Chapter 42
Solo part 1
Bastila woke up feeling slightly stiff and still somewhat tired but more content and happy than she had ever been. Leaning to her side she found the rooms remote and activated the pad. The curtains pulled back from the windows and the pinkish light dawn started spilling into the room. She slipped from the bed and crossed the room to the refresher not bothering with a robe to cover her nudity.
Being on the top floor of the Naboo Halcoyn hotel in the ambassador suite guaranteed their privacy. Finishing up she slipped back in bed and turned her attention to her sleeping companion and the cause of her current happiness. Brushing her hair back she exposed a pointed ear, leaning forward she licked the edge of the ear before gently nipping on the tip. She felt her companion wake.
She leaned back and stared into the sleepy blue eyes below her for a moment before leaning forward and giving the ear another lick and a small bite before biting gently on the nape of the woman's neck before sucking on the bite. This caused the drowsy woman to become instantly more awake.
"Morning Beautiful." She whispered
Terri slipped her hand behind Bastila's neck and pulled her in for a deep kiss
"Now that is what I call a wake up call" She murmured moments later
Bastila idly brushed her hand through Terri's hair
"It is funny I woke up this morning with a woman in my bed. Now as I recall for some reason she slipped a ring with a large rock on it on my hand last night." She said
"You don't say." Terri drawled smiling
"Now I was thinking she did not nearly pay enough rent last night for using my bed, the rock is nice but still not enough to cover the cost of the room." Bastila continued
"So how do you propose this woman makes up the shortfall?" Terri asked
Bastila pondered for a moment
"She can give me a bubble bath after brunch." She eventually replied
"What ever will you do until brunch?" Terri replied
Bastila ripped the sheets away and sat astride her girlfriend
"I am certain we can figure something out." She stated, huskily, trailing her fingers across her lovers body
Lothal
Seeing strange sights is normal when you are part of the Customs department, the down side of it was strange usually resulted in excess data pushing. Though between extra data pushing and being benched for another month agents Gunn and Moore of Lothal Customs and Excise would happily take the data pushing.
The person on the other end of the docking tube held up a datapad with a message written on it.
"Can we please speak on your ship" It read
The please was bold, red and underlined repeatedly. Gunn nodded and the airlock cycled and the person stepped onto the docking tube. The moment the door was open they heard a cacophonous noise and a second more strident wailing before the hatch shut closed.
The person lifted a noise nullification headset with a sigh of relief
"Sorry about that." She stated
"What the hell was that noise?" Gunn demanded
The woman handed the datapad over
"That was my captain singing. I am Bonita Cleary from Alterra. My captain is Sukura Naruku from Yukira. Welcome to the Milk Runner." Bonita introduced herself
She pointed to the hatch
"As to what is going on in there. Today is Yukira's unification day and we are currently four hours into a twenty six hour event. They spend the day in singing the different anthems of all the countries before they unified the planet. Needless to say Sukura can't sing and Yuki music." Bonita shuddered
"How many Yuki's do you have on board?" Moore asked
"Just the one and she is acting out because I suggested she skip celebrating the day or toning it down a bit. Sorry." Bonita replied
"You have my sympathies." Moore stated
Bonita shrugged then shuddered
"Hopefully we are planet side when she wants partake to in remembrance days, I do not think I will survive two days of Yuki funeral dirges."
"Two days?" A Sith trooper asked
" Apparently it goes back to when they lost a light cruiser in a raid on Mon Calamari. A hundred years ago and they still mourn as if it was a recent event. Though to be honest I think it is more about having lost a cruiser to a bunch of fish as they put it."
"I am not tracking." A second trooper stated
"Yuki's are a feline species." Moore explained
Gun looked at the datapad
"What is your cargo?" He asked
" Carbonite frozen yogan fruits from Naboo." Bonita answered
Gun looked up in surprise and pity.
"Miss, you are aware that Lothal exports yogan fruits." He stated
"I know, we are returning a shipment of substandard fruit to the seller, a company called Children of Gaia. The buyer had been trying to get hold of them for months with no response, so they decided to return the shipment and withhold payment" Bonita replied
Moore rubbed his fingers between his eyes, already seeing the data pushing this relevation was about to bring
"Miss, it really seems this is not your day. The Children of Gaia has been declared a terrorist organisation and had all assets seized. Unfortunately that would now include your cargo."
"Damn it, I knew we should have demanded payment first." Bonita swore.
She slid down the wall of the docking tube looking despondant. The two custom agents shared a look
" Do you have any other jobs lined up here?" Moore asked
"Picking up a herd of nerfs for a farm on Arkaxis five but pick up is only in fifteen days when the animals clear quarintine." Bonita answered.
Moore handed the pad back.
"Tell you what. I will speak to our supervisor about this mess while we do the sweep and see what he says."
Moore returned fifteen minutes later to find Bonita seated on a crate in the cargo hold, ear muffs firmly in place. He pointed to the docking tube and she followed him in
"I spoke to our supervisor. He suggested we tow you in to the spaceport. That would save you fuel and since we are seizing your cargo you will be allowed to dock for free while we give the investigation over to the Lothal constabulary. Who knows what the terrorist cell smuggled to Naboo, maybe we can swing payment as government informers, before today we were unaware of their activities on Naboo."
"Thank you so much." Bonita replied
"Whatever for Miss, we are only doing our jobs" Moore smiled
Bonita waved at the two customs agent as the last pallet was removed from the cargo bay and she closed the cargo bay door, depriving Lothal from hearing the cultural wonder of Yuki music as she did so. Moore looked at his partner
"And I used to think Verpine opera was the worst thing I have ever heard."
"Rather her than us." Gunn replied
" Let us get back to the office and book in the five tons of frozen yogans." Moore sighed
"Could have been worse, we could have been inputting items by bar code while still stuck on that ship." Gunn stated
Sukura dropped down the ladder from the crew compartment, happily humming to the music still bellowing through the ship, and skipped over to Bonita. She lifted one end of the earmuffs
"We are clear. You can take that off now." She stated
"Let us get the real cargo out then." Bonita replied
The two of them lifted a deckplate in the middle of the cargo hold and looked down at the body lying in the smugglers hold. Bonita was about to reach out to it when the body moved.
Melissa sat upright and pulled her helmet off, she gave a few dry coughs
"Air was getting a bit stale in there. Got any water close by?" She asked, voice hoarse
"I still say this force hibernation thing of your is the ultimate in bantha crap." Bonita stated
"Got me on Lothal did it not?" Melissa replied
"You are on Lothal because we smuggled you onto it not because of your damn sorcerers ways." Bonita protested
"Whatever makes you sleep at night, Bon Bon."
Sukura helped Melissa to her feet and pulled her from the hold.
"You missed the best part of the unification day songs." Sukura stated
"I am so sorry, I am certain you did justice to your heritage. It is a pity I could not hear it." Melissa replied
"Don't worry. You can still hear the songs of the Island nations while we wait for nightfall." Sukura happily bounced on her feet
The two woman mightily tried to hide their winces as the catgirl started yowling along to music filling the ship, while wildly dancing to the beat of the music. Surreptiously checking the time Melissa wanted to cry in frustration, this was going to be a very long four hours. She looked at Bonita and shrugged
"If you cant beat them , join them." She said
She started to mimic the movement of the Yuki. Sukura slowed down her movements to telegraph the steps. Bonita clumsily started to mimic the movements too, the smile on her girlfriends face making up for the inconvenience
Steven Plant was assembling the beer pumps after having swapped out the barrels in anticipation for the midday lunch rush. Being Saturday and more importantly market day he had decided to open early and cash in on the farm hands wandering around the business district. He heard the front door open and foot steps as someone enterred
"The bar is not open yet." He called without looking up
"So no chance of getting an early lunch then?" A female voice spoke
He looked up to see a female mandalorian standing by the door. He looked at where the carbine was clipped under the bar counter
"If you are willing to wait for half an hour then we can accommodate you." He said
The woman stepped in and moved to a booth in the back corner. She sat down and lifted her helmet. Blonde hair spilling from under it. A burn scar covered a large portion of the young face, the scar was emphasised by the vine tattoo circling it, one eye was the milky white typical of a blinded person, the other was bright blue. Hastily Steven went back to assembling the beer pumps. The door to the kitchen opened and his daughters exited dressed in their waitress uniforms. The girls still unhappy at having their holiday disrupted by having to work.
Nerina walked over to the booth pad and menu in hand, stopping short when she saw the state of the girls face. Hastily she looked away, not wanting to stare. The girl gave her an indulgent smile
"It is okay to look." She said
"Sorry, did not mean to be rude." Nerina replied
"You were not rude, in fact you were much more polite than most are." The girl replied
Nerina looked back smiling thankfully.
"Would you like a menu?" She asked
"Sure. Do you have any specials for the day?"
"Not so far, the cook is still deciding."
She handed over the menu and readied her pad.
"Can I get a four hundred gram nerf steak and vegetables please, and could you double the vegetable please?"
"I will ask the cook, it is a rather big order though as is." Nerina commented
"Benefit of wearing heavy armour, you could eat as much as you want and not gain weight with all the calories you burn."
"To drink?"
" Whatever soft drinks you have in stock, I do not believe you will serve me alcohol despite legally being an adult."
"I am sorry I do not understand." Nerina stated
"On my planet I am an adult, however the galactic standard is eighteen and it is not worth arguing over it."
"Oh, thanks for explaining."
Allegra cleaning the table behind her nodded at the girl in appreciation for her willingness to not cause an issue, from experience knowing how difficult it is when dealing with newly authorised drinkers and drinking laws. With Talya approaching the legal age she was dreading having to deal with that issue already.
The door opened again and she smiled as she saw the person entering. Columbo was leading his two wards to their usual booth in the back, the girl carrying the puppy. Allegra pretended not to notice the presence of the animal in the bar. Again she felt deep admiration for the man who stepped in and took the two children in when most would not have. The girl stopped on seeing the occupant of the next booth and tightened her hold on the animal slightly. The occupant noted the girls unease and stood up moving to a table in the front , walking along the far wall, keeping her hands well away from her body.
"There was no need for you to move, miss." Allegra stated, going to the customers table.
"Not the first time I saw a kid freeze up looking at my face, I thought it better for her comfort." The mandalorian girl stated
"Thank you, for your kindness."
Allegra thought it better not to mention that it was more likely the armour than the burn. Going to the booth she found Columbo sitting on the edge with children in the corner, the girl was giggling slightly as the puppy was licking her face. She waved Columbo down as he was about to stand up
"No reason to worry, the girl thought her face scared Meredith and decided to give her space." Allegra explained
"I should still say something." Columbo spoke softly
"That is why you are a good man. But saying her armour terrified your girl not really going to help. Best to leave it be. It is already bad enough that the girls accepts being judged for a facial blemish." Allegra said
"If you are sure." Columbo replied
"Believe me a mother knows best in these cases. How are they doing?" Allegra asked
" Meredith had a bad night, woke me early morning when she started calling out." Columbo replied
"The councillor said they are likely to have nightmares about that place." Alegra responded
"Hers is more about what she calls the bad boy who wants to hurt her. It is strange this morning when I walked in the room she stopped calling out and started smiling. I sat with her till she woke up and she said her teacher stopped the bad boy." Columbo stated, puzzled
"Teacher? They have not been to school yet." Allegra frowned
"Then she was strangely insistent we come here. She said her teacher is sending a surprise." Columbo went on.
The door opened and two females entered pushing a hovercrate. They stopped close to the bar. One human, one a Yuki
"Delivery for Nerina and Talya Plant." The Yuki spoke.
Talya stepped up before the two adults could speak
"Here. Talya Plant."
"Sign here for delivery. No payment due" The Yuki responded
Talya signed and the two females turned to walk away. The Yuki tapped her datapad and the crate unlocked
" Delivery code send, crate lock will need a new security code, the crate is also now yours." The Yuki called over her shoulder
"One moment." Columbo called
The two stopped and turned. Columbo showed his police identification
"Where did this come from?" He asked pointing to the crate
"Naboo, the sender paid in full for delivery to here. She came to the ship and paid for the package to be delivered while we were loading our current load." The human women replied
"Is it normal for you to take on packages like this?" Columbo asked again
"No, normally we only work with shipping agents. She said the agent on Naboo told her about us and that we were coming here. I saw no risk in taking the package as the shipping agent is someone we worked with before, nor did she seem like a threat." The Yuki replied
"Can you describe her?"
"Red hair, green eyes, sixteen or so, carried a lightsaber, thought she was a Jedi apprentice with the robes she was wearing. That was what convinced us to take the package, not like a Jedi would send anything illegal or dangerous." The woman stated.
"Is there anything else? We do have other work to get to." The Yuki asked.
"What ship are you from?"
"The Milk Runner, licenced on Arkaxis five."
"Thank you, that will be all for now." Columbo stated
The Yuki threaded her arm through the human girls arm and closed the distance
"Now we are going back to that stall and get that tank with fish." The Yuki stated
"Tippy ears, that was a pet shop, people keep goldfish as pets not snacks." The girl explained
"Why? They are too delicious not to eat." The yuki stopped in surprise
"Tell you what. I saw a fishmonger on the way here. I thought I saw what looked like a squid and a very large tuna. And then we can find a dairy and get you several litres of cream." The girl pulled on the yuki's arm
"Fine, but if I get peckish later I get to blame you for it." The yuki pouted cutely
"There will be no cause if we get that squid, we can carve it up to look like Mon Cal tentacles and deep fry it with a nice spicy herb and butter coating, a nice bowl of spicy rice and a salad to go with it" The girl cajoled her partner
"Should I ask for the recipe, that sound delicious." Allegra murmured to her husband
"What, the goldfish snacks? That is just going to make a mess in the fryer."
Allegra elbowed her husband while the two girls tried to hold their laughter in, till the door closed behind the couple.
The three adults stared at the crate, the light atmosphere evaporating in a moment
"Do you think it is a threat?" Allegra asked
" No, but we should still be cautious." Columbo replied
"Could this be the surprise Meredith was talking about?"
Columbo looked to where the girl was now looking at them in interest while idly stroking the puppies head.
"Only one way to find out." He stated
Carefully he lifted the lid and looked into it. A datapad was on top of the items piled inside. Lifting the pad he noticed that there was single file on it. Tapping it a hologram appeared above the pad. A familiar figure to them all started speaking.
"The last time we met we said all the things except the most important. Sorry. I know that one word must not inspire a lot of confidence right now. At the time I used the identity I did not know where it came from, not that it is an excuse. Despite the assurances we gave last time, I know you probably still feel unsafe on knowing someone stole your identity and for that I can only apologise and hope to make amends. Last time I was looking forward to the floor show and can again only apologise for delaying your act. So I decided to get something practical in apology. I hope you find the items usefull. I really am sorry for the inconvenience we caused you. By all means hand this over to the constabulary to have it checked out, to further prove I mean you no harm. In fact there is a gift for the chief inspector in there as well. This is Melissa Wren signing off."
The hologram shrunk back. Columbo lifted the largest case out first. A flimsy was attached to it
"For Tayla." Columbo read
The case was opened to reveal a guitar made from Wroshyr wood nestled in a red velvet insert. The makers name embossed in gold filigree on the velvet
"That is a Maxine of Naboo guitar, I did not know Maxine made guitars." Teyla was flabbergasted, gently touching the guitar as if to check if it was real
Columbo lifted an envelope and opened it, it contained several credit chips. With a snort of amusement he handed it to Steven after reading the flimsy.
"Payment for their order with a twenty cent chip as a tip. Said the service is atrocious as she still did not get her meal."
The third crate was rather bulky and they looked at the strange device nestled in it. A datapad was left with it as well. A sealed envelope had Nerina written on top. Columbo looked at the girl as she was looking at the envelope
"Would you object to me reading it first?"
"Go right ahead, uncle Charles."
He opened the letter and pulled out a flimsy and started reading
"Nerina. I think I owe you a greater apology for stealing your name. So I give you both a gift and a challenge. The datapad contains all the information I could find on the instrument in the box. I know you probably have no idea what it is, it is a musical instrument from a culture no one in the republic has met. If you have access to the holonet go on to the university of Coruscant's anthropology and archaeology pages, you will find reference to a first contract drone found near Dantooine, that is where I found the data. I believe you will be able to master it before any Naboo snob can. How do I know this? I obviously stole the most gifted girls identity so I know you can do this. Hoping you dedicate at least one song to me. Melissa Wren, Clan Wren."
Nerina gasped at hearing this
"Does she really think that?" She stated
"There is a postscript." Columbo added. " Yes, I believe you can do this, by the way the datapad has some songs on it that is literally out of this galaxy. Post post script, the third box is also for you something to play on till you master the device."
The third box revealed a Wroshyr wood violin also made by Maxine of Naboo.
"We will have to get a safe for these." Steven said, having looked up the price of the items.
Columbo turned his attention to the last item in the crate. The object was gift wrapped in a police themed paper. Carefully he peeled away the paper to reveal a box with pampered paws printed on the lid. The front of the box had a fantasy castle printed on the front. Opening the box he found a fantasy themed dog bed inside. He lifted out the last flimsy and read it aloud
" Chief inspector. I found it shameful that you had your chief interrogator sleeping in a basket, this will be more respectful to a ferocious being of its stature. Currently the score stands at two escapes and one capture. You really need to step up your game. Catch me if you can. Melissa Wren. Post script I am closer than you think."
Columbo lowered the flimsy and looked to where the Mandalorian girl had been sitting finding an empty table. Correction not quite an empty table a stack of credits and a datapad laid on the surface. He strode forward with a soft curse dropping the flimsy. Allegra connected the dots first
"She was here?" She gasped
Columbo read the single message on the pad.
"Seems the prank was on me. Thank you for wanting to apologise for the girls reaction, but there is no need. Your friend is right, you are a good man. Don't let them test Meredith's blood for midichlorians , that is the only way for her to stay safe for now. Delete this message."
Columbo did as requested before turning to the group huddled around the crate.
"Steven, you have another customer complaint. She wrote. This is the second meal I paid for and did not get to eat it. Next time I will lay a complaint with the Merchants board."
Steven crossed his arms.
"I will just put it on her tab, once you have arrested her, I will deliver it to her cell." Steven stated
"Are you calling your men in?" Allegra asked
"No, she is long gone. They are not trained for dealing with someone like her. Very few people can deal with a Jedi Shadow after all."
"Jedi Shadow?" Nerina asked
"A special unit of the Jedi dedicated to hunting down Sith and rogue force users, think special forces soldier and investigator rolled in one." Columbo explained
He paused for a moment and motioned for the adults to move to a corner. The two girls were standing looking at their gifts in awe and did not notice the adults moving away. Columbo spoke softly
"It would be best if we kept this to ourselves, not getting further involved seems like the safest option for now, I am almost certain she and her group were involved in attacking the children of Gaia compound before the garrison did. The survivors mentioned that one of the attackers was using a lightsaber while being dressed in Mandalorian armour."
"Someone that young should not be involved in things like this." Allegra replied shaking her head
"I agree completely, however there is nothing we can do but keep our children safe and hopefully out of sight." Columbo sighed.
The other two adults nodded, before jerking around as unknown music started playing behind them. Nerina was holding the tablet, staring engrossed at the device played a down loaded datafile
Jetro Simm was an archetype for a sleezy landspeeder salesman. Balding and overweight with sweat stains marking his shirt. Noticing movement on the far end of the loft, he got to his feet. Seeing a young woman walking around one of the landspeeders had him smoothing his scraggly mustache and reaching for his hair piece. Checking for a proper fit he stepped eagerly from the converted cargo container.
Halfway down the lot he came to a stop as the girl left the lot skipping along before meeting another lot. He turned around and froze. A Mandolorian was leaning against the container, idly practising fast draws. He swallowed to get moisture back into his mouth.
"Jetro Simm, or should I say Jaino Callrisian, fancy meeting a man of your stature and experience in a used landspeeder lot on a hick planet." The mandolorian drawled, languidly
Callrisian looked to the container where his blaster was underneath the desk. The mandolorian wagged a finger at him
"You wont make it. Now this is the point where I should ask if I am going to take you in hot or cold." The mandalorian stated
" Hot, cold?" Calrissian tried playing for time
"Hot as in with a beating heart, cold, I am sure you can figure that one out." A humourless chuckle came
The mandalorian pushed herself from the container wall
"Luckily for you, I am in need of a landspeeder.I need something fast and discrete, able to handle rough terrain. I am certain we can come to a compromise."
Relief flooded the man, he rapidly pointed to a dusty vehicle on the far side of the lot
"Got that from a farm hand not too long ago, it is not as fast as some of the other models but it is excellent for rough terrain and it has decent cargo space."
"Get the codes and I can forget seeing you here today."
Calrissian rushed to get past her and got his datapad. For a moment he thought of going for the blaster. The clink of credits chips landing on the desk stopped him.
"Payment for the speeder. I am not a thief."
The payment was in republic credits and below the asking price for the speeder but Calrissian decided not to push the issue. With a trembling hand he downloaded the control code to a micropad and handed it over.
"A word of warning Sakara has picked up a taste for live captures." The mandalorian stated
"Why are you telling me this?" Calrissian asked
"Do you really think I am the only bounty hunter on this rock? That state owned old age homes and orphanages you ripped off on Alderaan? You know the ones where you promised food stuff at much lower prices than the registered supplier with a nice kick back to the accounting officers . Sakara owned the regular supplier, she used it to wash credits. She was not amused."
Calrissian paled considerably on hearing this and dropped into his chair, sweat forming on his brow. Without thinking he used his hair piece to wipe the sweat away. He knew he was going to have to run, there was no way he was going to stay here in the open.
He was so lost in thought he did not notice the mandalorian leaving the container, nor did he hear the engine of the speeder start up before the bounty hunter drove away. He looked over the lot, most of the stolen credits had been lost to his vices, the last used to buy the lot and the stock here. There was no way to take it with him. He whimpered as he realised his chance of evading the hunters on his trail was limited to the small amount of credits he had left in his accounts. He realised he was a screwed as the people he had screwed over and it was not a nice sensation at all.
Leaving Lothal city behind her, Melissa opened the throttle of the speeder to full. As promised the speeder was not the fastest available but she could detect no noise coming from the engine, nor did detect any performance issues. On a whim she opened the sound system application, before starting to laugh as a soulful ballad started playing. The woman was plaintively singing about loneliness on the farm and missing her man who was out on the range.
"Almost makes me miss yuki music." She chortled.
Pulling over for a moment she connected her datapad to the sound system, before pulling off again heavy rock belting from the speakers. A few lothcats popped into view, yowling about having their peace disturbed before ducking down before the dust cloud could reach them.