| ***** "What in the seven furnaces of hell happened to you?!" An-Paj’s eyebrow’s shot up. "Leona…says it’s broken." He hissed through his teeth in pain. "Then it is broken." An-Paj said as he examined the injury with both the force and his own hands. "SITH…it hurts!" Kenobi yelled. "I expect it does." An-Paj said. "I’ve got just the thing." "Does it involve needles?" Kenobi asked warily, guarding his hand from further mishap. "Yup." The healer nodded. "It’ll freeze the area more or less. Then I’m going to put it in a sling. We can take a better look at it when you get back to the temple." He looked at his watch. "If we get back to the temple." He looked in the medi-kit that Leona had brought with her. Yes, there it was. Hypodermic. "I don’t feel well." Obi-Wan mumbled. "It’s nothing to how I imagine you are going to feel when your master catches up with you…" An-Paj switched his gaze to Jemmiah. "And how about you?" He asked gently. "Are you alright?" She said nothing, merely kept her eyes on the floor and nodded. "Right. Well I’ll get you sorted out then, Kenobi. Hold still please." "Leona said it was broken in three places." He grimaced. "Really?" An-Paj said surprised. "Well, you might be interested to know that she was wrong." "That’s a relief." Kenobi screwed his eyes up. "It has four breaks in it." An-Pal tapped the hypodermic a couple of times. "Sith." Obi-Wan muttered. A large shadow cast itself across the padawan. "Oh, Sith indeed." Qui-Gon growled. "What is it?" Meri asked as she hovered nearby the start line that had been chalked hastily on the permacrete. "What are they doing?" "It’s an old Jedi ritual. One that is rarely seen by padawans, so think yourself extremely fortunate to be witnessing this today." Windu said. "Yes, but WHAT?" Meri asked again. "It’s a coming of age ceremony. Like an initiation from padawan to knighthood. You map out a course and tie two people together by one leg. You give ‘em a glass of expensive Florizan Brandy to carry. Then they’ve got to go round the course without spilling a drop." "And do they?" "No. Not usually. The person with the most brandy left in the glass is declared the winner and is exempt from the extremely nasty penalty that is demanded as a punishment for failure. We used to play this game a lot when we’d just been knighted." Windu sighed. "Somehow Qui-Gon always contrived to win it." "And the penalties?" "Don’t ask." Mace said flatly. "We have four challengers." Sal-Fina called out in a clear, crisp voice. "Does anyone else want to take part?" "I’m waiting for you to explain." Qui-Gon breathed dangerously. "There’s nothing to explain." Obi-Wan snapped. "How did you get that injury to your hand?" The master demanded coldly. "Did you hit him?" "I hit the wall instead." Obi-Wan said truthfully. "It’s my own punishment for being stupid." "Stupid for trying to hit him?" Jinn pressed. "No. Stupid for missing him." Obi-Wan spat, barely keeping his anger in check. "If you’re trying to find out if I attacked him and if I was not in control of my actions and basically trying to murder him, the answers in order are yes, no and yes." "Padawan…" Qui-Gon shook his head. "You told me there was nothing I needed to know! You lied to me!" "Calm down…what I told you was true. From a certain point of view." "A certain point of view?" Obi-Wan was incredulous. " You’re standing there giving me a verbal flaying when YOU hit HIM!" "That’s enough!" Qui-Gon hissed. "Are you telling me you didn’t hit him?" "That was his punishment. When a padawan does something wrong his behavior sometimes needs to be corrected." "You never heard what he said! What he was trying to get her to do!" Obi-Wan swallowed his ire. "When was this?" Qui-Gon looked uncertain for the first time. "Just now, in the alley." Kenobi raised his head indignantly. "If you had you would be out there just now helping Leona, Rela and the others instead of objecting to me taking a swipe at him." "What are they doing?" Jinn looked alarmed. "If they’ve got any sense they’ll break his neck." Obi-Wan glanced at Jemmiah, who hadn’t looked anyone in the eye or spoken a single word since the fight had been broken up. "Why don’t you ask her what he said?" "Jemmiah?" Qui-Gon asked. He received no acknowledgement. Qui-Gon felt doubt tug at him for the first time since he had began his lecture. She’d been crying, that much was obvious. That in itself was enough to make him take note." Are they still in the alley?" He asked eventually. Kenobi nodded and then yelped as he felt the ice-cold injection begin to work. "There’s not a lot I can do other than immobilize it until I can treat it properly with bone knitters." An-Paj said. "And for what my humble opinion’s worth, as a healer I can’t condone your action, nor as a Jedi." He started to sort out the sling. "As a father and a human being I have to say that I would probably have had the little vrelt split from sternum to crotch." "Ask Rela. She’ll back me up." Obi-Wan said in disgust. "I intend to." Qui-Gon answered, looking his apprentice squarely in the face. "Does it hurt?" "Not as much as it did." Kenobi mumbled. "Good. Look after Jemmiah. I’m going to find Healer Leona and see what she has to say about all this." He put a large hand on Jemmiah’s shoulder. "I won’t be long." Obi-Wan watched him leave, a sour expression on his face. "I’m glad I can use either hand to hold an ale glass." He said irreverently to An-Paj. "I’m going to get another drink." So preoccupied was Obi-Wan with his bandaged arm that the force completely failed to alert him of the bottle that fate had casually left to roll underneath his right foot. An-Paj was left once again to wonder why it seemed that some people were almost permanent patients in his care, as Kenobi went flying backwards. Trying to protect his injured arm he put out his other one to save himself. An-Paj heard the crunch from yards away. He sighed. "Make that five broken bones." Qui-Gon paused briefly at the back exit of the dingy cantina. His feelings were well and truly mixed. His padawan did possess a quick temper but had learned with the passage of time to control it. Or so he had thought. It did not please Qui-Gon in the least to discover how easily Obi-Wan had let himself be goaded into violent action. When this whole evening was over there was going to be a lengthy discussion about the dangers of willingly succumbing to hatred. And yet Qui-Gon knew Obi-Wan well enough to feel certain that such action would only have been taken if his apprentice had been severely provoked. The exact nature of the provocation was what he was attempting to find out. He stretched out with the force, trying to get a feeling for the situation around him. Anger and outrage mixed with a certain degree of satisfaction seemed to be prevalent. It was superseded only by the acute pain that came flooding from the direction of the alleyway Obi-Wan had mentioned. From back in the cantina Qui-Gon felt distinct discomfort emanate from his padawan as An-Paj continued to treat the young man with his usual efficiency. From Jemmiah he could only feel…numbness. Shock. He spurred himself onwards in his personal quest for the truth. Questions formed in his mind, such as what on Coruscant had persuaded Healer Leona and Rela to get themselves mixed up in this whole affair? And Lilith and Krelo too? Rela had known Jemmiah for a long while now. They seemed to possess many similar characteristics and he knew of Jemmiah’s sneaking admiration for Rela. Both had been put through the masher and then some, so he supposed it was not unnatural for her to stick up for her friend. In the same way Krelo was Lilith’s friend and would back her up if she felt there was some justification. Lilith herself bothered him. He’d watched her keeping a keen eye on Jemmiah all night, and whilst he’d been grateful in the extreme he couldn’t help but wonder if there was some ulterior motive behind it all, other than merely helping out a fellow Corellian… Leona was a healer. That she would be party to any further violence was unthinkable to Qui-Gon. She’d impressed him very much in the last few hours. The infirmary should consider itself lucky indeed to have such a compassionate being working for them. He saw them returning from the darkened alleyway in groups of two. Krelo was speaking to Lilith in hushed tones whilst Jinn could easily make out the sly contentment that reposed on Captain Demodae’s features. Behind them, Leona and Rela seemed more guarded in their mannerisms. Leona spotted him first and gave a nervous gulp. "Master Jinn." she stammered. "I didn’t think that…" "That I’d come out to see for myself the damage that my padawan has inflicted on Padawan Harkley?" Finished Qui-Gon. "Surely you must have realized that I would be interested in getting to the bottom of this whole unpleasant affair." "Unpleasant is an understatement." Rela snapped, surprising him with her vehemence. "Personally, I would have done exactly what Obi-Wan did and a little bit more. He was only so restrained because he broke his hand when that snakespit dodged at the last moment." "Restrained?" Qui-Gon couldn’t believe her words. "If that’s what my padawan is like, what condition is Master Berlingside’s padawan in?" "Don’t worry, Leona healed the little Florizan Weasel." Lilith stared at him balefully. "Not that he deserved it." Qui-Gon shot Leona a thankful glance, which caused her to blush. "You might not be so grateful when you hear what WE did to him." Lilith couldn’t resist cracking her fingers. "What gave you the right to do anything?" Qui-Gon queried. "Because you wouldn’t have." Rela remarked icily. "Do you really think that one thump on his jaw is going to teach him anything? Because I’m warning you, he’ll cause more trouble for her. You should go to the council and have him thrown out." "It’s no more than he deserves." Krelo sided with the young girl. "I can’t do that." Qui-Gon replied. "Because of Dex? Qui-Gon, he’s the one who is going to suffer if you keep this hidden from him. Kryztan will think he’s won and…" "It’s not about winning. It’s about consideration to others and giving people a second chance. There is a possibility that Kryztan will come to regret his actions tonight, heinous as they are. He’s a little drunk and…" "Garbage." Rela said in an annoyed tone. "If you had heard what he said to her, and how he had said it, you wouldn’t be quite so keen to show all that compassion. Let’s face it. He’s scum." "And what did he say?" Jinn asked warily. If Rela’s head for numbers was legendary, her head for remembering words and phrases was equally impressive. She started to reel off every word, every inflection of Harkley’s smooth tones, from the point where she and Obi-Wan had entered the alley. Starting with his admission of stalking her for some months and his base threats of blackmail and slanderous insults. "I believe he said he could ‘make life very uncomfortable’ for her." Rela looked at him pointedly. "He also went on to suggest that there was some weird guy out looking for her who was going to come and get her. He said he could be anywhere, just waiting his chance, and that ‘a person could easily disappear in the backstreets and never be seen again’. What’s that if it’s not a threat?" She finished with a glare. Qui-Gon grimaced. It had been Jemmiah's overriding fear since he had brought her back six years ago. Somehow, Kryztan had known it and contrived to make it work against her. If there was one thing that Qui-Gon couldn’t abide over anything else it was emotional torture. "How did he find out?" He asked. "He said he heard you discussing the matter with his master." Rela scowled. So, Jinn thought grimly, he was an eavesdropper, too. "I’m telling you, if you don’t get the council to squash this insect you are sooooooo gonna regret it later." Rela complained bitterly. Qui-Gon thought of Obi-Wan’s damaged hand, and somehow found his anger to have completely evaporated. "You healed him, you say?" Jinn looked at Leona. "Yes." She glanced at the ground. "What was the matter with him?" He asked. "Nothing a pair of tree pruners wouldn’t cure." Growled Rela. "Bruising and cuts mostly." Leona replied. "It hardly seems fair." Qui-Gon said. "My apprentice ends up with a broken hand and he receives only cuts and bruises." "I can assure you he’s got more than a few cuts and bruises now." Lilith spoke up. Qui-Gon nearly laughed. He was quite sure the big Corellian woman had been very thorough. If she punched as passionately as she kissed, Kryztan would be in BIG trouble. "Where is he?" He asked eventually. "We left him being violently sick by a rain barrel." Krelo said dryly, pointing the direction. Jinn nodded and walked slowly in Kryztan’s direction. "I think we ladies should go and get ourselves some refreshment at the next cantina." Krelo watched the tall master disappearing round the corner. "Yes," Rela permitted herself a thin smile. "Qui-Gon’s got this under control." As it happened Kryztan wasn’t too hard to spot. He was, as Lilith had intimated, a bit of a mess; hardly the immaculate and spotless image he usually presented. When he sensed Qui-Gon’s presence the young man nearly stopped breathing. "Feeling well, Harkley?" Jinn asked the cowering padawan. He received no answer other than the waves of genuine terror that were rolling off him. "No?" Qui-Gon wondered. "Well, that’s no surprise. You know, you look like you’ve been worked over by a large gang of rampaging Wolfmen." Kryztan just stared, trembling. "Are you afraid of me, Harkley?" Jinn questioned. The blonde padawan nodded slowly, careful of his split lips. Qui-Gon moved to within feet of him. "Good." He said. Qui-Gon watched dispassionately as the boy retched in the corner yet again. There were no doubts that he was going to have a hard time explaining this one away to his master. "When you have an animal in your care that is in need of teaching and disciplining, you do it gently and with understanding. Are you in need of understanding, Kryztan?" Harkley swallowed and nodded again. "Master Quirida-Xac once owned a large and unruly Korrassi Tree Pup that wouldn’t be housetrained no matter what he did. Do you know how he taught it to regulate itself?" No answer. "He picked it up and rubbed its face in the mess it left on the floor. It soon learned in what areas of the apartment it was welcome in." Kryztan shuddered and Qui-Gon grabbed him firmly by the collar. "You are going to stay away from Jemmiah. You are going to stop following her, do you understand me? You will not try to cause any trouble for her or my padawan, because if you do and I get to hear of it, there will be more gentle disciplining," he broke off as he rubbed Kryztan’s face in his own pile of vomit, "starting with a mild rebuke and working its way up in scale to my throwing you out of a balcony." "I’m glad we understand one another." Qui-Gon let go of the sick stained apprentice. "Because I would’ve really hated to have to show you what I would have done with my lightsabre." He activated the glowing green blade with the familiar snap-hiss sound that every Jedi knew and waved it elegantly from side to side, eyeing Kryztan intently. "Think about it." He said before deactivating the weapon once more, and turning on his heel and walking back to the cantina. He was glad to be able to step back inside the darkened, smoke filled rooms in search of his injured padawan. There were still many issues to be discussed between them, and no doubt they would be covered in meticulous detail and thoroughness, but he no longer felt the urge to shout at the boy. There were no qualms in Qui-Gon’s mind that he had by far the better deal when he had accepted Obi-Wan as his padawan learner. Dexy’s troubles were just beginning… "Obi-Wan?" Jinn tried to locate An-Paj, expecting to find his apprentice with the master healer, his hand neatly bandaged and tended to. His mouth dropped when he saw Obi-Wan sporting a sling on not just one, but both arms. "Padawan? What happened?" Qui-Gon blinked in astonishment. "He’s set a new record." An-Paj stated wearily. He’d only been gone for ten minutes, after all! ***** Leona was pleased as she followed Rela into the Corellia Spirit. Unlike the dark, dank atmosphere of Hell's Chance, this cantina was a stark contrast. More brightly lit then the last establishment, its owners obviously proud to display it's clean, well-kept interior. A needed change of environment, Leona thought with no small amount of relief. Watching Krelo and Lilith saunter to the bar, the small healer couldn't help but envy the way the statuesque women seemed to have already put behind them the nastiness of their recent business. Talking and laughing with those around them, including Dex Berlingside, the women gave no hint as to anything amiss. Leona, on the other hand, was not quite ready for any conversation with Kryztan's master and from the look on Rela's face, she too seemed uncomfortable with the prospect. In unspoken agreement, both Leona and Rela made their way to the far side of the bar, squeezing into a small vacant space. "What can I get you ladies?" the barman stepped up to them. "A Flame-out please" Leona considered for a moment then added, "and a whiskey." Rela raised a questioning eyebrow at the healer. "Something strong to rid this unpleasant taste in my mouth." Leona explained. Rela nodded in understanding, wistfully thinking how nice it would be to be able to numb her own recollections of tonight's unpleasantness. "Muja Fruit Cocktail." she told the man. This time it was Leona's turn to gaze questioningly at Rela. "I gave up drinking years ago." she told the healer noncommittally. Holding her whiskey up, Leona offered a toast. "To a night with no more troubles." Rela glanced around the room as she raised her own glass. "No more troubles." Rela agreed, though her voice didn't sound as hopeful as the healer's. Holding her breath, Leona threw back her head, downing the whiskey in one uneasy gulp, her face grimacing, her eyes screwed closed. Instantly her throat was on fire, and she choked as the liquor's path burned all the way down, spreading its warmth through her stomach. Watching as the healer's face began to relax Rela smiled. "Feeling better?" she asked. "Yes very much, thank you." Leona coughed out a reply. "You know I couldn't help but notice you're wearing Qui-Gon's robe." Rela asked with interest. "Oh, this." Leona smiled shyly, her hand unconsciously brushing the robe. "I had a little accident with my dress and he was kind enough to offer me use his robe." Rela returned her smile, a thought suddenly striking her. "There's a tailor shop two doors down from here. I bet we could get the proprietor to fix your dress up in no time at all." Rela suggested. "Oh, no." Leona startled, clinging possessively to the long garment. "There's no need for that. I can wait till tomorrow. Then I can return it after its been laundered." Rela merely shrugged, grinning into her glass. I'd bet one hundred credits that she sleeps in that robe tonight. Rela thought to herself highly amusement. "Rela" a voice called through the crowd. "Where has Jemmiah disappeared to?" Spider asked walking up to the bar. "I'm sure they'll be along any minute." Rela answered without further elaboration. Leona stared openly at the rather striking young woman who had joined them. Not meaning to be rude, she still couldn't take her eyes off the large tattoo the girl sported on her shoulder. Whether it was the alcohol she had been drinking or the way the girl moved it really looked as though the large fur spider was moving. The healer couldn't help but pull back from the sight of it. Taking notice of the woman's blatant gaze, Spider leaned in closer. "Don't like spiders?" she asked with a distasteful frown. "No, not at all." Leona said apologetically. "It's just that...ah...I...ah..." "You fear them." Spider now smiled. That was one of the things Spider loved about the many animals she collected. As small as many of them were, they still managed to strike fear into the hearts of beings bigger, stronger and more intelligent then themselves. "You know, they say the best way to treat a phobia is to confront it." the wild-haired girl said. "I could take you to my place and in a manner of hours I bet we could work out that silly fear of yours." Spider leaned down to the healer's ear, "I have the largest assortment of arachnids in captivity." she whispered. Leona couldn't suppress the shudder that ran through her. Seeing it, both Rela and Spider chuckled aloud. "That's quite ok. I think I'll stick to meditation." the Jedi healer reddened visibly. "So where's Mace?" Rela asked, changing the subject. "Oh, he's around here someplace. Still trying to remove my little gift I'm sure." Spider proudly said. "There he is." Rela, giggled, pointing to the tall man walking from the refresher. The Jedi Council member's tunic hung askew, the sash that normally held it in place now taking residence a top his head. He had wound the long strip of material around his head in a decidedly poor imitation of a turban in effort to hide the garish tattoo on his forehead. ***** Lilith was waiting just inside the door when Jemmiah and Obi-wan arrived at the next bar. The blond woman took the girl aside, promising the young man that she would return his date in just a moment. Lilith took in the dried tears on Jemmiah's cheeks and the hunched look to her posture and mentally berated herself for letting that kriffing slime off as easy as she had. "I've heard some of the things he said to you, girl. Don't you take them to heart. From what I've heard you've had a hard childhood and you've made some mistakes. But you don't learn from life without mistakes and from what I've seen, you don't make any mistake more than once." Those muddy green eyes, so recently hard with anger and malice, were soft with understanding and sympathy. "You're Corellian, girl. We're meant to push the boundaries, test our limits and the limits of those around us. It's in our genetics and our culture. Don't ever regret that and don't ever let anyone look down at you for it." One large hand reached out and gently tipped Jemmiah's chin up. "And do not ever let them make you feel ashamed of yourself. You don't deserve that." Demodae's eyes glinted again and her voice roughened. "And if that miscreant ever, and I do mean ever, bothers you again, tell Krelo. She knows how to find me." Lilith's gaze drilled into Jemmiah's with deadly seriousness. "He'll never bother you again after that. And they'll never find the body." Lilith gave the girl a firm nod, a soft squeeze on her shoulder and then steered her back towards Obi-wan who was sitting waiting for her at the bar. ***** Qui-Gon walked over to Jemmiah. "We've not spoken since we left the last cantina." He said, placing the familiar steadying hand on her shoulder. "Do you mind if I ask what Captain Demodae had to say?" Jemmiah opened her mouth to speak and found that the words just weren’t prepared to flow. "It doesn’t matter." Jinn watched the struggle on her face and decided not to press her. "Just promise me one thing. If Kryztan or anyone else for that matter so much as tries something like that again, you will come and tell me immediately. Promise me." He insisted gently. She nodded, still not sure of her ability to speak without further tears. "Good." Qui-Gon smiled. "There’s no need to be ashamed." Jemmiah shook slightly as she remembered Lilith saying almost the same thing to her only moments earlier. "I’m not ashamed." She managed to get out at last. She stared up at Qui-Gon and her face took on an almost dangerous look. "I’m Sith angry!" "That’s not surprising." Qui-Gon tried to soothe but she was having none of it. "Not with HIM," she hissed, "with me. Look at me!" She pointed at her running make up and tear stained face. "How could I think of letting anyone see me like this? Sith, I need a mirror." She started to rummage through her bag. In the background, Lilith smiled as she watched her. Obi-Wan walked over to his master, looking thoroughly miserable. He wanted a drink but he couldn’t hold the glass. He wanted to give Jemmiah a hug but he couldn’t because of his bandaged arms. He wanted… "Master, I need to go to the fresher." He gulped, embarrassed. "Well, don’t look at me." Jemmiah frowned as she tried to reapply her make up. "On certain planets you can get arrested for that sort of thing." "I’m not sure I can manage." Obi-Wan insisted. "Can’t you hold on a little longer?" Qui-Gon asked. "No, I can’t." Kenobi was adamant. Jemmiah smiled for the first time in a good while as an idea came to her. "Looks like you’ll just have to reach out with the force…" She said. |
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| A Night to (almost) Remember |
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