Chapter Fourteen: The Java That Woke Up Yo' Momma in the Wake of Kitten Warfare

Thane blinked. And then he blinked again. When the spots still hadn't cleared from his vision, he blinked a third time and shook his head.

First he realized that he was laying in the sand and then that his nose hurt like a mother. Touching it, he wasn't surprised to find blood on his fingers. A big question mark appeared in his mind as he pushed himself up on to his elbows.

"Those are my kittens, man!" someone yelled. Thane didn't recognize the voice. Looking up and blocking out the suns with one hand, he found the man who was yelling at him and suddenly remembered the ambush. He had barely taken a step off the ship, little Han trotting along behind him carrying a pink toy mouse, when a man broke from the small crowd in their landing zone to punch him full in the face before he could properly react. It must have been some punch, Thane mused, to knock him out like that.

He blinked again and noticed that Han was sitting on his chest, regarding him. Petting the kitten's head and picking him up, Thane stood.

"What makes you think they're yours, Shorty McShortface?"

The man was smaller than Thane by about a foot and a half, which meant he was also shorter than Erika, who had joined them while Thane was unconscious, Garth, who was coming down the gangway as they spoke, and Brazilla, who was barely a step behind. Shorty looked around, suddenly wary of Thane's troupe of giants.

"Um…?" he said. "You know what? Never mind. I can do without ten kittens. Stinky things, aren't they…? Heh, heh. Sorry about the face." And, once more, before Thane could respond, Shorty turned on his heel and high-tailed it out of there. They just watched him go. Han mewed and shook his bobbed tail.

"That was strange," Brazilla commented at the same time Erika said, "Are you okay?"

Thane looked between the two of them. "Yeah it was and, no, I think I might need a kiss to make it better."

Erika smiled and, raising herself up on to her toes, kissed Thane's swollen nose. "Is that better?"

"Much. Thanks, kid." Han crawled out of Thane's arms and deposited himself beneath Erika's mass of curls, his body bowed around her neck, his head barely visible over one shoulder. "I think he likes you."

"I did have him first, you know."

"Ah, that sounds like possession. Remember our talk about possession?"

"Very much so," her lips curled into a smile as she pet Han behind the ears. His eyes closed. "It was very stimulating."

"Okay," Garth said, cutting in. "Okay, let's get focused on what we have to do."

Thane frowned but hopped on the bandwagon anyway. "Well, considering it's in a cave, I highly doubt it's in the city."

"Very astute," Brazilla said, not quite meeting Thane's eyes. "I think there are some caves to the east of here."

"Good," Thane said, "then we've got a heading. Who wants to come with?"

Of the three who were out there with him, only Brazilla didn't raise her hand. "I'm a little tired," was her excuse.

"I'll bet," was Thane's response. Erika looked at them. Garth didn't want to know. Han slept and dreamed little kitten dreams. "Okay, go get ready. Erika, put Han down somewhere. Brazilla, I'd like to speak with you a moment."

She looked at him, her eyes a little more hooded than she would have liked, as the other two went back into the ship.

"I'm afraid our…relationship has gone a little awry," she said.

"Like a wrong turn down a dark and very private alley?"

"Yes. No. You are a terrible person." That statement didn't stop her from closing the distance between them, though, her chin tilting just enough to look into Thane's eyes as he looked down at her.

"Are you going to punish me?" Thane asked so only she could hear. "I haven't been a very good Jedi."

"You're ideal," she said, putting her hand between them.

"I don't believe you."

She gripped at his shirt, her knuckles the only part of her body touching his. Their eyes were barely open. "You have the strength we dream of, the determination. You are the image of health."

He could feel each word as it left her lips, each soft puff of air. "You still don't have me convinced. What about my BAR?"

"Your dependence on foreign substance has gone down, haven't you noticed? You're able to rely on your own naturally produced source of fuel." Her smile sent a shiver down his spine.

"Or the fact that I've only been at this for a couple of weeks?"

"Experience doesn't matter." Her other hand made its way to his chest and traced the definition it found there. "You have accomplished more in the weeks you've been a Jedi than most accomplish in their lifetime."

"You're pretty damn good, too, lovely. An entire life of training. I can hardly imagine." But the moment he put a hand on her waist, she danced away from him, a smile turned over her shoulder.

"Work on that," she said from the ramp. "And maybe one day we'll see how close you are."

Thane bit down on his lower lip so hard he was sure a chunk of it would come off in his mouth. Brazilla just smiled a little wider as she turned around and disappeared into the shadow of the Pigeon.

He watched the spot she disappeared from, willing her to return and agree to come with them. He didn't want her to stay on the ship but knew that he could only take two of his crew with him. Damn Garth for wanting to participate.

He watched the spot so adamantly without actually expecting her to come back that when someone approached the boarding ramp, Thane jumped. It was Canute the Brute and he was eyeing Thane like he had a score to settle.

"You don't expect to keep us bottled up on the ship while you're out there making sand castles, do you? I think the old man might drive me insane, not to mention sitting on my ass and not fighting." He gestured back at the Pigeon with a big hand and long fingers. He, unlike Thane, could have easily stepped off the cover of a romance novel, except for the scar that bisected his face ear to ear and the military cut of his hair. At one point in his life, he might have been a handsome man but years of hard war was now permanently chiseled on his face.

As he looked at him, Thane suspected that he might be a Viking despite his claim at being a Mandie, but having not seen the bigger man converse with Erika, it was impossible to tell. All Thane knew was that Mandies collected people from everywhere and that Canute "the Brute" Olav could very well have come from Dannon, once upon a midnight dreary. The naked valkyrie tattoo on Canute's arm was something of a hint.

"I don't," Thane replied. "You can do whatever you want, but I can only take two people with me at any given moment, so as long as you're ready and rearing to go when I return to possibly call upon your assistance, you can booze up to your heart's content. Maybe even do a little sleeping around. You just gotta keep that comm in your ear and enough of a mind to pay attention to it."

Canute looked at him in the same steely-eyed manner that Thane was able to accomplish before nodding. "Okay. But will you ever take anyone besides one of the girls or the depressed soldier with you? I could have better things to do. Seeking honor in war, for one."

"You don't have to stick around if you don't want to," Thane said.

"Well, when you put it that way…" Canute snorted. "I think you are the only person in this entire galaxy who will know the glory of battle in any way that matters. Except maybe Relevant, but he ain't showing his face around these parts anymore so I think I'll stick with you for now."

"I was told Relevant was dead," Thane replied. "Killed by Talck a couple of months back."

"Did the cowardly Jedi tell you that?" Canute said as he closed his arms over his chest.

"Yeah. Why? I don't have any reason to not believe them. Do you know something?" He frowned. After the encounter with Brazilla, this was definitely not the kind of conversation he wanted to be having. In fact, he didn't want much talking to be taking place, had he a say in anything which, apparently, he didn't. Since basically sobering up on the ill-fated Bedliner, Thane had begun to question some of his core beliefs—mainly the one about his supposed reputation as a lady killer. It occupied about a quarter of his brain, these days (Brazilla took up maybe one half of the grey matter, Erika an eighth, and the rest of everything the last fraction).

Thane shook his head just as Canute dropped his arms back to his sides. "I don't know for sure, but I have a hunch and my hunches are generally correct. It's why I survived the war."

Thane shrugged after studying the man. "Whatever. But I am going to warn you that I have a tendency to get stuck in a rut, so we'll just have to wait and see how you fit into the equation. Like I told the kid, someday I might find a use for you but you'll have to stick it out to see. Next time I find myself in need of some muscle that mine can't take care of, I'll come callin'."

Canute's response (which most likely would have been put in terms of honor or glorious war) was cut short by the reappearance of Garth and, much to Thane's delight, Brazilla.

"Erika suddenly took ill, poor dear," Brazilla explained. "So I decided to take her place."

She brushed by Thane much closer than necessary as she pulled her lusciously thick hair out of her face. Canute gave an approving nod and Garth seemed oblivious to the fact that there had been no daylight between the two Jedi for a split second.

Before heading back into the ship, Canute clapped Thane on the shoulder. "Well, I think I understand why you bring her along, at least. Good luck in your hunting. All of it." And when he offered Thane a wink, he received a grin in return.

--

And so, our small band of heroes departed the docking bay that held their ship. Balnchaine didn't have much to offer at first except for some sand and a few desperate souls, but Thane paid them no never mind. Brazilla seemed to approve of him not giving handouts to the panhandlers (though, Thane almost gave a few coins to the guy whose sign read "Why lie? Need beer" simply for the man's honesty). Garth, however, began to mutter about their plight.

"Why shouldn't we help these poor men and women? Some of them could be veterans who have no food, no home, and only the clothes on their back to keep them warm in the cold, cold nights of Taboo, the planet of the forbidden where any man can find his vice." Thane hadn't noticed the guitar Garth was carrying on his back until it was too late. "They come here searching for a kind soul, one who might be able to offer them a little work for a little pay and a little food, but all they get is a cold shoulder and a harsh word, much like the twin suns that shine down from the sky above, boiling them by day and freezing them by night."

Thane grabbed the guitar's neck to stop the music. "We don't have a lot of money, Commander Troubadour, so I would rather keep it in my pocket in case we run across something we really need to, you know, save the galaxy from certain doom." He let go of the instrument and continued on his merry way without the sound of Garth's guitar to accompany his step. He didn't need to announce to the world that he was here on a mission for the Lesser Jedi Council of Dannon. Luckily, Garth wasn't one to sing songs about him as he walked through the streets of a city. A round of "Good Sir Thane" would not be appreciated in the least. It was possibly the only time Thane was happy that his pilot's songs were of woe and not of his magnificence.

Unfortunately, their presence in the city had already been announced, as was evident by the group of Dark Jedi who met them at the next corner. Thane didn't even get the chance to greet them and possibly quell their desire to kill him before they drew their weapons and attacked.

It was a good thing, then, that Brazilla had insisted they practice during the jump from Cash otherwise Thane wasn't sure how well he would fare against someone wielding the same weapon as he. Sure he had been able to fight off Sith soldiers back on the Bedliner with that sword he had chosen over a blaster for some reason or another, but men in clunky armor weren't quite the same as the lithe Force-users Thane now found himself battling against.

It also didn't help that Brazilla was fighting right next to him. Outside of their sparring, it was the first time he had actually seen her fight. Where he was still a little unsure of his form, she was nimble and quick. A terrible burning sensation on his shoulder, however, brought him out of his musings on Brazilla's perfections.

Thane rounded on the man whose lightsaber had come dangerously close to amputating his arm and blasted him full in the face with the Force. The man's head snapped back, giving Thane the chance to cut him across the chest. Then, kicking him into one of his companions, Thane ended the battle with a Sith kabob.

Their onlookers scurried back to wherever they came from.

"I wonder what the Sith are doing here," Brazilla said as she began searching the bodies.

"Probably the same thing we're doing here," Thane replied as he claimed a short lightsaber for himself. "I suppose that means we should hurry the crap up and get out into the desert."

Brazilla nodded before Garth pointed out the very large metal door standing in their way. The only thing that seemed to be protecting it was a short alien in brown robes. Thane was not intimidated in the least and walked right up to the little guy.

"Hi. We need to go out to the desert."

The little alien jumped and turned around. "M-m-my you're b-b-big."

Thane furrowed his brow. "You must be one of the Javas."

"Y-y-yes. How'd-d-d you kn-know?"

"I'm smart like that," Thane said, not pointing out the Java's nervous twitch, shake or stutter. "I also need to get out of the city."

"C-can't. N-not without a p-p-p…permit."

Thane looked at Garth and Brazilla before going on. "Where do I get me one of those?"

"Lots o-o-of pl-places."

"Such as?"

"I th-think you can w-wi-win one through sw-sw-swoop racing. T-talk to s-s-someone in th-the Pissed Devil." His shaky little hand extending out of his sleeve to point back the way Thane and company had come. "You might also b-b-be able-le to g-get one fr-fr-from one of the mi-mi-mining a-agencies."

Thane watched the little guy sidestep to a full coffee mug and drink down half the liquid before looking back up at the humans, his eyes glowing and dilating. The big Jedi considered lecturing the Java on the dangers of caffeine but decided against it. He didn't want people to think he cared about anyone other than himself, after all. It was his shtick. Brazilla was also distractingly close.

"Thanks," Thane said after a moment. Then, to his companions (though mostly to Brazilla), "Let's go check out the swoop racing. I'd rather win a permit than get a job."

"You're that confident?" Brazilla asked.

"You should watch me go, honey. I can handle a yoke like no one this side of the Core."

"I'd like to see that," she said, not minding the fact that Garth was only a couple of feet away.

"Then let's go swooping," Thane replied. "I'll win you the teddy bear."

She smiled and touched his arm, her breath on his ear. Thane chuckled and would have held her around the waist had Garth not been there to clear his throat and remind them that they were standing in the middle of a hostile city full of men and women who could easily strike them down and steal all of their belongings while they stood there distracted. Thane looked at him, his head still bent over Brazilla.

"Jedi don't get distracted." He kissed Brazilla's neck before straightening. She blushed over losing her composure and didn't turn to look at Garth. "But he's right. We should probably get to the bar and enter me in the competition."

And they did. Garth took the lead per Thane's request, which allowed him to walk next to Brazilla, their pinkies brushing. They were so (un)distracted with each other by the time they reached the bar, they barely noticed the amount time it took to actually get into the building after stepping through the front door.

The bar was, in all sense of the word, a dive. The tables looked dirty and the floor definitely was. There were electric pazaak tables in the corners and betting stations on most other surfaces (including hanging from the ceiling). Humans and aliens alike cheered on the races that were broadcast on large screens.

All of the patrons were so preoccupied by the swoops and the games, they didn't notice the newcomers. Everyone except a woman standing next to the bar, that was. She looked up when Thane and Brazilla finally walked in and pushed past Garth to get to them.

"Brazilla? Is that you?"

Brazilla looked up. "Mother?"

--

A/N: The chapter title is basically based on the strength of the coffee in my office. I only realized it, though, when they brought in a medium roast for us to try and unlike the engineers, I really liked it. The next day when it was gone, I went back to the regular stuff and, well, let's just say that my mother probably had a little extra energy to teach her students that morning.

Also, Canute's name is after Canute the Great, possibly the greatest Viking king of all time, and St. Olav, patron saint of Norway and Viking king. And he is Canderous, so don't get too nervous considering Erika is kind of Juhani's opposite (except for the whole teetering on the edge of the dark side thing I need to write into her character a bit more…).

Oh, and if you haven't already, go check out an American Bobtail kitten. You might melt they're so adorable.