Remember that thing I mentioned about exploring Jedi with disabilities? If the end of chapter three didn't have you guessing, this chapter goes into that.

The next morning, the two Jedi met in the Temple Archives, and began looking through the charts and holomaps of the Mid Rim, and Qui-Gon brought up the Juvex sector for Falon to look at.

"The House Sreethyn is in possession of a trio of worlds: Kimm Aurek, Kimm Besh, and Kimm Cresh. Obi-Wan and I were on Kimm Cresh and discovered a most disturbing human trafficking ring," he explained, and pointed out the three planets on the map, "They are selling thousands into slavery, with truly horrific living conditions. The Republic's outlawing of it seems to have made no difference."

"What kinds of slavery?" Falon asked as she eyed the hologram.

"Every kind," Qui-Gon said darkly. "And even the free people on the planets live in oppression from the gang in charge, the Troks. Upon reporting the trafficking ring to the Council, we were instructed to approach the leaders of House Sreethyn to determine if they were aware of it, and if so, if it was merely tolerance or they were actually involved."

"What did you find?"

"One of the key members is definitely helping the Troks pull it off, but our intentions were exposed before we could be sure about any of the others. We barely escaped with our lives."

"I'm understanding now why we're going in disguise," Falon said, frowning, "They probably wouldn't even let us land otherwise. Will they even allow any ships from Coruscant?"

"It's hard to know, but coming from Coruscant would put us on their radar far too early. Which is why we will be arriving on Kimm Cresh from Pieldi's second port. If we trek through the jungle to get to the second port instead of taking a shuttle, we won't have any records tying anyone of our description to Coruscant."

"So we arrive on Pieldi dressed in one thing, slip out into the jungle, change clothes on the way, and arrive at the second port apparently from somewhere else."

Qui-Gon smiled. "Exactly. If anyone asks, we'll have come from Thermon, and our aliases will have a recorded journey from there."

"Sounds very well planned."

"It's a delicate operation," he said seriously, "But I'm confident we can manage it."

"I've never pretended to not be a Jedi before," Falon said thoughtfully, "The idea is just...too strange."

"I've only done it once before, and yes, it is very strange."

"How are we ensuring they don't recognise you?"

"I believe that with a change of occupation, a change of clothing and a subtle disguise, you would be amazed at what people won't recognise," he said confidently, "Though a crucial part of this will be that you must keep the attention on yourself to avoid too much being paid to me."

The younger of the two cocked an eyebrow and shifted her weight to her other foot as she glanced at him. "And how exactly am I meant to do that?"

"You're an objectively beautiful woman, Jedi Ti-Tarn." He gave her a resigned look. "I know for a fact that the majority of these gangstas have weakness in that area."

"Oh," Falon said, frowning, "If I'm being honest, Master Jinn, the thought of even remotely doing what you're implying makes me very uncomfortable."

"We're not going to use you as any kind of bait," Qui-Gon assured her, putting his hand on her shoulder. Thankfully she did seem to relax at least a little. "You may simply have a little more natural influence or leeway over them compared to me. They'll be more than happy to give you their full attention and forget all about the man standing behind you."

"Except for the ones who are more inclined to men than women."

"We'll deal with that bridge when we come to it."

Falon just nodded. A thoughtful look passed over her face. "Qui-Gon, how is your signing?"

He was surprised by the question and confused as to its current relevance when she knew they were pressed for time. "Passable, I suppose. Why?"

"I'm deaf," she said, swallowing hard when his eyebrows shot up. Whatever he had been expecting, it hadn't been that. "That's why I'm such a good signer. I needed a high level of proficiency to continue my training during the several months my hearing aid implants were being designed and manufactured."

Qui-Gon glanced at the ear nearest to him. "I can't even see them."

"They're top of the range. I owe the Council a lot for arranging that."

"So you haven't always been deaf?"

Falon shook her head. "About a year into my padawan training I was privy to a sonic explosion. It was a miracle I even survived. Master Trebor found me curled up and bleeding from the ears, knocked out cold. I had internal bleeding as well."

"And yet here you stand, having a conversation and in ideal health."

"I'm very lucky," Falon said sincerely. "I still would be even if signing was the only way I could communicate under any circumstance."

"It can't have been easy, though, being that young and initially not having even the signing."

"It was hard, but it was important," she said dispassionately, shrugging just once.

Intrigued, Qui-Gon asked, "How so?"

"I was impulsive when I was younger, I imagine you remember at least that much. It was my own recklessness that had me caught in that blast, and it made me realise that even if it's difficult, I have to stop, and think, and be sure that what I'm about to do is the smart decision."

Qui-Gon indeed recalled what she had been like only a couple of years before her injury. Her explanation certainly explained a lot about her manner now - the one he considered almost too careful, the way she seemed to weigh every word before she spoke.

"As Jedi we have to rely on our instincts," he pointed out.

"Only if you can trust them," Falon said, pursing her lips tightly and casting her eyes away from him, "Or if it is in a moment where hesitation would be fatal. I rely on logic and quick thinking."

"The Force can guide your instincts, if you teach yourself to listen to it-"

"I asked about your signing in case something happens on this assignment that knocks out my hearing aids," Falon interrupted, still not looking in his direction but at the hologram in front of them, "They're not immune to outside interference and there have been a few instances of other tech damaging or disabling them in the past. Hence why it's important for whoever I am with to be able to sign at least passably. We can work on improving your skills in that area on the way to Pieldi and during our journey through the jungle there."

Qui-Gon wasn't insensitive enough to press what he had been trying to tell her, and accepted her returning them to the original point of the conversation. "A sound plan."

"Speaking of which, if you could tell me what our actual objective and plan for this assignment is, that would be helpful."

"I checked, and droid mechanics was your specialty when you were younger, yes?"

"Yes."

"And you were quite gifted at it."

"Yes." It was a relief to see that even though it was plain that Falon wasn't confident in all areas of her ability, she was confident in the one that was currently essential to their assignment.

"That will be our cover, you as a droid mechanic and me as the one who handles the accounts. For convenience, our aliases are married."

"Married?" The foreign word was almost funny coming from Falon's lips with such disbelief. "This really is going to be an experience. I'm going to tell more lies on this assignment than I ever have in my whole life."

"If all goes well, we'll be able to infiltrate the Troks under this guise and hopefully be able to dismantle this whole regime from the inside out or at the very least gain enough evidence to bring in republic intervention. We might be lucky enough to find allies once inside as well. There are a few people I encountered last time who will help us."

"And you're sure the Troks won't recognise you?"

"Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon approached House Sreethyn as Jedi and poked around too much. Falon Koon, the droid mechanic from Thermon, and her husband Tee will be approaching from underneath and allowing the Troks to come to them."

Falon couldn't quite hide the scepticism on her face. "It's good to know that nobody on the Jedi Council strained their brains coming up with those aliases."

Qui-Gon chuckled. "They'll serve their purpose just fine. If it's alright with you, I'll start only calling you Falon so that it feels more natural by the time we're there."

She nodded, and gave him a small smile. "Of course, but I'm not calling you Tee until the last possible moment."

"You'll have to call me Qui-Gon, then," he said, grinning.

"I suppose I will," she retorted. Her eyes betrayed her amusement. "How long with the journey between the Pieldi ports take?"

"About a week and a half, if we are persistent."

They spent the next two days planning, with Qui-Gon filling in other details that she needed to know. After that, they took a day to find suitable clothing for Falon and Tee Koon.

The ship that would take them to Pieldi was privately prepared and stashed away in the lower levels of the city. In case anyone from Kimm Cresh had sent anyone to keep an eye of Qui-Gon's movements, the two Jedi discreetly left the temple under the cover of nightfall and made their way through the city in plain clothes and cloaks until they reached their transport. Waiting inside was a previous member of the Jedi Service Corps - their pilot, who was sworn to secrecy if anyone were to enquire about his passengers or journey.

The ship wasn't large, but the refresher was spacious enough and there was one small cabin. Once they were inside and the ship had taken off, the Jedi were free to shed their cloaks. They were dressed in near identical tunics and leggings of a plain brown colour.

"How long is the journey?"

"Several hours, at least," Qui-Gon said. "Which is good, because I need to go over the finer points of our Thermon disguise with you."

"The face paint."

"Exactly." He stood up and took the paint kit out of his bag. "On Thermon everybody uses it, so it will help us keep our cover, as well as make my face harder to recognise. Come, I'll show you how to apply it while we have access to mirrors, though we won't need to wear it until we are near the secondary port. I'll be shaving my beard for that - the face paint isn't very plausible if it remains, and anything to change my features is an asset."

Falon knew she should have expected that, probably, but couldn't help but be surprised. "I honestly can't imagine you without a beard."

He chuckled. "Neither can I, anymore, but I suppose soon we won't have to. It was suggested I cut my hair short as well. What do you think?"

"I'm not sure," she said as they went into the refresher together once he grabbed the small bag with the paints inside, "I suppose it would be the safest option." A small smile twisted her lips. "Besides, with the beard gone, your longer hair might look a bit strange anyway."

"All good points," he conceded, "A trim all around it is, then. You may need to help me with that."

Her eyebrows arched. "I'll do my best, but can make no promises on the quality of the result."

"That's fine, I won't be entering any beauty contests. Now, the face paint. I'll do yours and then you need to memorise it so that you'll be able to do the same on me when we're in the jungle and have no mirrors."

"Sounds good." Her eyes darted between herself and him before realising that with the significant height difference, simply standing would make the process a little awkward for them both. So, with a stroke of inspiration, she hopped up and sat on the edge of the counter by the sink, making herself into a much more accessible human canvas.

A wide brush was removed from the small case of brushes within the bag, and dipped into a container of white paint. Then it was lifted and brought to cascade over her face with a feather light touch. Qui-Gon's hand was steady and she was thankful for the composure that made it relatively easy for her to fight down any urges to giggle or squirm as the brush tickled her skin. His other hand came up to brush hair out of her face, pushing a strand that had escaped her braid out of the way.

When the base coat was finished – she was glad that it dried almost immediately – he gave her a stripe of black down the line of her short nose. Then he switched to a smaller brush which he dipped into a rich, royal blue and used to create a pattern on her forehead. Judging by how slow and delicate his movements where, she could only assume the design was quite complex. Finally his hand moved to paint her mouth with the same colour.

"Now close your eyes for a moment," he said while switching to a flatter brush and a lighter blue paint. She did as she was told and he brushed the paint across her eyelids softly. "There, all done, you can open your eyes."

She snapped them open to meet his, and for the first time - due to their close proximity - noticed how there were tiny patches of grey and green in his blue eyes, and starting comparing the colour scheme to some fascinating rocks she had once seen on her travels which had been very much the same. The name of the system was evading her, but she could distinctly recall -

"Falon?"

Thoughts of picturesque rocks disappeared as she snapped back to focus. Qui-Gon dropped the hand that had been holding the strand of hair out of the way and it skimmed the side of her cheek on its way down.

"Perhaps this isn't the time to get lost in thought," he said wryly.

Falon inhaled a little more deeply than usual, wondering why she felt like she'd forgotten to take breaths while distracted. "No. I'm sorry, I'm not quite sure why I did."

"It's quite alright. Now, take a look. What do you think?"

Falon hopped off the counter and turned to look in the mirror, only to do a massive double take. It seemed ridiculous that all it took was some coloured liquid minerals to completely transform her face, but she honestly didn't recognise herself. With the change of clothing and a fake husband, no one would ever suspect she was a Jedi from Coruscant.

"This is amazing," she said, eyeing the swirling pattern of blue on her forehead, "The artistry - you're rather talented. I'm not so confident in my being able to replicate it on you, though."

"I'll help you when the time comes. And it took a lot of practice, so don't think it came easily. But take a good long look now until you have it memorised."

She stared at her reflection intently, taking the design in. Qui-Gon's gaze was palpable and made her eyes shift to meet his in the mirror a few times.

"Can I try doing yours now?"

"If you like. We have the time."

They ended up deciding it would be easiest with him sitting on the floor and her kneeling. She let him run her through the paints and brushes quickly. Finally she picked up the wide brush and dipped it into the white paint, leaning in closely so that she had more control over the brush.

"You can use a bit more paint," he said, and she nodded and got a bit more before continuing.

When it came to the black stripe on the nose, Falon went very slowly and carefully to try and get the line right. His nose at least had to be easier than hers due to the longer length. When it came to the forehead pattern, however, she hesitated.

"It's alright," he said to her gently, smiling, "It doesn't matter if you get it wrong. It's called practice for a reason."

Falon nodded, knowing her worry was ridiculous. She kept the image of the design in her head and ever so slowly ran the small brush across Qui-Gon's forehead, her face less than a foot from his in her need to concentrate and have control. Finally, it was done, and while the design itself almost perfectly matched her memory, the execution was mediocre at best, the lines not nearly neat enough.

"There, done," she said, meeting his eyes and giving him a tiny smile that he returned.

The colours in his eyes which had caught her interest before were even more prominent against the white paint. They were beautiful.

"Is everything alright?" He asked, a little awkwardly, which confused her until she realised just how close she still was to him and that she had no idea how long she had been caught up in his gaze. Judging by the odd look on his face, probably a little longer than she should have.

She leaned back and began sorting the paints. "I'm sorry," she told him, "It's just - has anyone ever told that you have lovely eyes? The colours remind me of a rock formation I saw once."

As he got to his feet, Qui-Gon looked at her with surprise, then amusement. "Now that you mention it, I have been told a few times. But only by strangers with...specific intentions."

Falon laughed and closed up the paint kit so she could stand. "Well, then it's about time a friend told you. Now, how terribly did I do with the paint?"

He looked in the mirror and chuckled. "Not too bad for a first attempt, don't look so disappointed," he said, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"I can see now how with this and the haircut and shave it's likely no one will recognise you," Falon admitted, glancing at him with awe.

"It's a sound plan."

Falon being deaf (along with her being a WOC) is one of the additions to the story from the rewrite that I really love. We need more disability representation, even just in fanfic.

Thanks for reading, let me know what you thought!

-MayFairy :)