^Yeah... You should definitely be careful around that topic..... And avoid it being done like Memoirs of a Geisha. :xp:

^Yeah... You should definitely be careful around that topic..... And avoid it being done like Memoirs of a Geisha. :xp:

;P It's "The Adventures of Jolee Bindo", not "Memoirs of a Lusty Jedi...."

No worries! I'd never do anything to give stingerhs (or other mods) a heart attack about content. Besides, sometimes a suggestion that allows the reader to use his own imagination is more powerful than a graphic description.

That was a fabulous film, btw. The cinematography and costuming were gorgeous and the look into that aspect of culture was fascinating, though I don't know enough about Japanese culture to know how accurate it was.
I'm just starting to read the book now.

I saw the movie, but I'm scared of reading the book, something about how the books are always more insightful than the movies and I got enough insight into the life a geisha. And the movie wasn't very picky about who was acting who (the main character was acted by a Chinese woman). :)

I saw the movie, but I'm scared of reading the book, something about how the books are always more insightful than the movies and I got enough insight into the life a geisha. And the movie wasn't very picky about who was acting who (the main character was acted by a Chinese woman). :)

Humor mode way, way, on: Eh, what do we stupid Americans know? Chinese, Japanese, Korean, they all look the same to us anyway....No worries if a Chinese woman plays a Japanese woman or vice versa. As long as they're all beautiful, it doesn't matter.

Humor mode way, way, on: Eh, what do we stupid Americans know? Chinese, Japanese, Korean, they all look the same to us anyway....No worries if a Chinese woman plays a Japanese woman or vice versa. As long as they're all beautiful, it doesn't matter.
Well, I'm Canadian so I don't really know. :p But I do agree with the last line. :D

Sigh, not a great day for me--my kitty had to have emergency surgery today, though he seems to have come out of it pretty well. If I missed anything, chalk it up to being distracted today.


Chapter 13: The Story of the Sandstorm

“You will maintain current course,” an automated mechanical voice warned us as we made the final approach to the planet. “Deviation from your course will activate planetary defenses.”

A pinpoint opening appeared in the glowing planetary shield and gradually expanded to allow our ship to fly through into the planet’s stratosphere.
As Jolee flew the Accipiter further into the atmosphere of Li’adin, the ship started bucking in the wind.

“Strap in, boys and girls, it’s going to be a bumpy ride,” he said. Talin and I both pulled on our belts as Jolee returned his attention to maintaining control of our spacecraft.

“Well, our data did say that since the planet rotates at a slightly faster speed than normal, we would likely encounter greater winds. That information appears to be correct,” Talin commented. We watched the wind whipping the white clouds into unusual swirling patterns below us.

The holovid link chimed, and Talin, taking the lead in communication with the Li’adans, opened the link. It was Kiol’ad once more. I found after watching the holovids of their communications many times, I had become more comfortable with their constant switching of speakers, and so I was able to follow them without noticing it quite so much.

“There is a windstorm that has developed on your direct route to our facility. We are sending instructions to divert you around it. Please do not attempt to fly through it—the windspeeds can approach tornadic levels that are more than strong enough to shear the wings off of ships,” Kiol’ad warned.

“We thank you for your instructions and will comply,” Talin answered, downloading the information.

“Our reception party awaits you with great anticipation. You should arrive in about a half hour,” Kiol’ad finished.

“We are eager to finally meet you,” Talin replied with a carefully modulated voice. He had fully entered ‘diplomat mode,’ his demeanor showing detached attentiveness.

The link faded out.

Jolee commented, “I don’t sense any deception, though they’re hard to read. Still, we need to be careful. There’s a darkness working its way here.”

Stretching out my feelings, I sensed the beings and then found the darkness Jolee spoke of. “It’s not the Li’adans, though. It’s something else, but I can’t find it.”

“I agree—but rather than being part of this darkness, I think the Li’adans are the targets,” Talin concluded.

“Well, we may not be able to do a first contact with blasters hanging off our belts, but I think we need to keep our lightsabers close,” said Jolee.

“Normally, I would avoid anything that could be construed negatively in a first meeting, but with all three of us sensing something wrong, I will grudgingly agree to this exception,” Talin said. “However, we should carry them with great discretion.”

“You know, this wind reminds me of a time when I was on Tatooine,” Jolee said, starting a new story. He caught the look Talin and I shot each other. “What? Bored with my stories already? You would do well to listen to your elders, you know.

“Anyway, now where was I? Oh, yes, Tatooine. Mik’oth and I had decided to set down on Tatooine to exchange some of the rare items we, ah, acquired from the Ukatis for some medical and food supplies.”

“Why Tatooine? It’s in the middle of nowhere,” I commented.

“It was closer than Nar Shaddaa and a little quieter. We couldn’t just walk into the middle of a Coruscant jewelry shop and say ‘Here, we want to sell these things we stole from some prissy, selfish aristocrats on Ukatis’. You can just imagine the comments the Council would have about that. Vandar would probably sprout new hair out of his ears.”

“It’d be very interesting, to say the least,” I said, musing about all the possibilities, all of them involving some level of humor.

“Well, we had just finished trading some items in this little out-of-the way shop owned by a couple Jawas when the worst sandstorm blew up. The Jawas offered to give us shelter til it blew over. Anyone walking outside right then would have been blown away into the desert and sand-scoured. That was fine with us, because these Jawas somehow always got their hands on some of the finest chocolate you’ve seen this side of the galaxy. You’d never expect to see that out on a sandball of a planet. That chocolate is so good, it's almost a sin not to eat it. Well, just as they’d finished securing the windows and were about to bar the door against the storm, in walks this nasty looking Rodian. Short fellow with big bug-eyes, slimy-green skin and a blaster rifle the size of his bad attitude.”

“A nasty bounty hunter, no doubt,” Talin guessed.

“Yes. The Ukatis apparently decided we had caused enough trouble for them that they put a price on our heads. This Rodian somehow managed to track us to Tatooine, though how, I’ll never know. Pure luck for him to walk into the shop right when he did. He’d given up the search for the day and was just looking for a place to wait out the storm. He immediately drew his rifle and said something silly about collecting on his bounty.”

“What happened then?” I asked.

“I was getting to that, if you give me half a minute. Young people never like to wait,” Jolee said, shaking his head. “Anyway, the Jawas dove for cover. Mik’oth looked at me and said ‘Who’s turn is it? Yours or mine?’ I told him ‘I think it’s yours.’ ‘Good. You get him. I need a nap.' I sighed, pulled out my lightsaber, and attacked. He squeezed of a shot that ricocheted around the room, and then his blaster rifle went flying.

"A card-carrying, lightsaber-wielding Jedi wasn’t going to stop him from trying to get his bounty anyway, and the Rodian and I ended up in one nasty little brawl after he dodged my attack and got inside my defense. He knocked me to the ground, and my saber went flying across the room. He was good in hand-to-hand combat, really good, and I thought I just might have met my match. He was all over me like the bad scent of bantha fodder. Nothing I tried to do to get him off me was working. At one point I think I yelled out for Mik’oth to give me a little help, which of course meant he continued to stand there watching me do all the work.

"The Rodian had me in some kind of lock when I noticed Mik’oth step over by the exit. Just as he was about to slam my head up against the door, Mik’oth pushed it open. A particularly nasty gust blew up right then, and suddenly one very surprised Rodian and I got sucked out the door and right into the storm. That ended that head lock, heh-heh,”

“So you were just flying around in the middle of a major sandstorm? How did you survive?” I asked, eyes wide.

“We got separated and it only took moments before I couldn’t see the Rodian anymore, much less hear him screaming over the roar of the wind. Of course, I had my eyes pretty much shut with the blowing sand and all, so I guess I couldn’t have seen much anyway. I don’t know if it was the Force or what, but I stuck my hands out blindly and suddenly caught hold of a metal rod. I grabbed on for dear life and shimmied down it as quickly as I could. Turns out it was the flagpole for the cantina. I was able to hunker down in the alcove of the door until things died down enough that they opened the cantina back up. I was sitting at one of the tables with a drink, picking sand out of my teeth, when a very dejected Mik’oth walked in holding my saber like it was a souvenir, looking to drown his sorrows.”

“I’m sure he thought you were dead,” Talin noted.

“You’re right, too, he did. When I called out his name and waved to him, he nearly had a heart attack. Then he put on this huge smile of relief and about killed me bowling me over trying to hug me. Let me tell you, that smarts when you’ve had your skin sandblasted away.”

“That’s Mik’oth…. I don’t suppose they ever found the Rodian?” I inquired.

“Nope, though one of the sandcrawlers out in the Dune Sea seemed to have an unexplained sandy slime-spatter on it. Some bits of clothing of a suspiciously similar color to what he’d been wearing were stuck in a bunch of the gears.”

“Jolee, I believe you have some of the strangest things happen to you,” Talin observed.

“You live long enough, you’ll have your own little collection of strange stories, too,” Jolee cheerfully retorted.

“Looks like we’re getting close,” I said. The city suddenly came into view as we broke through the cloud deck.

Watching it below as we approached, I tried to observe everything, partly expecting another Talin quiz, partly in fascination at being one of the few people from off planet that had ever had the opportunity to set foot on this world. All the ivory or tan colored buildings were in the same rounded architecture that we had seen previously, and many were connected to other buildings, the covered arcades spoking out in a spider-web pattern. In the larger ground bridges, we could see transports speeding along. Likely, there were numerous tunnels below ground further connecting the city.
Jolee brought our craft down, landing in a large bay. We exited the Accipiter as the roof extended back over the bay.

“Wait, where did I leave my key?” Jolee asked as the hatch locked. He patted around his robe frantically. “Ah, there it is,” he said with relief, pulling it out of an inside pocket. “Sometimes you forget these things when you get old, you know.” Then he grinned mischievously.

Talin regarded him with a touch of taut frustration; I smiled.

Jolee clapped Talin’s shoulder lightly a couple times. “Lighten up, Talin. The fate of the universe does not rest on you having the perfect first-contact meeting. They don’t strike me as beings who will get offended if you accidentally look at them cross-eyed. Every now and then it’s OK to make a mistake—I think it would be a pretty darn boring place if we were all perfect. With any luck, we’ll sit around and chat a bit, maybe share a little supper, and have a completely uneventful meeting.”

Talin smiled fractionally but settled back into his impassive but attentive expression as a small group of Li’adans arrived. Kiol’ad led the small entourage that was clumped in twos and threes. “Just follow my lead,” he said, looking at both of us to ensure we fully understood.

“Don’t do anything to get ourselves into trouble. Got it,” Jolee cracked.

Talin lifted an eyebrow faintly at Jolee but otherwise elected to ignore the quip as the Li’adans approached us.

“Welcome to Li’adin,” Kiol’ad smiled, placing his hands together in greeting.
The rest of the entourage followed suit with the same motion.

Placing our hands in a similar fashion, we greeted them. Talin took the lead as the ‘primary.’ I stood on his right; Jolee took his left.

Kiol’ad made some introductions. “I am Chief Minister Kiol’ad. This is our second, Elin’ad.” Kiol’ad’s primary pointed to the group of three women. Then pointing to two groups of two men, he introduced them as Izah’an and Aklar’an.

Talin introduced us in turn, “I am Jedi Talin Kayl, and this is Jedi Master Jolee Bindo and Padawan Jae Onasi.” Jolee and I nodded in greeting to everyone.

“Please come with us. We will find a more comfortable place for our meeting.” Kiol’ad led the way through a short series of enclosed walkways that led away from the small spaceport. I made a mental note of the route as we walked along.

The tops of the walkways were made mainly of a strong clear material, letting in the blue-tinted sunlight that filtered through the clouds that floated swiftly by. The architecture was gently curved inside as well as out, and more often there were bends rather than sharp corners. Our hosts were all dressed in colors in the blue and green range of colors, with the primary member of each group dressed in the lightest shade. The braiding that Talin had noticed on the shoulders of Kiol’ad was still present, and theirs was the widest. Elin’ad had thinner braiding, and the groups of two had no braiding at all.

All appeared healthy and walked apparently without effort or distress, and the twosomes were younger than the threesomes were. It was hard to tell anything else about their physique other than the men were flat-chested and the women were not. Their loose clothing covered nearly all their extremities and did not allow much evaluation of the anatomy. While they obviously were not carrying large weapons, we could not be certain that they were completely unarmed. It would have been a simple thing to conceal small weapons in all the folds of fabric.

“Your people have a unique style of architecture,” Talin noted pleasantly as we walked along. “Not very many cultures base their building designs on curves both inside and out. I also noticed that none of your transports travel outside.”

“Both the architecture and our transportation are reflections of the fierce storms we experience,” Elin’ad said, speaking for the first time. The voices in her group of three brunettes were all alto, with almost a musical quality to the lilt of their speech. “Our buildings are designed to withstand very high winds. Also, certain times of the year we can safely travel outside without fear of a rapidly developing storm. Then you will see many of our people enjoying the outdoors. During the stormy seasons, however, the weather and the winds can become violent with very little warning.”

We arrived quickly at our meeting room and Kiol’ad ushered us all in. Even the furniture has slightly rounded and upholstered in invitingly warm colors. The seats were arranged in groups of twos and threes to accommodate the Li’adans’ unique social structure.

“Please, let us be seated,” Kiol’ad said, motioning for everyone to take their ease in the comfortable chairs.

“We are pleased to be guests of your people,” Talin opened.

“Likewise, we are pleased that you made the trip to our system to be our guests. We hope that you will enjoy your stay here. We have prepared rooms for you, and we would be honored to have you join us for dinner tonight,” Elin’ad offered.

“We are delighted to accept your gracious offer,” Talin replied.

“While we wait for dinner we could discuss your concerns,” I suggested.

Talin quickly shot me a look and ever so slightly shook his head ‘no’. Too soon to ask! I could hear his thoughts enter my mind clearly. Somewhat chagrined, I kept my peace and watched Talin handle the rest of the conversation. After a moment, it dawned on me that I had actually heard his thoughts. I looked over at him, working to keep the surprise off my face. He was looking intently at Kiol’ad and Elin’ad, and if he did notice my expression, he gave no indication.

“We mean no offense at the directness of Padawan Onasi’s question. She is merely eager to learn of any difficulties quickly so that we can provide aid as soon as possible,” Talin said, trying to smooth over any possible insult they may have taken at my apparent breach of diplomacy.

Kiol’ad smiled at us. “I fear Jedi Kayl may worry that we would somehow be offended at Padawan Onasi’s abruptness. Since we do not experience time in the strictly linear, unidirectional fashion that you do, it would not matter whether that question was asked now or in a hundred years.”

We digested that bit of information, trying to grasp the idea of a species that could experience life anywhere on the time continuum.

Kiol’ad continued, “However, for your sake and ours, it is best if we conducted our business with alacrity. In that, Padawan Onasi has rapidly opened the door of this discussion.”

A feeling of some vindication briefly flitted by, but I knew it would be short-lived. Talin did not show it, but I knew he was not happy, though I could sense he was relieved that it had turned out apparently well in spite of the potential problems my little comment could have created.

Kiol’ad motioned for Aklar’an, the scientists in the entourage, to speak. Both of the men had the same sparse brown hair the Kiol’ad had. “We need your help finding out what is causing time vortices to form in our system. We know the earliest ones occurred approximately 40-50 years ago, but they have increased dramatically in the last few months. Lately, the time swirls have been producing unusually large numbers of gravitophotons, and these particles are starting to slightly alter the gravity balance in our system. Already it may be causing our storms to become even more severe and more frequent. A protracted storm season could seriously affect our growing season. Since only the Unjoined are able to leave the planet and the vast majority of those are children or young adults awaiting the Joining process, we really have no one with adequate levels of education who can leave and study this phenomenon.”

“There is one Unjoined who conceivably could help us since he is a scientist. However, Dycen’a is, well, unstable, as often happens to our few adults who remain Unjoined with others. He has disappeared recently,” Kiol’ad added.
“How can we best help you, then?” Talin asked.

“We need you to go to the coordinates of the time vortices and research these phenomena. Since you are Force users, you may be able to sense the time signatures better than those who don’t perceive the universe as you do. If you also can determine the whereabouts of Dycen’a, we would be most grateful. We are very concerned for his safety.”

“Any information you have that we could review would be most helpful,” Jolee stated.

“We will download the information to your datapads,” Aklar’an stated. “This is the synopsis of the data that we have gathered over the past few months. Please, if you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us.”

Izah’an apparently was in charge of making sure we were comfortable. The tall black-haired, dark-eyed men said, “Your quarters are ready for you. We have arranged for dinner to be served at 7 pm so that you have time to refresh yourselves after your long travels.”

We followed Izah’an to a suite of rooms that overlooked a courtyard filled with colorful plants and trees with palm-like fronds. Each of us had a bedroom that was larger than the multipurpose room on our ship. All three were filled with large, comfortable furnishings. The plush carpeting throughout the suite seemed to swallow the sound before it could even escape the deep pile. I put away my travel gear and fell backwards on the bed, stretching out on the luxurious linens, closing my eyes and exhaling in comfort.

There was a knock on the door, and before I could answer, Talin opened it slightly and popped his head in. His disapproving tone told me everything that his carefully controlled facial features did not.

“I would have a word with you in the main room,” he snapped. As abruptly as he had entered, he left.

Sighing, I reluctantly made my way out to the common room to face Talin.

An alright Chapter. Personally I prefer a bit more action but it's okay. Please check out my new Fanfic, Jedi Forces - Shadows Of War.

Don't mind pottsie, he is just an action junkie. ;) I thought this was a great chapter Jae. You are setting up your plot very well. We all know that there has to be chapters that lay foundation rather than climb to the top of the skyscraper. I hope that Jae isn't in too much trouble with Talin. :( Keep up the great work. :)

Don't mind pottsie, he is just an action junkie. ;) I thought this was a great chapter Jae. You are setting up your plot very well. We all know that there has to be chapters that lay foundation rather than climb to the top of the skyscraper. I hope that Jae isn't in too much trouble with Talin. :( Keep up the great work. :)

I'm not an action junkie. Sometimes it's good to have a Chapter of talking. I just hope this Sith Lord appears soon.

I'm not an action junkie. Sometimes it's good to have a Chapter of talking. I just hope this Sith Lord appears soon.


Lol! Spoken like a true action junkie going through withdraws. "I just hope this Sith lord appears SOON." ;) I'm just playing with ya pottsie. Don't take offense. :)

What is Talin's problem, getting all snappish and stuff? Just because he wasn't the one who posed the question that got down to business he gets all huffy? If I was in Jae's shoes I would tell him, "Take a chill pill, hombre!"

Thanks everyone!
@Pottsie--more action coming soon. I put in the sandstorm story to add a little action (and another Jolee story--any opportunity for that!), but some of what follows in the story won't make sense without some context on Li'adans and their planet. Plus, I wanted to try my hand at building a world and culture just to see if it works--I love how Anne McCaffrey's created this tremendous culture in her Dragonriders of Pern series. If I revised this, I'd change the timing a bit and probably move things along a little faster. However, I feel like writing the rest of the story rather than going back to alter some 65 pages of text. :) I'm in no particular hurry to get to the end, though I'd like to get the whole story out of my head finally! There is an endpoint but there's still a lot for Jolee and crew to do to get there.

No worries, though, the pieces of the puzzle are starting to come together for our little fearless crew of 4 (I have to include R4 in the count, you know).

@cutmeister--yep, Talin has a bit of an attitude problem to deal with. Jolee and Jae have their work cut out for them. :)

Nice work Jae. Interesting to find that an adult of that species could go insane from not joining. They have to join in order to survive and here we can't wait to get rid of the other. :D
Talin sounds like he needs an attitude adjustment and a serious dose of ego bashng so as to get his big head out of his you know whatis.
Eagerly waiting for more for nothing gets in the way of a good story :D

If I was in Jae's shoes I would tell him, "Take a chill pill, hombre!"
I would have given him a bad case of 'lightsabre-blade-through-the-head-itis', but that's just me. :)
Another great chapter Jae, keep it up! :)

For the adrenaline junkies. :)


Chapter 14: Dycen’a

Standing as tall as my height would allow, I walked calmly into the main room of the suite, trying to keep a serene look on my face. Remain calm, I reminded myself.

Talin was walking slowly back and forth, the index finger of one hand casually tapping the side of his broad jaw, the other hand resting across his chest and holding onto the opposite elbow. He had regained some of the control over his anger, but his eyes still flashed their displeasure.

“What do you think you were doing there? What possessed you to ask for potentially sensitive material like it was just a cup of tea?” he demanded, waving his hands around for emphasis.

“Trying to get information. Apparently, you seem to think that I nearly brought us to the brink of intergalactic war by simply asking for a little data. It just seemed right to ask them then.” I stood with hands on hips and kept up a determined look.

“‘It just seemed right?’ So you’re now an expert in first-contact diplomacy?” His tone was scathing.

“I am keenly aware that I don’t have the same diplomatic expertise that you do, but I did happen to pick up a few things in the Queen’s Court. She expects courtesy and discretion from the people who serve her. So yes, I have developed a bit of skill, and yes, I could sense that it ‘just seemed right’ at that point,” I retorted.

“What if you offended them by being so abrupt? Were you ready for the consequences? We don’t know what could make them angry and we sure don’t know what they’d do if they did become angry. You might be willing to put yourself or even me at risk, but I can’t believe you’d be willing to put Jolee in danger,” he said with an edge to his voice.

My mouth dropped open in surprise. “I would never do anything to put either of you in danger. What is your problem? Somehow, I can’t believe that you’re angry just because you didn’t get first crack at asking for that information.” I narrowed my eyes, and I sensed something deeper disturbing him. “There is something….” His mind snapped shut as he realized I could sense his feelings.

Jolee sauntered into the room, and seeing both of us sporting dark looks, decided a little advice was in order. “You both need to get control of yourselves. We’re guests. Your voices may be carrying to places farther than you expect.” He looked up at the ceiling briefly and circled a finger around as if pointing out hidden monitors.

Both of us realized at once we had forgotten that it was highly likely that our suite was being watched. That realization cooled our tempers as quickly as a Hoth winter.

Jolee went on dispassionately, “Jae, Talin was leading our team, you should have followed that lead. First contacts can be tricky and things can go very wrong, very fast. You’ll learn more just observing Talin than you will from any holovids on diplomacy. Watch him and learn. Talin, you need to look at this situation for what it is, not what it could have been. Things don’t always go as planned. Fortunately, it worked out just fine. Now I’d like you two to get over whatever it is that’s getting under your skins.”

I looked over at Talin and decided to swallow some pride. “Jolee’s right, I shouldn’t have jumped in, and I hope you can forgive me.”

“And I shouldn’t have snapped. It was neither kind nor professional.” He exhaled the irritation.

Jolee seemed satisfied. “Good. That’s over. I hate it when you young people have spats. It gives me a headache. Now, Talin, something’s bothering you, and I’d really like to know what’s got your shorts in knots.”

Talin sat down on the edge of one of the chairs and rested his elbows on his knees. “I made the same mistake Jae did one time—jumped in too early on some delicate negotiations. My master and I were trying to work out some differences between two families. When I asked what I thought was an innocent question, one of the families got very upset and accused the other family of hiring us to take their side. A fight broke out right there at the table. My simple interruption caused the escalation of a family feud for about eight years. A number of people died, and it’s something I have to live with the rest of my life. I don’t wish that burden on anyone. I can’t make those kinds of mistakes again.” he finished, his somber eyes connecting with mine.

I caught the shadow of pain that they held because of the feud.

“Lad, we all make mistakes, sometimes bad ones. The Force isn’t going to keep us from doing something idiotic from time to time. One of the hardest things to learn is how to forgive ourselves when we do something wrong,” Jolee advised.

“Believe me, I know,” Talin replied.

Jolee said, “Fine. Maybe you can pay attention to my advice, then. Let’s go get ready for dinner.”


*****

“That should do for the dinner,” Talin said when I came out from my room in a dress rather than the more sedate Jedi robes.

“Glad you approve.” I couldn’t quite suppress the irony, but I smiled a bit to take out the sting.

“What Talin’s trying hard not to say is that you look lovely,” Jolee said with a wink.

A chime at the door indicated some of our hosts arrived. Izah’an smiled as they entered the room and saw us prepared for their dinner.

“We are so delighted that you are joining us. I must say, Padawan Onasi, that your dress is quite elegant and sets off your features perfectly,” they said. “Please follow us.”

“Now they know how to give a compliment,” Jolee looked sideways at Talin, elbowing him.

We headed out towards the center of the small city, which was only a short walk away. Izah’an pointed out various interesting sights and entertained us with little stories of the people and history. Looking up at the sky, I noted to everyone, “Looks like the clouds are getting really dark out there. I wonder how bad the storm will be.”

Izah’an looked up through the clear ceiling, assessing the quickly gathering dark clouds and flashing lightning with an experienced eye. “It looks like it may be a bad one, but our building designs are more than sufficient to protect us, I assure you.”

“You can hear the wind starting to howl even through the heavy walls,” Talin observed.

“It will be loud for about fifteen minutes, but this is a very fast moving storm. It should be over in about a half hour,” Izah’an said. “With luck, we’ll be able to enjoy some fresh air during our dinner.”

“Oh, I’m not concerned, I enjoy a good storm,” I grinned.

“Then Li’adin will not disappoint you,” Izah’an said with a smile.

We turned and entered a long corridor.

“Uh-oh,” Jolee stopped. “I think we just found that darkness. There go our dinner plans again.”

A Li’adan in some dark robes stood alone in the corridor. The flashing lightning reflected off his face, giving him a malevolent look. In one fluid movement, his hand moved to a spot in his robe, and suddenly a lightsaber snapped on, its orange blade hissing.

“My master will be pleased to hear that I found you. He was very unhappy when he learned that his prized holocron had been stolen by some common slaves and then fell into the hands of some Jedi. I’ll be delighted to bring back not only the holocron but your heads as well.”

Izah’an gasped. “Dycen’a! We’ve been looking all over for you! We’ve been terribly worried something had happened. Please, put down the weapon.”

Dycen’a sneered, “I’ve been with my Master, learning my true potential as a Single. That’s not something our leaders ever discuss us losing when we Join with others.”

Izah’an pleaded with him, “You can’t mean that. Aklar’an was meant for you and you for them. They need you to be fully complete, and you need them.”

“I can and do mean that. Haven’t you ever wondered what it would be like to be Separate? I determine my own destiny. I will use this power to show others what it’s like to be Separate and not limited by the silly beliefs of the Triads. I will free all of us and lead us into a new way of life,” Dycen’a said.

He drew himself up tall with superiority and smirked at us.

“Dycen’a, listen to yourself. This isn’t sane talk.”

“I’ve already convinced many Singles that they should experience their full power and not have it watered down by Joining. I would help all Triads and Diads to see their true potential as Singles. Once you are Separate, you will understand and join me.”

“Many of us would die if Separated,” Izah’an said, shocked at what Dycen’a was saying.

“So they would. No matter. Those of you strong enough to survive would find your lives improved. Your only choice right now, Izah’an, is whether you will join me and live or whether you’ll stay with these Jedi and get struck down after I destroy them,” Dycen’a warned them, malice in his voice.

Jolee spoke up. “Dycen’a, we don’t want to fight. You’re not strong enough in the Force to survive a battle with us.”

He said it without an ounce of pride. Dycen’a was strong in the dark side, but not enough to take on Jolee, much less the three of us combined.

Izah’an’s primary made a move to call for help on his comlink. Before he could say a word, the orange lightsaber flicked across the corridor, and he suddenly fell to the ground in agony, the comlink and several of his fingers gone. The blade turned and hit the second man. The lightsaber just glanced off him, hitting the side of his face and shoulder, but it was enough to cause serious injury. The second of the twosome collapsed next to his primary. The mental anguish from his primary was so loud I had to put up an immediate block.

Jolee, keeping his eyes on Dycen’a, said, “Jae, take care of Izah’an. We can handle this.”

I didn’t need any further encouragement to help them, and concentrated on easing the pain of the injured duo.

Dycen’a closed to attack Jolee and Talin, lightsaber blazing to match the fierce lightning flaring overhead. He struck from above, slamming his blade down savagely towards Jolee’s head. Jolee’s blade caught it with ease, and he deflected it down and away. Talin, seeing the opening, counterattacked with a slash to his midsection. Dycen’a dodged at the last moment before unleashing a fierce flurry of blows that kept Jolee and Talin busy parrying and counterstriking for a time.

Talin seemed to learn his opponent’s technique with every move he made, however, and began anticipating Dycen’a’s moves. He quickly gained control of the fight, and in a blur of speed delivered a number of blows with dangerous grace that Dycen’a could barely deflect in time. Jolee threw in some probing attacks, pressing Dycen’a back, watching intently for the opening in Dycen’a’s defense that would finish the battle. Dycen’a retreated against the onslaught and finally ran out of room, back to a wall.

Talin held the tip of his lightsaber millimeters from Dycen’a’s chest. “Drop your lightsaber, now,” he ordered.

Dycen’a’s eyes lasered their hate through Talin and Jolee. “Fine,” he snarled, deactivating his lightsaber and tossing it away in rage.

I breathed a sigh of relief that both Jedi were unhurt.

“Are you going to come with us quietly?” Jolee asked.

“I’ll go. But not quietly.” He jumped a good 5 meters into the air, well out of range of Jolee or Talin’s lightsabers, flipped over in the air, and landed. He willed his lightsaber to fly to his hand and then took off running towards us, Talin and Jolee in pursuit.

Standing to protect Izah’an, I ignited my lightsaber.

“You can’t escape, Dycen’a. There’s nowhere else to go,” I said to him calmly.

Izah’an’s primary stood holding his hand, hoping to convince Dycen’a to give up the fight.

His eyes narrowed and his lips thinned into a smug smile. “Of course there is,” he said in a dangerously quiet voice.

I realized what he was thinking just before he threw the lightsaber at the ceiling, creating a jagged circle in the clear plasteel. I dove over the more injured half of Izah’an to shield him from any falling objects. The wind roared furiously as a hole ripped open in the ceiling, debris suddenly flying everywhere. It nearly lifted me off the ground, and I could hardly breathe as it sucked the air out of my lungs. My hair flailed my face and I held onto it with one hand to keep it from lashing my eyes. An alarm sounded because of the breach, but I couldn’t hear it over the furor. I looked over towards Dycen’a, who jumped through the hole to escape.

A gust blew Izah’an’s primary right after him. Talin grabbed for Izah’an’s feet as they were blown by, but he couldn’t reach them in time. He jumped after Izah’an to rescue him. Jolee, crouched low and bent against the wind, ran to where I was half-kneeling, half-lying. He held onto the two of us and tried to cover more of the injured man. Time crawled, and then sped up again as a number of hands grabbed all three of us, placed us in a transport, and sped off towards the infirmary, sealing the corridor behind us until the storm could pass. Wiping the grit from my eyes and pushing the tangled mess of hair back off my face, I looked over at both Izah’an’s second and Jolee to assess for any more injuries.

Jolee caught my look of concern. “I’m fine. Don’t think he is, though. What have we got going here?”

“He’s been hit in the face and shoulder. I don’t think the facial injuries were bad, but the shoulder wound is deep and may have hit some vital structures,” I noted clinically.

“You’ve got it OK? As soon as this storm dies down a little more, I have to go with the search teams to look for Talin and those two Li’adans.”

I nodded. “I’ll work with their medical people and get him fixed up.”

***

Washing my hands after I was satisfied that Izah’an’s second was stable and healing well, I was alerted to the approach of an emergency team by the clamor of rattling equipment and their loud voices giving treatment instructions. I cocked my head to listen and heard the controlled urgency in their speech that indicated the situation was likely critical. The doors to the infirmary burst open, two teams rolling in two stretchers, Jolee following behind closely with a grim expression on his dirt-smeared face. He caught my eyes and a sick feeling filled my stomach.

“Oh, no,” was all I could whisper, despair welling up.

You're just as bad as me with my leaving you guys hanging :D
PLEASE don't tell me Talin died! I could understand if it was one of the Triads or something like that.
The whole thing with Jae in a dress, isn't that a violation of the Jedi Code? I thought Jedi could only wear robes and tunics. I smelled romance in the air :D
As always a great chapter and full of adrenaline. I think it would be enough for the junkies :lol:

:D
I promise to write the next chapter fast so you can find out. ;)

I figured if Princess Leia can wear a dress, then so can any other female Jedi. Or she just bent the rules a bit in deference to it being a first contact situation. Actually, I just like the dress idea so I decided to write it in anyway. :)
I never thought they were required to wear robes, I just thought they did so for convenience sake--sturdy, easy to move in, useful for any type of weather. The plainness is just so they won't draw attention to themselves. I figured in the appropriate situation they might dress differently, though I imagine many Jedi would view the robe as a mark of their membership in the Order and would want to wear it most of the time.

Sigh, my kitty had to have surgery today--he's been in the animal hospital since Tuesday and wasn't getting better, but the surgery seems to have solved the problem. It's been a little anxious in my house the last few days since he's 14 years old and bad things can happen to cats that old. But they think he'll come out of it OK.

I figured if Princess Leia can wear a dress, then so can any other female Jedi.

Princess Leia never actually was a jedi. :)
Sigh, my kitty had to have surgery today--he's been in the animal hospital since Tuesday and wasn't getting better, but the surgery seems to have solved the problem. It's been a little anxious in my house the last few days since he's 14 years old and bad things can happen to cats that old. But they think he'll come out of it OK.
I hope your cat turns out fine. :)
But I have a question for you: if buttered toast always lands on the buttered side, and cats always land on their feet, what happens if you tape buttered toast on the back of cat and give him a little toss? :D

Princess Leia never actually was a jedi. :)

I hope your cat turns out fine. :)
But I have a question for you: if buttered toast always lands on the buttered side, and cats always land on their feet, what happens if you tape buttered toast on the back of cat and give him a little toss? :D

I thought she did her training later in the EU stuff. I could be wrong. :)

Thanks. They said he's sleeping and doing OK.

The toast thing--depends if you tape the toast butter side up or down. :D

Ah-hah! So the phantom menace has revealed itself (pun intended :D). A good cliffhanger on the end of that chapter. IMO, every writer is entitled to use cliffhangers in their story simply because it's a good way to get their readers to come back and read more, heh-heh-heh. :smirk2:

I too thought Leia became a Jedi some time after the death of Darth Sidious/Emperor Palpatine. I've only read the EU's Thrawn trilogy and Leia used a lightsaber and trained her force skills in those three books.

But that was before the Jedi Order was reformed, and when it was reformed she too busy in politics to train, so she never was a real Jedi.

Great chapter Jae. Actually... It was an amazing chapter! I know Talin isn't dead or going to die yet because Jae dreamed of the three of them fighting the Sith Lord whom they have yet to meet. Very well written action scenes though. Keep up the great work yo!

But that was before the Jedi Order was reformed, and when it was reformed she too busy in politics to train, so she never was a real Jedi.From the Star Wars databank (http://www.starwars.com/databank/character/leiaorganasolo/?id=eu):
Though Leia stepped away from public office, she still remained a valuable member of the New Republic hierarchy. Her relief efforts during the Yuuzhan Vong crisis are well known. The mother of full-grown Jedi Knights, Leia still brandishes her lightsaber and Jedi heritage, though she readily admits regret that her political career had interfered with her early Jedi training. So yeah, it sounds like you're right. Leia never became a full-fledged Jedi.

A great Chapter. A lot of discussion between Jolee, Jae and Talin. Jolee still is funny as always. Anyway, looking foward to the next Chapter.

But that was before the Jedi Order was reformed, and when it was reformed she too busy in politics to train, so she never was a real Jedi.

Ah well.
Still, I can't imagine that Jedi would be absolutely required to wear only robes. I imagine they would use them the vast majority of the time, but now and then we girls do like to dress up just a little. :)
Call it creative license then. :D

Kitty is doing much better today. He was very happy to see me, purred and meowed (something he hadn't been doing at all the last few days, even for me, and I'm his buddy), acted like he wanted to go home (instead of laying in the cage sick and scared) and actually ate some food while I was there. My other cat, who is very sweet but dumber than a box of rocks, finally realized last night that she hadn't seen Higgins in awhile, after he'd been out of the house nearly 4 days.

Jolee Bindo will never be seen in the same way again.. I like how you treated his story, and you have captured his character. Wow... Nice Job! :)

Chapter 15: The Emergency

My heart stopped for a moment.

Only two stretchers, not three....

Izah’an’s first was in the main stretcher, moaning in pain. The other unconscious man was under an oxygen breath mask and covered in blood, mud, and equipment. The flood of relief I felt when I saw it was Talin was tempered by great concern when I realized he was seriously injured. One of the emergency workers held up the infusion bag that had a line running from it to Talin’s arm and another held on to some equipment as they rushed past the doors. I quickly joined Jolee as he followed the stretchers into the emergency area.

“What happened?” I asked him, watching the emergency teams transferring both men to the brightly lit treatment bays and hooking up monitors and instruments. The alarms for critical values started sounding from the monitors in Talin’s bay. The med team scurried around setting up equipment, taking samples, and doing the initial scans to find all the injuries. They spoke back and forth with clipped voices edged in worry.

We walked briskly towards him, and Jolee filled me in. “When we found them, he was curled up around Izah’an’s first. Talin must have caught him right after they blew out of the corridor. The storm carried them some distance, and they hit a building about eight meters up—you could see the marks on the wall. They fell down the side, and Izah’an’s first landed hard on top of him. I’ve done some healing just to get him to this point, but we’re going to have to work together to stabilize him.”

I scanned the displays and watched the values scroll. “Oh, Force, these are bad,” I said, after seeing nothing but critical numbers.

Jolee laid a hand on my shoulder. “Stay calm. Getting adrenaline-addled isn’t going to help him. He’s the one with the problem, not you. I know this isn’t the first time you’ve been through something like this.”

The flashbacks returned with a vengeance. The explosion. Roben on the ground. Cradling his head and trying to heal him. Seeing his spirit leave. I closed my eyes and shook my head, trying to clear the images.

“Look at me, Jae,” Jolee commanded. I had no choice but to comply. He looked in my soul for a moment and then caught my eyes. “He’s not Roben. Talin’s got more than a chance, as long as you don’t keep standing there gawking at the past. Now, move. Focus. You’re a professional, and we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

I took a deep breath, recited the Jedi code to calm myself, and stepped into the controlled chaos in Talin’s bay.

Talin labored to make even a shallow breath. Bandages were stained bright red, and his leg was lying at an abnormal angle on the bed. One of the Li’adans finished the scan and put the results up on the monitor. Tarm’ad, the triad of doctors who was treating Talin, looked over the images, which showed a number of injuries ranging from the most serious to very minor.

Jolee pointed at the images of Talin’s fractured spine and collapsed lung. “We have to heal those before he can go into the kolto.”

Tarm’ad said, “All the tanks are in use right now, and there’s no one we can pull out at the moment.” They called over a duo. “Eron’an, tell surgery to be ready for two cases.”

“Jolee, if you can work on his collapsed lung, I’ll tackle the internal bleeding and that spine fracture,” I said.

When Tarm’ad looked momentarily confused, Jolee explained, “We’re going to heal the most serious injuries as long as our Force powers hold out to try and get him stable.”

“He’ll have a better chance of surviving if he still needs surgery after we’re done,” I added.

“Just tell me what you need and when,” Tarm’ad said. “While you’re doing that, we’ll work on putting his shoulder back in place and sealing all those deep lacerations.”

“Fix the breathing and the bleeding, I always say,” Jolee said.

He started concentrating on healing Talin’s collapsed lung while I worked on bringing the torn edges of the artery together, ‘watching’ them heal from the inside out.

“Bleeding’s stopped,” I told Jolee.

Jolee nearly had Talin’s lung healed when he regained consciousness, dark eyelashes fluttering against his ghostly pale skin. I had to drop out of the healing meditation to calm him when he started moving around.

“Heart rate’s spiking,” Eron’an said. His heart was beating dangerously fast from shock.

“Sedate him. Now,” Tarm’ad ordered.

I leaned in close to him and gently put my hand on his. “Talin, you’re hurt bad. We’re healing you right now. Hold still for us.”

He nodded slightly and closed his eyes again.

“Talin, hang on just a little longer. I’m almost there,” Jolee said.

Alarms went off as Talin gave a little shudder and stopped breathing.

“His heart rate and BP just bottomed out. We’re losing him,” Eron’an announced.

“Damn it, Talin, don’t you give up now. I’m almost done fixing that lung,” Jolee said. “Jae, go get that boy. Tell him I said he’s too damn young to die.”

I closed my eyes in meditation and drifted over to that dark, quiet between-world. The shadow-valley between life and death strips the soul to its essence. There are no masked emotions, no lies, and I felt a sudden roiling of my feelings as I looked around, anxious to find him and bring him back before it was too late.

“Talin,” I called out, finally seeing him.

He looked around, the confusion coloring his aura.

I walked up to him. “Talin, come back to us. You can’t leave.”

He pointed towards that warm, bright light, “They don’t seem ready to take me just yet, but I want to be with them. People I love are there. It hurts too much where I was, and I can’t go on anymore.”

“Jolee says you’re too damn young to die.”

Talin smiled, but his eyes kept their weary look. “Jolee’s a funny man. No one’s too young to die. Children die. Babies die.”

“But we still need you here with us. Don’t let go,” I urged.

“There are other Jedi.”

“Not other Jedi like you, Talin. You’re special. And you’re our friend.”

He looked over at me, surprised. “I thought you were angry with me and didn’t care.”

“Frustrated is a better word. Friends get frustrated with each other sometimes. Yes, I do care about you.”

“It’s more than frustration. You use that to keep me away.”

I didn’t want to answer, but I was afraid he’d let go if I didn’t keep talking to him to draw him back.

“I’m scared,” I said after some time. “Every one I’ve ever loved has died. My parents are gone. When Roben died, I felt like my soul was ripped in half. If I love, I lose, and I don’t want to feel that way ever again. Now you’re trying to leave, too. Jolee and I will do everything we can to heal you, but you’re the only one who can decide to return.”

“I didn’t know you felt that way.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever told anyone before. So what’s your reason?”

He tilted his head, confused. “What do you mean?”

“That arrogance. You’re only that way with me.”

“Because you’re beautiful, talented, and have a strength of will I’ll never have. I have feelings I never imagined having, and I’m not sure what to do. Keeping you at arm’s length keeps us both safe. I don’t want to put either of us in a difficult situation. But I don’t think it will matter now, anyway.” He turned towards the beckoning light, slipping fast.

“Talin Kayl, you just look at me right now,” I commanded, the sharpness in my voice surprising even me. He looked back to me, silent. I continued, “You have to fight this and come back to us. You’re too strong to run from life when it gets hard. Besides, Jolee would miss you a lot, and so would I. Maybe it’s selfish, but we want you in our world.”

He gave me a small smile. “You’re starting to sound like him.”

“He grows on you after awhile.”

He smiled wider. “Like a fungus.”

“I’ll make a pact with you. When we get back and you’re well, we’ll both deal with our problems. I’ll stop pushing everyone away when they get close if you’ll drop the condescension.”

He mulled over his options.

I hardly dared to breathe as he tried to make his decision. I held out my hand to him. “Come with me, please. I’ll help you get back.”

“It’s going to hurt a lot when I go back, isn’t it?”

When I heard him use ‘when’ instead of ‘if’, I allowed the tiniest bit of relief to trickle through me.

“It will, but not for too long. We’re trying to do everything we can to get you healed fast. I’ll stay with you as long as you need.”

He took hold of my hand, and I smiled as the relief flooded in.

“I’m going to hold you to that pact,” Talin said, and we walked away from the darkness together.

The change from the silent, dim netherworld to the glaring lights and cacophony of monitor alarms and loud talking was jarring, and I snapped out of the meditation.

Ilan’an called out, “He’s breathing again, rapid and shallow.”

“Glad you got him back, Jae. Lung’s healed; I’m going to tackle some of those other fractures.”

Tarm’ad listened to Talin’s breathing. They looked almost amazed in their pleasure. “Lung sounds are much better.”

“Heart rate’s a good sinus rhythm. BP and O2 sats are coming back up towards normal,” said Eron’an.

“Better,” I said, breathing out a bit in relief. “I’ll work on the vertebrae now.”

“You used a ton of energy trying to get him to come back. You burn yourself out trying to heal him completely and I’ll be very upset,” Jolee said, looking up from his work to make sure he had my complete attention.

“I’ll stop before I exhaust myself.”

I meditated and brought the edges of the vertebrae back into alignment. The fracture lines filled in and set. Jolee and I worked on the rest of the injuries until I was shaking from the effort to use the last of my Force strength.

He looked up as we finished the work on Talin’s broken bones. “You’re done. Sit down before you fall down.”

I sank into the chair and looked over the monitors. Some of the values were now out of critical ranges and moving back to normal. “He’s starting to stabilize, Jolee.”

“Looks like he’s not going to need surgery, either,” Tarm’ad said, looking over the latest scans. “All the major injuries are healed. Impressive.”

The decrease in everyone’s intensity level was almost palpable. The staff moved briskly instead of frantically, and the volume of the noise dropped to a more normal level.

“Nice job,” Jolee clapped me on the shoulder and then caught me when I nearly tipped off the chair. “You’re beat. Stay here while I go check on Izah’an.” He washed up and walked over to the other bay.

Talin started to stir and tried to remove the oxygen mask. I took his hand and held onto it gently to keep him from taking it off. He was too weak to pull away to reach his face.

“Talin, leave the mask on, you need the oxygen right now. You’ve been hurt badly, but you’re going to be OK,” I reassured him. “They’re pulling glass out of your back, so you have to hold still.”

He settled down, not making a move to remove his hand from mine.

Jolee returned to us after some time and noticed Talin was more responsive.

“How’s our favorite patient?” Jolee said, looking down at him.

“I feel terrible,” Talin said weakly, his voice barely above a whisper.

“You look terrible, too,” Jolee said, “but you’re past the worst of it. They only have to pick out that glass now. Just how many windows did you crash through?”

Talin mustered the energy for a half-chuckle before it quickly turned to a wince, “Oh, it hurts to laugh. One or two. Izah’an?”

“You did a good job protecting him. He’s going to be just fine. He had a couple of broken bones and a concussion, but he wasn’t nearly as bad off as you were. You broke pretty much everything you can break.”

“Hit several buildings hard. Last fall got me.”

“Jolee, what happened to Dycen’a?” I asked, looking over at him.

“The Li’adans think he was swept away in the storm and likely died. I’m not so sure. We would have found something by now if he’d been killed. I think he’s somehow survived and is hiding. However, he’s not anywhere near here right now, or we’d feel it. It’s going to make a very interesting report for the Council, that’s for sure.”

Kiol’ad and Elin’ad entered the infirmary, worried looks mirrored on all their faces. They conferred with Damen’ad and Tarm’ad to get a report on all the patients and then came to speak with us. Tarm’ad returned to the task of finding and removing all the glass and debris from Talin.

I joined them in that task, taking gauze to clean some of the facial wounds of the debris.

“You don’t have to do that. I can wash my own face,” Talin said, embarrassed at being unable to do the simplest tasks but too weak to stop me from helping.

“I’m making sure you don’t have anything stuck in these cuts. Besides, you’ll be a lot more comfortable if you don’t have all this grit and dirt drying on your skin. Now you just rest and let me do my job.”

“All right,” he said, closing his eyes.

Kiol’ad came in, and seeing Talin with his eyes shut, said quietly, “We heard the good news that Jedi Kayl will recover.”

Talin heard them, opened his eyes, and tried to raise his head.

“Talin, hold still, please,” I said to him. “Tarm’ad’s still working. Jolee will take care of things for you.”

Elin’ad smiled gently, saying, “We don’t worry about protocol and negotiations in the infirmary.”

Jolee said, “We’re glad Izah’an made it, too. I was concerned when he was blown out the window. That storm was unbelievable.”

Tarm’ad looked up from their work. “We don’t know if Izah’an would have survived without both Jedi helping with their healing. We’ve learned some very interesting treatment techniques.”

Kiol’ad looked at both of us and said, “We’re thankful to have you here and grateful for all your help. When everything has settled a bit, we’d like to hear what happened in more detail, especially about Dycen’a. Is there anything you need?”

Jolee looked over at me. “I think my Padawan needs to go change.”

I had one of the disposable ER gowns on over my outfit, which had been stained with blood and dirt. I realized I was starting to feel the chill of the damp dress.

“I didn’t notice,” I said, looking down at it for the first time since before the attack.

Jolee noted dryly, “I gathered that. You really have to stop dressing up in evening gowns when you go heal.”

I wrinkled my nose to make a face at him for that quip.

Ilan’an brought some scrubs for me. “Please, take these. You need something dry until you can get back to your quarters.”

I made a move to let go of Talin’s hand to go change when he abruptly gripped mine tightly. “Please, don’t go,” he pleaded. “I don’t want to be alone right now.”

Looking down at him, I saw the vulnerability in his exhausted face and felt his fear at coming too close to death. I smiled, gently squeezing his hand back.
“We won’t leave you alone. I’ll be right back, I promise. Jolee will stay with you while I change,” I reassured him.

Talin let go reluctantly. I changed and returned quickly.

“I think he’s asleep,” Jolee said quietly, nodding towards Talin. “Elin’ad is going to take me back to our suite so that I can clean up and change. I can’t stand smelling like bantha schutta. Then I’m going to have a little chat with Kiol’ad and Elin’ad. They need to know about Dycen’a training as a dark Jedi. I shouldn’t be too long. Call me on the comlink if something happens.”
He turned and left with the Triad leaders.

“Well, now we’ve got all that glass,” Tarm’ad said, satisfied at the work.

They spread an anti-infective over his back and then covered it with a large dressing. Talin woke up from the cold of the medication.

“They’re done now, Talin,” I said.

He nodded in relief, but he reached for my hand for reassurance anyway.

“You’re going to be just fine. I’ll stay with you as long as you need.” I said, giving his hand a slight squeeze.

He finally relaxed completely and fell into a deep sleep, breathing evenly. I sat down in a chair next to his bed to keep a vigil.

* * *

“Jae, wake up,” Jolee said in a subdued voice. “You neck is going to get stuck like that.”

His eyes still managed to crinkle in amusement, though the fatigue remained from all the healing and fighting he had done earlier.

Rubbing the gritty feeling from my eyes, I lifted my head up from the top of the chair. Apparently, I had been in that position for quite some time, because my neck was nearly fused from stiffness. I rotated my head a bit to loosen up the muscles, and remembering where I was, looked immediately over at Talin’s bed to assess his condition.

Jolee followed my eyes over to him. “He’s improving quite a bit. Looks like all his vital signs have stabilized in the normal ranges. He’s sure got a death grip on your hand, though.”

“He was scared. I guess he felt he needed to hold onto something familiar.”

Jolee patted my shoulder a couple times. “You’re a good lass. Sometimes it’s the simplest gestures that mean the most to our friends. It reminds me of Nayama’s cocoa chip cookies. Which reminds me of food, which you haven’t had in awhile.”

I looked over at Talin, who was in a deep sleep, recovering nicely. My stomach gave me away by growling loudly. “I suppose I could eat a little something and nap while he’s asleep.”

“Of course you can eat and sleep,” Jolee snorted, “because I’m going to sit here by Talin and make you rest. Heh, you know, this Jedi master thing grows on me. It’s kind of fun ordering around you young people.”

I could only manage a tired smile at his wit. I relinquished my chair and sat down at the little table where he’d left a small dinner tray.

He said, “Nayama used to take the finest Ithorian cocoa chips—best in the galaxy, maybe the universe—and make these cookies. They were the finest smelling cookies, but they tasted just awful.” He scrunched up his face in distaste. “In fact, she was a terrible cook. Somehow, she managed to burn or ruin just about any dish she touched. I had to learn how to cook in self-defense or I would have starved. She loved those cookies, however, so I always ate a couple and encouraged her to make more.”

“If you didn’t like them, why did you want her to make more?”

“Because every time she made them, she’d bring me a plate and put a little kiss right here on my head,” he said, pointing to the center of his forehead. “She never did that with any other dish she made. I would have eaten a bucket of bolts to get that little forehead kiss. It was a tiny thing, but it meant a lot to me. It was one of the ways she showed me she loved me. I bet you’ve had some little thing like that that meant a lot to you.”

“Roben and I had this little hand signal we’d give each other to say ‘I love you’. We weren’t always able to speak to each other in the Court if we were busy with our particular duties, but we could make our little sign to each other subtly enough that it wasn’t noticeable to anyone else. And my housemother, Telma, had this little couch in her office where could sit. If we had a bad day, she’d come sit down on that couch next to us, put her arm around us, and give a little motherly squeeze. It didn’t matter how bad the situation was, that little hug somehow seemed to make everything all right.”

“Heh, Telma sounds like a fine woman.”

Talin gave out a short sigh. Both Jolee and I looked over towards him. I scanned the monitors quickly for any abnormal readings and was relieved when they continued to remain normal. When I looked back at him again, his eyes were open slightly and he appeared to be in no distress. His lips turned up slightly, which was as much energy as he could muster for a smile.

His voice was barely above a whisper as he asked, “Do you people ever stop talking long enough for a guy to sleep?”

As I ate, he related his little cookie story. “Nayama used to take the finest Ithorian cocoa chips—best in the galaxy, maybe the universe—and make these cookies. They were the finest smelling cookies, but they tasted just awful.” He scrunched up his face in distaste. “In fact, she was a terrible cook. Somehow she managed to burn or ruin just about any dish she touched. I had to learn how to cook in self-defense, or I would have starved. She loved those cookies, however, so I always ate a couple, and encouraged her to make more.”

I liked what Jolee said there. Perfect comedy. I didn't know if Talin would survive, but with Jae and her healing powers, he'll be fine. Another good Chapter.

Man, are you fast on the keyboard. I posted it I think 8 minutes prior to your post. :D

Thanks. Jolee's quips are fun to do.

Yes your Jolee dialogues are as always funny Jae. It was a Bindo moment with Jolee explaining about life. Reminds me of his lecture on love *sigh* the memories :lol:
Nice turn of events Jae with Talin. I hope this calls for something more in the future? :D

And here I was hoping Talin would die... :(
Yet another Jae-tastic chapter, keep it up!
P.S. Were you hungry when you wrote this?

And here I was hoping Talin would die... :(
Yet another Jae-tastic chapter, keep it up!
P.S. Were you hungry when you wrote this?

That's OK, Jae will keep Talin in line when he decides to get a little uppity. Besides, near-death experiences have a strange way of altering one's life.

I wasn't hungry, but Jae was. ;P


@JM12--I won't disappoint you. :)

I wonder how long Talin will be bed-ridden? This could give Jae and Jolee an opportunity to check out things on their own.

Great chapter Jae. Geez I can only say that so many times and I think I am at my limit. Maybe you should give all the rest of our fics a break and write a sub-par chapter? Eh? Yeah didn't think so. Keep up the great work. I can't wait for the Jalin relationship to blossom.

Great chapter Jae. Geez I can only say that so many times and I think I am at my limit. Maybe you should give all the rest of our fics a break and write a sub-par chapter? Eh? Yeah didn't think so. Keep up the great work. I can't wait for the Jalin relationship to blossom.

I am constitutionally unable to do anything half-way. :) As a personality trait it's both a blessing and a curse. It's extremely difficult for me to say "OK, that's not perfect, but it's 'perfect enough'."

@cutmeister--I hadn't thought about keeping Talin in recovery mode to let the other 2 go out alone, but that's an interesting possibility. I have the overall outline (along with a page of Jolee quips and little snips of stories I want him to tell) and I try to fit each chapter into that outline to keep it moving in the right direction. However, the chapters themselves are pretty fluid during creation.

Yeah and that is why the chapters are so good. I'll be waiting for the next chapter . Patience is my virtue :D

Everyone listen to me! Jae is a Dark Lord of the Sith! She is leading us all down the dark path with her excellent plot and her masterful story telling! Can't you see it? She has us all in a daze. I am fighting it hard but I can only snap out of this hypnosis every now and then for a minute or so. So I am writing this to you in hopes of breaking us all free one day. Uh oh.... here it comes again..... AGhh!!!! Must go back to reading.... Jae's..... story..... *Transmission ends*

Everyone listen to me! Jae is a Dark Lord of the Sith! She is leading us all down the dark path with her excellent plot and her masterful story telling! Can't you see it? She has us all in a daze. I am fighting it hard but I can only snap out of this hypnosis every now and then for a minute or so. So I am writing this to you in hopes of breaking us all free one day. Uh oh.... here it comes again..... AGhh!!!! Must go back to reading.... Jae's..... story..... *Transmission ends*

I think we all want the next Chapter. ASAP for Renegade.

:lol:
You guys are too funny. I will try to get something put up very soon. :)

(Jae goes back to living room to go rummage around in the laundry basket where she last saw that Sith mask....)

Chapter 16: The Story of Reeca

“Feeling any better, lad?” Jolee asked.
“Still rotten, but better,” Talin breathed quietly.

“‘Better’ is better, we’ll take it,” Jolee replied. “You should be up and back to normal in a few days.”

“Wish I could believe that,” Talin said, eyes closing slowly.

Jolee chuckled slightly, “When you’re planting flowers, it’s hardest to imagine their beauty when you’re up to your eyeballs in the poo-doo fertilizer.”

Talin just shook his head slightly and sighed.

“That’s very…picturesque,” I noted, lifting an eyebrow in irony. A yawn escaped before I could stop it, and Jolee looked me over with a critical eye.

“Talin, I’m sending Jae back to our suite, and I’ll stay here.”

I protested, “Jolee, I need to be here in case--”

“No, you need to go rest. The masters who are strongest in the Force don’t have unlimited healing power, and neither do you. We all have to sleep sometime. The only one who I’m convinced doesn’t sleep is Vrook, and look how crabby it makes him. There’s a Li’adan outside who will take you back to your room." When I made no move towards the door, he added, “They now also have these amazing new-fangled devices we call comlinks,” Jolee said dryly, displaying his. “It’s a novel concept. We can talk to each other at any time if we have an emergency. What will they think of next?” Jolee said with an acidic drawl, though he tempered it just a bit with a smile.

“Go. Sleep.” Talin made a weak dismissal motion with a bandaged hand.

I crossed my arms and stated, “Fine. But I’m going to come back as soon as I get a short rest.”

“You must be really tired,” Jolee said. “You sound like a two year old. All you need to do now is stomp one of your feet. Get going.” He made a circling motion for me to turn and then pointed at the door.

I sighed, turned, and made sure not to stomp on my way out.


***

The dream tendrilled like one of the poison vines of Dxun, trying to strangle any good around it….
The Sith Lord laughed loudly, watching my attempts to block his lightsaber blows, a look of haughty disdain darkening his face. Jolee was there, lying on the ground, struck down in battle. Talin, lying on the ground next to him, twisted by the horrible plague of blisters. Those same blisters covered my hands, but I couldn’t stop fighting. I had to save my friends. I watched in horror as the Sith Lord raised his lightsaber to bring it crashing down on my head, realizing my block would never reach up in time to protect me from being killed…

I woke up fully in a start, taking a moment to realize I was in my room in the suite, the dampness from the sweat trickling down my neck and making me cold. I had only slept a few hours, but the dream made my heart race, and I knew it would be a while before I could get back to sleep. I found some caffa in the galley and picked up the holocron from the pile of Jolee’s datapads of notes. Turning it over in my hands in study, I thought about the dream and the masters’ mantra, ‘the future is always in motion’. Maybe studying the holocron could make a difference. Sitting down on a sofa, I started the meditation.

***
The shift in the air and the light weight draping over me woke me up. Jolee had come back to the suite, and had covered me up with a blanket.
“Well, I was trying not to wake you up,” he said.

“Talin’s OK?”

“Sleeping like a baby. He’ll be that way for a while—his body is starting to heal itself now. Tarm’ad promised to call us if he woke up. I came back to get some shut-eye before I fell asleep walking. I was surprised to see you out here, though. I didn’t know you’d taken to sleeping on the sofa with holocrons and caffa. No wonder you’re having strange dreams lately.”

Brushing the hair out of my eyes, I said, “I wasn’t trying to sleep, I was trying to meditate.” I pointed at the holocron.

Jolee sat down across from me. “Using the Force at full bore is pretty exhausting. It takes a lot of energy to channel that much power. Sometimes, there’s just no substitute for real sleep, and your body lets you know that by checking out for a while. Even masters don’t meditate forever. So why were you out here trying to study the holocron when I told you to rest, hmm?” He tried unsuccessfully to put a strict look on his face—the frown was there but the eyes contradicted it.

“It was that nightmare vision again. You’re down, Talin is lying on the ground with Scourge, and I’m battling the Sith Lord and can’t get my lightsaber up in time to make the block. It woke me up and I couldn’t get back to sleep right away. I thought if I came out and studied this holocron some more, I might be able to change something or at least stop the dream.”

He rested back in his chair and considered the situation for a few moments, rubbing his chin. “I don’t think you’ll be able to stop the dream. The Force is funny like that. Once it gives someone a vision, it usually doesn’t make it go away until it’s completed.”

“Oh, wonderful,” I said, too tired to stop the sarcasm. “I can’t wait for more sleepless nights.”

“No one ever promised you lots of beauty sleep when you’re a Jedi, you know,” he grinned. “Still, the future is pretty fluid. Just because you see it one way in a vision doesn’t mean it will be that way. You never know what might change it. Studying the holocron may not do anything, and then again, it might just be the thing that saves everyone. I’d rather bet on it helping, and the knowledge is never wasted. And since we seem to be in a lightsaber battle, we’ll make sure we study solid technique. It’s always good to be prepared for these things. You know, this reminds me of this lass, Reeca. It’s a good story, but I need some tea first before I tell it. Doesn’t matter what planet I’m on, damn infirmary air is always dry.”

He went to the galley, and came out with two cups of hot tea, handing one to me. I sat up to sip the fragrant drink, watching the steam making lazy swirls upwards.

“Alderaan grey tea. Supposedly helps people to relax,” he said, sitting down with his cup. He continued, “Reeca and I were made Padawans about the same time. Fine girl. Brilliant scholar. Always had her nose stuck in holocrons. Last I heard, she was one of the master archivists in the Jedi library on Coruscant. Anyway, she kept having this vision that she was falling off a cliff or something, landing face up on a ledge 100 feet below and dying. She did everything she could to avoid high places after that. Finally, her master made her go on a hike in the mountains with him. He took a couple of us Padawans along for exercise and herb training or something like that. ‘You can’t run away from destiny’, he told her. If it was going to happen, the Force would make it happen. If not, at least she’d get over trying to escape her destiny all the time.”

“I take it she didn’t fall off any cliffs during that trip, then?”

“No, Reeca did fall off a cliff—it really was her destiny that she saw in her dream. The future didn’t change that much from the vision. We were walking on a narrow path, and I was leading. I stopped short to keep from stepping on a snake. She kept going, ran into me, and lost her balance. I tried to grab her to keep from falling, but I couldn’t catch her in time. She fell off the side of the cliff and landed on a ledge about 100 feet below, just like in her vision.”

“How did she survive, then?”

“Well, she put in extra study on levitation techniques. Probably studied till her eyeballs fell out, knowing her. All of us used our levitation skills to stop her fall, but she really didn’t need it. She’d managed to stop her fall pretty well by herself, and she just floated above the ledge for a few moments catching her breath. Once she got up and realized she was still with us in the land of the living, she pulled out one of those monofilament lines and made her way down the rest of the cliff. She beat us to the campsite and was sitting in front of a nice little fire by the time the rest of us made it back. I’ll say one thing for her, she was definitely prepared. She didn’t even have a scratch. Her master made a point that night to discuss teamwork, how fluid visions can be, and the value of study. I’m not quite sure why he kept looking at me every time he mentioned the word ‘study’. I didn’t skip that many of his classes.”

“I doubt that there’s any super-secret Force power to protect us from a Sith Lord, though.”

“Ha! That’s a good one. No, I don’t know of any anti-Sith powers, or I’d be using them myself. That doesn’t mean we can’t try to come up with a couple different strategies that will stop this guy in his tracks.”

The tea must have been working, because I could no longer suppress the yawning.

“Hey, my stories aren’t that boring, you know,” Jolee said.

“I think it’s the tea. You must have spiked it with something to put me to sleep.”

“Now would I do anything sneaky like that?”

I grinned back at him without a response and headed to my room.

“I’ll wake you up if anything changes,” he promised.

* * *

Much later that day, I found Jolee in the galley sipping caffa and studying the holocron.

“Why did you let me sleep so long?” I asked.

“Maybe because you needed it?” he retorted, lifting his eyes to me.

I shot him a dark look. “We need to go see if Talin’s OK. I should have been up hours ago to check his condition.”

“Tarm’ad called me a couple times with reports. He’s doing fine, and he’s still asleep. I didn’t see any point in waking you so you could watch him snore. However, I know you won’t be satisfied until you see your patient for yourself, so let’s go.”

We arrived quickly at the infirmary, and Jolee and I walked over to Talin’s room. I was relieved to notice that he was starting to wake up, and all the monitors showed normal or near-normal values.

“Hey, how are you feeling now?” I smiled down at him.

“Do you know how many times I’ve had to answer that question today?” he asked, his face scrunching up in an irritable look.

Jolee chuckled a bit. “Well, if you have enough energy to be grumpy, you must be doing better.”

Talin snorted. “Yes, I feel better. I still feel rotten, but it’s better than yesterday when all I could do was lie here like a beached jellyfish, while everyone did everything for me. And to me. Have I mentioned how much I hate doctors and hospitals?”

“We’ll try not to take it personally,” Jolee replied dryly, giving Talin’s arm a very gentle pat of reassurance.

“Roll over on your stomach so I can check your back, please,” I said. Talin complied. I gently removed the dressings.

“That tickles,” he protested.

“Healing skin is very sensitive, and I’m trying to use a light touch so it doesn’t hurt,” I noted clinically, looking over all the many cuts and bruises that were starting to heal. “Well, with the combination of Tarm’ad’s treatment and my long rest, I think I have plenty of Force energy to heal this very quickly,” I said, looking pointedly at Jolee.

Jolee beamed at his success.

Talin looked over at Jolee and asked, “How long?” His sharp ears had caught the slight emphasis on ‘long’.

“About 14 hours.”

“Good. You needed it. I suppose I’ll allow you to heal, then,” Talin decided.

“Imperious today, aren’t we?” Jolee drawled.

Shaking my head while smiling at that, I ordered, “Hush now, all of you. I need to concentrate.” Focusing on his back and using the Force, I saw each cut and bruise heal.

Talin shifted his shoulders a bit after I finished, testing for sore spots, and then turned over, sighing. “Ah, it feels good to lie on my back. Much better. Thanks.”

Jolee rechecked all the other injuries to make sure healing was complete. “You and the doctors did a good job, Jae. Talin, I think you’ll be out of here in a couple days.”

“I don’t plan on being here that long.”

“Now, Talin….” I said, raising an eyebrow.

Elin’ad entered the infirmary in brisk strides. They stayed a respectful distance outside Talin’s bay until he saw them and waved them in. “You’re making amazing progress,” they said, smiling wide with pleasure.

“I’m feeling much better today. Thank you,” he replied, managing some cheerfulness.

“Master Bindo, we’d like a moment with you, if you don’t mind,” Elin’ad said.
They left the room, though we could still hear the conversation.

“Certainly. Is there something I can help you with?” Jolee asked, cordially.

“It is a matter that requires urgent attention. We’ve found Dycen’a.”

“Where is he?”

“He just broke through the planet’s shields in a small scout ship. Your ship is the only one fast enough to stop him before he can jump to hyperspace. We’d like to request your assistance in catching him.”

Talin heard the request and looked over at me. “I need to get up and help.” He struggled to sit up.

“You need to rest.”

“I am not staying another night in any infirmary.”

“Talin, no--” I tried to stop him from getting up, knowing what would happen when he got out of bed too fast. Never underestimate Jedi speed. Or determination, I reminded myself.

“Oh, blast it,” Talin said through teeth grit in frustration.

Tarm’ad and I each grabbed an arm when his legs refused to hold him up after he stood, and Jolee rushed back in to help. Some of the monitors started flashing warnings as Talin’s vital signs fell precipitously from his efforts to get up too quickly. His face went white as he nearly lost consciousness. We immediately got him back to bed, and I concentrated in the Force while Tarm’ad injected medication to stabilize him. I tried not to fidget as I waited for the vitals to stabilize and breathed out in relief when they started to climb. A few minutes later, the glassy look left his eyes as he became more alert.

“Jedi or no, it takes time to heal from injuries as severe as yours. You have to stay in bed until you’ve recovered,” I urged him.

He scowled. “Stop looking at me so concerned.” He thought for a moment, and the frown disappeared as he looked at me again. “I’m not going anywhere, I promise. I just hate being incapacitated, and I hate not being able to help you.” His shaky voice told me the bravado was merely a cover.

Jolee locked eyes with Talin. “I don’t appreciate a scare like that because you have some kind of inferiority complex about accepting help. You’re not going to be able to help us if you’re collapsed on the floor. Next time you try to do anything that these four don’t approve, I’ll have you shipped back to Coruscant in a med pod for the masters to heal you there. Is there anything unclear about this?” He kept a bland tone, but the look on his face was as severe as I had ever seen.

“None whatsoever,” Talin sighed, defeated. He laid his head back and closed his eyes, lips tight in frustration, knowing there was nothing he could do to help.

“I’m glad we’ve got that straight, then. Jae, I’m going to see what else Elin’ad has to say about catching our favorite Sith apprentice. We’ll leave as soon as possible.”

"Hey, my stories aren’t that boring, you know"

That should be Jolee's quote. Good as always. I wonder who this Sith is. I hope all will be revealed in the next 2-3 Chapters.

^^^
Speaking for myself, I hope all will be revealed in due course, however many chapters that takes. :D

***gleefully rubs hands together***
So it's Jolee and Jae, off to chase down the nefarious Dycen'a, eh? I eagerly await the next installment of this story to see how this plays out.

I also liked how you had Jolee use one of his stories to illustrate for Jae how force visions/dreams don't lock her onto future paths. One can still do something to control one's own destiny. That part of the chapter really resonated with me.

Sweet another chapter done and soooo addicting :D
Great job Jae. Talin sounds like any tough guy trying not to be a wussy. I like Jolee's being the leader and ordering people around especially Talin. I also liked the story Jolee tells of visions. Reminds me of Andor and Kraat and the whole destiny thing. Yep definitely a Bindo moment :D

^
If Yoda could tell Luke the future was always in motion, I figured Jolee could do that, too. :)

@Pottsie--one of my (many) favorite lines in "The Incredibles" (which is one of the few movies outside of the SW series that I've seen more than once in theaters) is when Mr. Incredible tells the kids, "We'll get there when we get there."
Of course, I liked _everything_ that E had to say, especially when she's showing off the new super-suits to Elastigirl. "Virtually indestructible--" (as missiles and fire are shot at Elastigirl's new Super-suit, E watches with a sick glee as everything blows up) "--yet breathes like Egyptian cotton." :D That is so my sense of humor.

I wasn't happy with Ch. 15. The emergency scene was a little too tame and blah, and after debating whether to add a bunch of potentially confusing med terms but also add more excitement, I decided to go for it. I reworked it quite a bit, and it's definitely longer but more detailed. Hopefully it captures more of the urgency that happens during a trauma.
The show ER is quite accurate in portrayals of emergencies, btw, except for the annoying spinning camera thing that starts to make my head hurt after a while. Makes me want to reach out for the camera man and say 'Hold still, for heaven's sake!' :)

I haven't watched ER since Carter left so I am not up to date. After for years watching it, it kind of fell by the wayside. New favorite is CSI. Still I think you do a terrific job Jae. :)

^
I was done with ER once Mark Green left. When they started really getting away from their original mission of showing life in an ER (which they did really well the first couple of seasons) and started being overly obvious about pushing political agendas, I lost interest.
Oh yeah, CSI is one of my favs, along with Without a Trace and lately, Criminal Minds (I adore Mandy Patinkin--we've seen him twice in concert. Great performer!). I also watch Dog the Bounty Hunter just because it's so darn quirky. Jimbo just shakes his head in wonder at that one.

I'm off to go write the next chap. :)

This is an updated version of Ch. 17. Thanks for the beta, Jiara.

—————————————-

Chapter 17: The Capture

I turned back to look at Talin, whose lips were set in disappointment. “Jolee and I are going to head out in a couple minutes. Do you need anything?”

“No.”

“You’ll be in good hands here. Tarm’ad has excellent medical skills,” I tried to reassure him.

“I know. I’ve watched them at work,” he said quietly, looking away.

“I know you want to go, and it’ll be good to have you back when you’re healed. We made a pretty decent team against all those Sith fighters.”

Talin blinked and focused, then looked at me. “I don’t think you’re going to end up in any kind of duel with Dycen’a being out in space, but, please, you have to listen to me on this in case you do.”

“I’m listening. I’ve learned to have a healthy respect for your lightsaber skills.”

“Dycen’a is very predictable in his fighting style. He’s still new to lightsaber dueling. Even though he uses the dark side to enhance his power, it doesn’t make up for his inexperience. He almost always does flurries, and he uses a lot of the same moves. It didn’t take me long to figure out the forms he uses because they’re so simple.” His agile hands traced the patterns in the air, highlighting the best attacks and countermoves.

I watched intently, determined to memorize every scrap of information. “I’ll make sure to tell Jolee.”

“Mind your stances, too. Stay with the basics—dramatic spins are for holovids. Remember to watch his eyes.”

His urgency surprised me. I laid a hand on his arm to calm him. “Talin, you’ll be fine. We shouldn’t be gone long, and I promise we won’t leave you here.”

“It’s not me I’m worried about. I want you to come back safe.” He held my gaze as he laid his hand on top of mine. The warmth spread from him and flowed through me. No, not again, not those feelings. ‘There is no emotion…’ Jedi training is supposed to stop this—Jolee can’t be right! I can’t risk that heart-splitting pain again when I lose someone…him….

Jolee’s knock on the door caught our attention. Talin held on to my hand a moment longer, reassuring me with that warmth.

“Ready?” Jolee asked evenly.

“Talin was telling me about Dycen’a’s fighting style.”

“Yes, I can see that,” he replied, desert-dry.

I couldn’t stop the flush from spreading across my cheeks, and I turned quickly to Talin. I shook my finger in a feeble attempt to appear stern and in control. “You behave while we’re gone. I’m going to ask Tarm’ad about everything when we get back.”

“Go. Catch him and come back safe. May the Force be with you both.”

* * *

The Accipiter streaked away from the planet as we raced to catch Dycen’a.

Jolee settled into the pilot’s chair after scanning the instruments. “Here’s the plan, Jae. We want him alive and his ship’s too small to board. We’ll have to disable it and force him to land.”

“He doesn’t strike me as the surrendering type.”

“No, he’s not. We’ll probably have to fight him if he comes down uninjured.”

“Talin gave me some pointers about his dueling style just before we left.”

“Don’t know about you, but I don’t recall any styles that involved holding hands with your enemy.”

“Jolee!” I sputtered, heat flushing my face as he grinned. “It’s probably caregiver syndrome. Patients sometimes get infatuated with people who save them. I’m sure it’ll go away when he’s better.”

“What’s your excuse then?”

“Very funny. He was depressed about not being able to go with us. I just thought he needed a friend then.” Jolee looked at me dubiously, cocking an eyebrow. I crossed my arms over my chest. “Why would I encourage that? The man drives me absolutely crazy with his overbearing attitude.”

“Sure. Remind me to play pazaak with you more often. I’ll make a million credits watching your face give away all your secrets.”

“I’m trying to be serious!”

“Look, I don’t know what happened when you had to go bring him back from death’s door, but you gave him a reason to come back. I felt the shift in both of you. Something might happen, something might not, but as long as you both are happy, I’m fine with however it works out. What I do know is that denial is bad, especially for a Jedi. You may as well put a blinking sign above your head that says ‘Jedi lying to herself here.’”

I sat back and closed my eyes. The images of the last few days raced across my vision as I considered what he said. “I don’t know what to think. I’m still trying to sort everything out. So much has happened just in the last two days. I can’t even begin to understand how he can drive me up a wall with his arrogance and yet attract me all at the same time. I never expected to have any feelings like that after Roben. With the Order’s rules on attachments, I hoped that I wouldn’t ever have to deal with it again.”

“Now that’s an honest answer. All I can tell you is that the Order isn’t an escape hatch from life. If you try to run away instead of really living it, you’re going to miss out on so much. Besides, the attraction thing doesn’t have to make sense. Sometimes it just happens. I fell in love with the woman who shot down my ship. Does that make any sense? Of course, she was gorgeous and had fire in her spirit…but I digress. Things sort themselves out with time.” He tapped another button on the control panel and adjusted our course. “Now, tell me what he said about those fighting styles. My mouth is getting dry from all this lecturing.”

Jolee sat back in his chair as I explained, occasionally nodding or asking me a question to clarify a point. “That boy’s good. He caught a couple things I missed. Let’s hope we don’t have to put it to use.”

The proximity alarm beeped as Dycen’a’s ship appeared on our screen. We received silence to our hails to turn around and land. Jolee maneuvered our ship behind him, flying in fast.

“Don’t hit anything critical like the cockpit. We want him to land in mostly one piece,” Jolee ordered.

“Got it. He’s firing!”

Jolee rolled our ship, dodging the blaster fire. I locked in on the engines and shot several rounds. The first round hit the shields. They glowed brightly for a few moments, and then died out. The next rounds hit the ship.

“One of his engines is flaming out,” I said.

“Well, now he doesn’t have a choice about landing. Track him.”

Dycen’a’s ship turned back towards the planet. Li’adan fighters scrambled as we both entered the atmosphere.

“Li’adan control, call your people off. We need Dycen’a alive,” I called.

“We’re ordered to fire,” Control replied.

“Son, that boy’s ship is already flaming out. Just follow him down with us. Unless you feel like explaining yourself to Kiol’ad, who wants him alive if possible.” Jolee keyed off the comm and grinned at me. “Always feel free to take high officials’ names in vain when dealing with the military.”

After a long pause, the comm crackled loudly with a terse reply. “Kiol’ad has ordered us to leave him to you. However, we will shoot him down if he deviates towards the city.”

“Understood. Out,” Jolee replied. He keyed off the comm. “Like he has control over his fighter right now.”

The fighters moved into an escort formation, and we maintained our pursuit. Dycen’a’s ship glowed as it hurtled through the atmosphere, then leveled out. The top exploded off. Jolee pulled up sharply to avoid the debris.

“His ship’s breaking apart!”

“No, he’s ejecting, that damn fool. There’s hardly anything to breathe this high up. Stay on his signature. I’ll circle around.”

Dycen’a was a miniscule blip on the sensor as Jolee turned to follow him. What was left of Dycen’a’s ship broke apart into large chunks that fell in a rain of fire. Dycen’a’s speck on the monitor disappeared. I scrolled through the different sensors, trying to pick up his signal again. “I lost him, Jolee.”

“It’s the heat and debris. Confuses some of the instruments. They can’t tell us everything, anyway. You have to trust your senses, too.”

Jolee landed near the spot we felt Dycen’a was most likely to land. Once on the ground, he surveyed the terrain. “Hmm, forest and fields. If I were a smart Sith, I’d probably hide in the woods somewhere. All the animal activity makes it easier to cloak his signature.”

“Who said he was smart?”

“Well, you’re learning to be sassy now, aren’t you? Never underestimate Sith. Just when you think you’ve got them figured out, they do something new and sneaky. Now, look around and see if we can find anything of his.”

We worked our way across the field, searching for bits of evidence to tell us where he landed.

“There’s a parachute over there.”

“Now we can find his trail.” Jolee slowly paced the area and stopped to finger a tall stem of grass.

“What is it?”

“A broken stalk and the start of some faint tracks.”

“I don’t see much of anything.”

“Look for the alterations in life force in the area. The damaged brush gives a subtly different Force signature. Helps if you’ve learned Wookiee tracking skills like I did. Saved my hind end in the Shadowlands more times than I care to count. Keep alert in the woods—you’ll probably feel the dark side presence before you see him, but not much before. Watch everything.”

We followed those faint tracks far into the forest. We approached a glade, the dark side energy chilling the air. Jolee stopped and cocked his head to listen. I sensed the fear in the animals that skittered away. My heart started to pound in anticipation, and I took a deep breath to suppress the adrenaline. I felt for his presence. He’s there, he’s moving…. Jolee’s lightsaber snapped on a moment before mine.

A breeze brushed across my face. Dycen’a swooped down, lightsaber lit. “Jolee!” I called, ducking a powerful slash.

Dycen’a’s orange saber blazed as it wheeled over my head. Then he drove his blade in hard. I caught his attack and slid my lightsaber down its length. I grazed his chest before he dodged to the side. He grunted with the pain, and his face darkened in fury. His blade blurred with his flurries and I fought to keep up with the rain of blows. When he slashed at my legs, I dropped my blade tip down. His whirling blade stopped but it shot right back at me. The heat burned through my tunic sleeve and singed my arm before I snapped my saber up to stop his attack. Dycen’a’s eyes lost focus for a moment. As I slashed, a wall of Force energy hit and I flew back. The impact with the tree knocked my breath out. Dycen’a jumped towards me. He raised his lightsaber high and chopped down.

Jolee’s saber caught his attack mid-swing. Their blades locked together, and I twisted out of the way. Dycen’a broke loose and attacked Jolee. Their blades crackled loudly with each blow. Jolee sped up his attacks as I joined him, pressing Dycen’a back. Our blades spun and then scissored on Dycen’a’s lightsaber. It flew out of his grasp. He stopped, holding up his hands. I turned off my lightsaber, breathing heavy.

“It’s over, Dycen’a. We don’t want to hurt you,” Jolee said.

“Come with us quietly,” I added, slipping into his mind to persuade him.

He repelled the attempt and glared at me. “I’m not going to live life Joined. You’ll kill me, or you’ll die trying.”

“Why do all the Sith say things like that?” Jolee sighed.

Dycen’a’s eyes narrowed and he smiled thinly. His Force energy flowed. I heard a loud crack and looked up. “Jolee, jump!” I leaped to the side as a large branch crashed down. The smaller branches raked across my back and arm.

Dycen’a leaped away. His lightsaber flew to his hand and he dashed off into the forest.

“Jolee?” I pushed aside leaves, searching frantically. I found him lying under part of the branch, eyes closed. “Oh, Force!”

One eye popped open, then the other. “I’m fine. Just a little stuck. Help me with this branch.”

I breathed out in relief. I helped untangle him and then pulled him up. “He ran off that way,” I pointed.

“Let’s go.”

We sprinted after Dycen’a and gained on him as he crashed through the forest. Then Dycen’a stopped short, arms circling wildly to stop his momentum. He had come up on a deep ravine. He turned to face us, igniting his lightsaber. Jolee and I stood side-by-side, our sabers snapping on again. Dycen’a stepped into an attack stance and started swinging wildly. His blade crashed against ours. My arms shook from the effort to drive back his blows. Jolee circled his blade in towards me, then snapped it back away. Dycen’a slashed sideways to block. Jolee abruptly whirled his blade back under in a feint. Dycen’a’s blade kept flying away, leaving his side exposed. Jolee and I struck him down, and he collapsed at our feet.

Jolee picked up his lightsaber as I kneeled down. “Life signs are still there, but really weak. There’s a lot of damage, too much for me to heal.”

Jolee put a stasis field around him. “It’s too much for both of us. He’s going to need Master healers. Let’s move. We’ll put him in the med pod and send him to Coruscant as soon as we can hit space. The Council will want to talk to him anyway if he survives.”

We double-timed back to the ship with the Li’adan. As we left the woods, I looked up. The sun was gone. Dark clouds filled the sky, lightning flashing.

“Sky looks bad,” I said.

“Let’s move it. I’ve already been through one storm. I don’t want to be in another.” We crossed the field and reached our ship quickly. Jolee started up the ship while I secured Dycen’a in the med pod and activated its stasis field.

“All set?” he asked when I rejoined him.

“The life signs are staying stable.”

“Good. Let’s get out of here before that storm hits us and does something nasty.”

I thought about what the storm would do to the wreckage. “Jolee, turn around. We have to go back.”

“It’s generally not a good idea to fly towards the danger, you know.”

“If that storm hits the ship debris, any evidence will be destroyed. We have to try to get the navcomputer and find out where he’s been.”

“I hate it when you young people are right. Look, you’ve got 5 minutes to find whatever you can, less if I have to call you back.”

Some of the remains were still smoking. I searched through the wreckage and found what was left of the cockpit. The winds started to howl, and the black clouds were lit up with non-stop lightning flashes. The sprinkles of rain turned to drenching sheets.

“Jae, we have to leave now. Sensor shows a tornado coming.”

“I found the navcomputer!”

“Leave it! We won’t be able to fly out of this if we don’t leave now!”

“I just about have it!” The instrument was stuck. I pulled out my lightsaber and severed it from the wreckage.

“Get on the damn ship, Jae!” Jolee ordered.

The booming thunder made it almost impossible to hear him. I crouched low against the wind and flying debris. A meter-wide piece of metal whirled through the air. I threw up a force field. It bounced off, just missing my head. Then the wind intensity dropped, and I realized the ship was blocking the gale. I ran up the ramp into the relative safety.

“About time you decided to listen to me and get back here,” Jolee groused, lifting the ship off the ground. “You look like a drowned tach.”

“Try Wookiee. Drowned tach doesn’t do it justice,” I said, trying to wipe away the rivulets of water pouring down my face.

“Punch in the coordinates for an orbit. We’re going to fly straight up to get out of this storm,” Jolee said, hanging on to the instruments with both hands.

The fierce winds rotated in small funnels around us. The ship bucked as Jolee tried to gain height. “Hang on. We’ll get out of this yet.”

Lightning lit the sky ahead of us. For a moment, I couldn’t breathe. “Oh, Force. Jolee, look. That can’t be what it looks like…”

Jolee uttered several expletives.

Bearing down on our ship was an enormous tornado.

A good Chapter. The Sith has been revealed then. Can't wait for more.

Nice little joke about pazaak. I'm sure Jae is a terrible player if she keeps blushing like that. Good chapter as always Jae and I enjoy reading your fic though I am still trying to figure out how I could have more views than replies on Broken Wounds Heal. My mind is split in two :lol:

^
More views than replies: Lots of people reading, not so many commenting. I'll go read an update/post, but if I don't have the time to read it in depth so that I can make an appropriate comment, I won't leave a reply at that point (and this week I was busy reading the challenge submissions at kotorfanmedia--I entered a short piece there, and the challenge has a short turnaround time to read/comment on the other submissions, so I got a bit behind here).
More replies than views: weird computer glitch.

Yes, I had fun writing that little pazaak comment.
Poor Jimbo has to listen to me get all excited about what my characters are saying or doing:
Me: Hey, do you think Jolee saying that pazaak line is funny? Is Mik'oth smarmy enough?
Jimbo: (trying to sleep because Jae's still writing at 12:30 am and he has to work in the morning) Mmmph. Sure, dear. I think it's wonderful that they have a vaccine for the scourge now.
I posted this before he got to read it, so I know he's going to roll his eyes at me managing to fit tornadoes into a Star wars fic. :D