbled. "She said it matched my eyes..."

"Ah-ha" Kyp's grin became even more malicious. " I see...Especially those clouds..."

"Ugh, Stuff it Kyp!" Luke exclaimed with exasperation which made Kyp chuckle.

"So puffy and sweet..." he continued mercilessly.

Luke studied the geometrical pattern of the carpet, while his face slowly acquired the deep red shade of Tatooine sunset. Kyp couldn't hold on longer and burst out laughing.

Fortunately for Luke a speaker announced the beginning of 'Anybody seen?Anybody knows?' program, and both masters turned their attention towards the holo set.

The host of the program said a couple of introductory words, which supposedly were ment to be heart-wrenching, and the stream of different beings, whose relatives have been missing, paraded through the screen.
There were no signs of Mara, though. It looked like the program was about to end, so Luke and Kyp exchanged surprised but also relieved, glances.

Then the host announced: " We have one more person here, who came to us literally in the last minute, and she would like to ask all of you for help." He took a deep and affeccionate breath, and went on:" Dear citizens of Coruscant! We can all understand how it is to lose a child, but try to imagine how it is to come from such a planet as Agamar, and lose it here, on Coruscant, the biggest metropoly of the Galaxy !" He made a dramatic pause.

"Well, an Agamarian" Luke visibly relaxed "Good. Apparently Mara came too late after all."

"I still have bad feelings, Master..." Kyp continued to watch the Holo set attentively.

"So, let's welcome our last guest today" the voice from the screen had a badly hidden pitying undertone "and let's symphatize with her." He made a gesture, and camera made a close-up on ... Mara Jade - in traditional outfit of an Agamarian housewife, incuding the pink apron and the strawhat. The worst of all, however, was brightly green hair, falling down from under the hat in two thick braids.

"Good evening, good people of Coruscant " she began, perfectly immitating the characteristic, slow Agamarian dialect, made famous by numerous comedians from the other planets. Her voice was slightly trembling, as if she was on the verge of crying, but the quick glance she sent the program host was as venomous as the colour of her hair, and could easily match the Green Grim Glare she usually treated Kyp Durron with. " My name is Ann Shirley, and I'm here to beg You for help to find my son..." Luke uttered a groan and hid the face in his hands.