| ***** "Our sneak-thief has taken the bait." An-Paj shot out of his seat is if burned. Grabbing his cloak, he hastily made his way across the marble floor, footsteps echoing as he moved towards the direction of the storeroom. Got you now Cates, he thought, you thieving little vrelt. Not that An-Paj didn't like his padawan. He was in most respects a hard working, indeed almost over-zealous individual, whose first concern was usually with his patients. Except that recently, his mind had been elsewhere altogether. The healer had no direct proof that Simeon had been stealing the medicinal alcohol from the stores, but it did seem a likely bet. There was no telling how long it had being going on for, as whoever was responsible covered their trail fairly meticulously. But this time, An-Paj would put a stop to it once and for all. He grinned. It had been one of Yoda's more enterprising ideas. Hurrying towards his colleague who was awaiting An-Paj's arrival, he subconsciously rubbed his hands in glee. He would need proof of guilt. And this time he would have it. I'll show you what true misery's really like, Simeon. By the time Yoda and I are finished with you, you'll be begging to go to Bandomeer. Ferdi Xadaani met him by the door. "Look. He's replaced it with a flagon of water." she smiled. "Oldest trick in the book." "Hmmm." nodded An-Paj. "He won't be up to playing tricks of any kind for a long time, let me tell you." She looked at him suspiciously. "What have you done?" "It was Yoda's idea, really. I can't take any credit." He smiled enigmatically. "I informed our resourceful friend that we had a thief in our midst, and he suggested that we add a little something to make his drink a bit more interesting. Oh, nothing harmful, I assure you. In small doses, it'll just give him a bit of a green-ish coloring. And maybe a slight belly ache." She stared at An-Paj. "How did you know he'd take the right one?" "I doctored the lot." An-Paj said simply. "There's plenty more where that came from." Padawan Healer Dimallie caught up with them outside the door. "Did it work?" she breathed in anticipation. "Apparently so. Provided you dosed them as I said, I think we'll have no problems picking the guilty party out." "Oh, yes," she smiled, delighted at being able to assist the great An-Paj, "I put in three heaped spoonfuls of Sandolomide, just as you said." "Between all the flagons?" An-Paj somehow felt the need to reassure himself. He had a very bad feeling... "No...in each of them. Wasn't that what you wanted?" Alarm seemed to root her tongue to the roof of her mouth. "In each of them." repeated An-Paj. "Yes." she swallowed. An hour seemed to pass as An-Paj stared ahead of him at nothing in particular. Finally, he pulled out his com-link. "Master Yoda? I think we have a problem." ********************************************* "Bad news, this is." Yoda frowned. "Indeed, Master." "Harmful, it is?" "Master, not to put too fine a point on it, if he drinks the whole lot he's going to be up there flying with the Mynocks. I warned you how strong it was." "True, this is." "Not to mention the fact that the coloring will probably take months to fade from his skin." "Serve him right, it will!" "Maybe. But Master, I am a healer. I'm supposed to make people better, not make them ill. I'm sure the Jedi council has rules against poisoning padawans." "Know some who would benefit from it, I do." muttered Yoda. "Master?!" "Joking, I was." An-Paj pursed his lips. "I hadn't really expected to have to do another padawan stomach pumping exercise, which is what this is going to turn out to be if we can't get hold of Master Jinn and Master Windu." He cut the connection off quickly. It was not one of the most glorious moments in An-Paj's glittering career. Yoda snorted, annoyed. Yet another person had put him on their hit list. He decided that now would be a very good time to practice that cough he was trying earlier... *********************************************** "This thing's getting very hot." Windu complained. "I don't know what to do." The keeper wrung his hands. A small gathering had congregated around the stricken Jedi, initiates, visitors and keepers. There were infact more keepers in the enclosure than Murrits, all equally at a loss, all sharing words of encouragement and hope with the unfortunate Master. All completely useless. It'd been over an hour since the damned thing had glued itself to his head, but still Mace didn't panic. He knew that Qui-Gon would be able to help him. He had a rapport with creatures of all kinds. He was strong in the living force. He'd know what to do. He had to know. Force, somebody had to know! "I'm so sorry," apologized the keeper for the thousandth time. "We've run out of ideas... I mean, we've tried coaxing it with it's favorite food, but you can remember the effect that had..." "YES, thank you." Hissed Mace. "But I'm sure the stain will come off your robe, and the zoo has offered to pay for any cleaning bills incurred..." "YES!" "We just don't know what to do." He finished lamely again. "I do." came an overly cheerful, lilting voice. "There's a man outside the enclosure with a holocam. I say we hire him and take some photo's!" "Jemmiah!?" Windu yelled. The Murrit began to dig its claws in his head in retaliation for all the noise. "DAMNATION, this things really beginning to get on my..." "Don't say it Master Windu," smiled Jemmy, "You have an audience of at least twenty five, not including your children here, and it's growing all the time." She paused and looked about. "And by the time the news reporters get here..." "Reporters!" "Oh, yes. I should have thought so." Jemmiah walked round him. "It's not every day you see such a high ranking Jedi from the temple in a situation where..." "ALRIGHT!" He counted to ten. "I'll be fine once Qui-Gon gets here." She smiled lop-sidedly. "I must say, this is a new look for you Mace. Or is it an old one? Very becoming." "You're really not helping." "Nice perfume, too." He aimed a pretend kick at her. The Murrit growled. Jemmy shrugged. "I only spotted your little group by chance. I was trying to stay out of Master Jinn's way." Mace felt his head growing heavier and heavier..."Can't you do something?" "Me? What can I do that twenty five trained zoo keepers can't?" "How about whatever it is you do that's got Padawan Kenobi so enraptured." He growled. "Oh, yes." she frowned. "That reminds me. I've been round this place so many times but without any success. Where's the Gurnaf area, do you know?" "Why?" "I'm s'posed to meet Ben." Despite himself, and the fact that nobody could see it, Windu grinned nastily. "Ben, is it now?" Jemmiah went scarlet. "It's always been Ben! I just don't say it infront of old Master Frosty!" "As for where the Gurnaf area is, I'm not in much of a position to be seeing anything." He grumbled behind his curtain of Murrit hair. "Well, I'd better leave you to it, then," she said archly, and began to walk away. "Jemmiah," called Windu after her, "If you see Qui-Gon, tell him please to move his rear down in this direction please." Mace could almost see the predatory grin on her face, and somehow, he knew it was not going to bode well for him. "Oh, yes." she giggled. "I did see Master Jinn, but for his part he did seem very preoccupied with his official escort." "Escort?" She told him. I AM SO DEAD, thought Mace. The hope he had been feeling earlier had completely deflated. A feeling of claustrophobia, accompanied by the sound of a contented Murrit sigh replaced it. He tried counting to ten again, but only got as far as four before the panic he had so resolutely fought kicked in full blast. "WILL SOMEBODY PLEASE GET QUI-GON JINN!!!! ********************************************* "Look, I'm telling you the truth." Qui-Gon Jinn could not believe the bizarre, not to mention downright embarrassing turn for the worse his fortune had taken in the last hour or so. His eyes were shut tight in a mixture of disbelief and frustration. No matter what he did, or how he explained it, his questioners were not interested in learning the truth. It was a closed subject; as far as they were concerned, he was guilty as charged. And he was deep in Bantha dung. At the back of his mind, several strains of thought seemed to crash off one another simultaneously, causing a dread to spill over into his present predicament. A lot was going on here... Mace Windu sometimes managed to find trouble in the most unusual circumstances. Obi-Wan seemed to attract it like a magnet! And Jemmiah...she had a tendency to court trouble as if it were a way of life! The thought made Qui-Gon edgy. The fact that she was here had to be more than a mere coincidence and he didn't like it one little bit. Then of course, there was the problem of the missing child. Yoda would be heartily displeased. The temple could not afford another scandal, after that "indecent exposure" incident. Qui-Gon would never get onto the Jedi council now. He smiled. Something good had come from today's little escapade after all. He brushed the thought away from his mind and reprimanded himself for allowing it to surface in such a potentially crucial situation. He was forever admonishing his Padawan for not focusing on the present, and here HE was, allowing the force currents not merely to guide him but to plague him with those infernal "bad feelings" his apprentice seemed to complain of on a regular basis. Qui-Gon wrapped himself within the living force and breathed deeply. The bad feeling remained. His tormentors looked at him scathingly from across a small table, clearly trying to intimidate him. "Sure," said the burly, balding man who had helped to march him to the detention area. "You're a Jedi. So you keep saying." He gestured to another of the on duty security men standing behind his shoulder, making little circular movements by the side of his head. "We've got a right lunatic here, Charnan." "Looks like it." grinned the other man, who seemed to be enjoying the whole affair. The burly man leaned back in towards Qui-Gon. "Know what I think?" "Tell me." sighed Jinn. "I think that if YOU'RE a Jedi", he waved to a nearby enclosure outside of the building, "I'M a pile of Gundark manure." "Interesting point of comparison." Qui-Gon said neutrally. "Don't get smart, mister. You're in plenty of trouble as it is without digging a deeper hole for yourself. We don't much care for child abductors on Coruscant." "Nor should you. But I'm not a child abductor," Qui-Gon repeated for the umpteenth time, "I'm a..." "A Jedi knight." The security man interrupted. "Yes, we've heard it all before." "And yet you don't believe me." The man folded his arms and sat back in his chair, studying him. "No way are you a Jedi. You're hair's far to long. Whoever heard of a Jedi with long hair? Any longer and you could be mistaken for my sister. Minus the beard, of course." Qui-Gon's irritation grew stronger at the flippancy. "Why won't you listen to me?" The security man scratched an armpit, considering. "OK. If you're a Jedi knight, then you could say, for example...levitate that crate of frozen fish out in the yard there." Qui-Gon looked out the window to where two workers were helping unload a transport of its crates. "I could." He replied placidly, looking directly at the man's face. "Well, go on then." Jinn shook his head. "That would be a frivolous use of the force." The man smirked. "Is that right? All right, then. How about we contact the Jedi temple and ask them if they're missing a Jedi master?" Qui-Gon tried to push down the growing bile he felt gathering in his stomach. There was no way he wanted ANYONE at the temple to find out. Especially not Yoda. "I'd rather you didn't." He replied, some of the famous Jinn cool beginning to evaporate. "I wonder why." The man stood up and walked towards his colleague, motioning him to one side. "I think you'd better call for a head doctor." He whispered. "What, you think he's one dancing girl short of a Hutt's harem?" "Something like that. Just call them and get them to pick him up as soon as possible. There's something very strange about this one. Gives me the creeps." "Maybe that's because he's a Jedi." laughed the other. Qui-Gon levered himself from his chair. "Look, gentlemen. I think I know a way I can convince you..." The men turned round together, just in time to see Qui-Gon reach into his robe and pull out the lightsabre he had been carrying. "Now would I be carrying one of these if I wasn't..." "Look out sir, he's armed!" came a cry from Qui-Gon's left. He wheeled round in time to meet the impact square on in the chest, as another security man ran in and launched a flying tackle at the Jedi. The two of them fell together to the ground. Qui-Gon was completely winded. He tried to use the force to recover as quickly as possible, but breath was still not coming to him readily. He shook his head to try to regain his wits. His tackler should have been a professional Smashball player, judging by the strength behind that leap. "Good work Dodds." The burly man said, before facing his colleague once more. "Have you got Alderaani treacle for brains? Didn't it occur to you to search this maniac, Charnan?" "No sir." mumbled the younger man, downcast. "How did you ever get a job in this place?" The first man threw up his hands wildly. "Don't know, sir." "Neither do I." He glanced over at Qui-Gon. "Restrain him. I don't want any more little..." That was as far as he got. Qui-Gon, who'd been recovering slowly, had had more than enough. If they wanted to see the force in action, he thought, he'd give them a demonstration they'd never forget. The door flew open as if by magic. Qui-Gon called his lightsabre to his hand from out of Charnan's sweaty grasp. If this display of telekinesis had impressed them, they never got the chance to show their appreciation. Qui-Gon picked the burly security man up with the force and levitated him some ten feet off the ground. The terror the man experienced at his sudden loss of contact with terra firma seemed to overrule his vocal chords, as only the merest of frightened, childish squeaks came from his throat. But Qui-Gon hadn't finished. He marched through the open doorway and into the outside yard, the man still levitating some three feet above now, swinging his arms frantically in a vague flapping motion. Jinn couldn't help but smile. Across the yard he walked, and onwards towards the Gundark enclosure. And then stopped. Dangling momentarily in mid air the security man was hoisted suddenly upwards, then over the force barrier, and finally dropped from what Qui-Gon thought was a reasonable height into the awaiting heap of Gundark waste material piled in a great, triangular stack. Qui-Gon stood back to examine his handiwork for a moment. Then he turned to the two other guards who had followed him out into the yard. "I think we've established beyond doubt what I am." He said simply, eyebrow raised. He clipped his lightsabre onto his belt. "I think we've also established what your friend is, too." Thus saying, Qui-Gon turned and walked away. The two men just stared with open mouths as the tall Jedi left with no further words, walking purposely away in the direction they had brought him. They followed him with their eyes, watching as he was met some ten seconds later by a little boy, holding a young woman's hand, and a very large and angry looking man. The little boy pointed at the Jedi. After some furious gesturing and swearing they heard a cry of "I'll teach you to abduct innocent children", followed by the sound of a meaty fist connecting with the face of the other man. After a brief look of satisfaction, the angry man pulled his family away from the stunned Jedi master and began to walk in the opposite direction, leaving a bruised and bloody Qui-Gon Jinn sitting on the permacrete, wondering how the hell he was going to explain his already visible black eye to Obi-Wan. ************* Sitting on the bench watching the initiates fighting amongst themselves, Obi-Wan and Simeon Cates shared their misfortunes with each other over frequent nips from the hip flask that Simeon had produced. It occurred to Obi-Wan to wonder if Simeon was a trifle unsteady...and perhaps just a little, well, green around the gills, as it were. And then he wondered if he were fairing any better. Master Qui-Gon will kill me if he thinks I'm molassed, he thought, smiling at his use of the Corellian slang for "nicely drunk, thank you." And where was Jemmy, anyhow? "Hey, Obi," slurred Simeon. "You know how you can tell if you're in for a good night's fun with your girl?" Obi-Wan wasn't sure he needed any advice from Simeon when it came to the subject of the fairer sex, but nodded for him to go on. "Check her shoes." Obi-Wan blinked. "Her shoes?" "Yeah," Simeon hiccuped a little. He looked more than a little unsteady, Obi-Wan decided. "Or her boots. Footwear." He bent over and waved futilely at his toes. "If she's wearing shoes with kind of pointed toes, you're on to a certain thing." Obi-Wan couldn't quite get the logic. "Sorry?" he asked, baffled. "It's symbolic." "It is?" "Yeah. It says I WANT YOU. If she's wearing black shoes or boots with large, chunky heels, you're doing very well. If they're shiny shoes, you're doing even better." Obi-Wan frowned. "What if they're shiny black shoes or boots with chunky heels and pointed toes? What does that say?" Simeon grinned lasciviously. "It says "Tell Master Jinn that I won't be home until the wee, small hours." The older Padawan shook his head. "Where did you get that garbage from?" "Padawan Dimallie. She's a font of completely useless information." "She's also very pretty." "Yup. Pity she's so dashed thick. She's got the brains of a Nerf." Obi-Wan let that pass. "I'll tell you what all that symbolic stuff says," replied Simeon, picking up his flask, "It means that we should have another drink." Kenobi sighed. "There's too much blood in my alcohol stream." No. That wasn't right, was it? Never mind. He wasn't going fret over a few little words. He watched Simeon turn the flask upside down and then wave it about. "Damn. Finished it." He said with irritation. Cates reached into his robe once more, before producing yet another identical hip flask. "Nevermind," he said to Obi-Wan as he unstopped it, "Lots more where that came from." He took a long swallow from the flask. "May the force be with you, my friend!" ********** Mace could feel rather than see the ever-growing presence of the onlookers on both sides of the Murrit enclosure, catching the hushed muttering and covert whispers from the gathering crowds. And the laughter. Oh, he'd heard THAT all right. It was extremely difficult, he thought, to retain any semblance of dignity when you had a large, smelly creature composed almost entirely of hair trying to win the Coruscant Zoo Parent of the decade award by taking up residence where he wasn't wanted. And Mace had to hand it to this fellow; he'd really forged a strong relationship with the top of his head. Every few seconds, the Jedi’s thoughts turned to Qui-Gon Jinn. Like where was he now? Where was the missing child? And how long would it be before Mace could give him a good kicking? Damn him for leaving him like this! All he'd done was shown a little bit of enterprise, and what did he get for all his pains? A furry ass hanging over his face. He hadn't realized initially which end was which, but any confusion on the matter ended very swiftly for him when the keepers had, after huddling in a tight scrum to discuss their plans - not that they seemed to have any - retreated round his back with a large stem of Dilarberries to tempt it off his head. But the greatest plans of Murrits and men seemed doomed to go spectacularly awry when the berries had produced the inevitable consequences. Yes, if he'd had any doubts about what end he was facing, they stopped there. His one consolation was that nobody could see his face. That had seemed such a long time ago now, and Windu cursed with all his might his ill luck. It happened every time he and Qui-Gon went out socially. They would both get into trouble, yet Qui-Gon would always come out smelling of rose petals. He always came out smelling of... In this case, quite literally. More ruminations from the keepers drifted his way, but from what Mace could gather they didn't seem to have any new light to shed on the case. His nosed twitched, and he felt the urge to sneeze. Trust me to be allergic to Murrit hair, he thought. Despite his quivering nose, Mace thought he could smell something other than Murrit hair and excrement and the faint brush in his mind of another presence just by his shoulder. A non-Jedi mind. "Why are you still here?" he spat, fury coloring his voice at the continued torment that only this particular being could bring. Jemmiah pouted. "That's nice, I must say." Ever since the keepers had let her in to the enclosure, Jemmy's inventive Corellian mind had been working overtime to come up with a solution to Mace's problem. She liked Mace. Even if she liked the new hairy Mace even better. "I thought you could do with some moral support." He swallowed, guilty for snapping at her. "I'm sorry for being abrupt. It's just that I'm not at my best at the moment." "I can imagine the view's not very stimulating either." he heard the muffled reply through his tangle of newly acquired hair. "Not unless I was another Murrit, no." muttered Windu. "I mean it. Thanks for staying." THAT'S MORE THAN CAN BE SAID FOR SOME PEOPLE, he thought. "That's OK." Mace heard the Murrit yawn. "It's getting rather settled, I'm afraid." Jemmiah tried to find a suitable level of gravitas in her voice, and failed miserably. Mace didn't answer at first. And when he did, he didn't sound pleased. "Perhaps you should go and keep an eye on the kids." He stated. "Take them round the rest of the zoo." "Why? They seem to be having a very good time as it is." "Is that right." "Oh, yes. Infact, young Sabra-Ni said she hadn't ever had such a good time." Mace growled. "Weren't you meant to meet Obi-Wan?" The young lady nodded, blinking those large copper eyes that seemed to have such an effect on everyone. "I'll find him. But this is much more entertaining." Mace sighed. If only they'd taught him this sort of thing at the temple. But there had been no suggestions as what to do when a wild animal glued itself rear first to your face. He made a mental note to ask Yoda to include it in further survival training classes. "I bought you some spicy Takkini-chips." So THAT had been the smell. His stomach began to growl at the thought of proper food. "But I noticed you couldn't really partake, as it were, in your current condition. So I ate them." Right on cue, she shoved the last chip in her mouth with what seemed like a malicious and deliberate loud crunch. The sound of a scrumpled packet followed soon after. "They were very nice, though." "It's the thought that counts." gritted Mace. "I like the spicy stuff, especially in the last few weeks, for some reason. I've had a real craving for them. I'd better stop eating them so much though. I mean all that kind of food's not good for you, is it? I'm trying to keep my figure for as long as possible." "What's wrong with your figure?" Mace asked uneasily. "Well," Jemmy said, "You can never tell when it's going to go, can you? Sometimes it can happen overnight." Something about her words felt ominous to Mace, but he tucked the thought away. "I'm going to see if I can't come up with a solution to your problem, Master Windu." She patted him on the arm and walked towards the keepers. "You do that." Sighed Mace in relief at the thought that SOMEONE was trying to be of help. He listened to her footsteps retreating through the long grass and as he did so, the bad feeling he had had seconds earlier came back to tug at his mind. ***************** "I think we've been trying the wrong approach, "Jemmiah explained to the keepers, "We've been trying to tempt it with things that it likes." She saw she had everyone's attention. "How about we persuade it with things it DOESN'T like." The keepers looked blankly at each other. "There must be something that Murrits don't care for." Insisted Jemmy doggedly. She was met by row upon row of vacant looks. "Fire, I s'pose." Offered one of the more vocal of the keepers. "What, so we set fire to Master Windu's cloak and smoke it off?" Jemmiah folded her arms. She saw Mace hovering in the background, and found herself feeling genuinely sorry for him. He reminded her an old lampshade. "How about water?" The keepers consulted each other. The general consensus was that Murrits didn't care for water either, but that merely dowsing it would achieve little. Once a Murrit was stuck, it took a lot to unstick it. "How about a hose? Knock it off with a huge jet." Grinned Jemmy. All her sympathy vanished instantly from whence it came. Three of the keepers went away to fetch their extra large hose, the one they used to cool down the giant Sea Galukks. She was going to enjoy this. ********* Mace couldn't quite understand what was being attempted. He tried to utilize the force to his best advantage, but all it told him was that something was about to happen. And that his heart was beating way too fast. He thought he heard Jemmiah shout "Ready", followed by the faint hiss of something that sounded fairly fast and furious, like a jet of air... Why wouldn't they tell him what was going on? "Ready for wha..." Then it hit him. The blast was so strong and unexpected that it knocked both himself and his furry companion clean onto the ground. It felt as if a hundred weight of Banthas had been invited to jump up and down on his chest. In the background there were excited cries of mixed voices and one above all others: "Turn it up!" Mace tried to wave his arms to fend the blast of water from him, feeling the waves of downright anger from the creature as it screamed and chittered and dug its claws further and further into Windu's head to secure himself further. "Turn it off!" yelled Mace. "Turn it up!" yelled Jemmiah, aiming the increasing jet of water at the thoroughly soaked pair, trying to knock the Murrit off... ********************* Mace Windu stood, with not a single inch of him dry. If he'd been swimming in the Flipperphant's enclosure he couldn't have been wetter. Up top, a highly bedraggled Murrit sat still firmly welded to Mace's head, only this time the hair didn't hang so much in curtains but in wet clumps, which fell plastered down the sides of Windu's head. If anything, the smell of wet Murrit was worse than when it was dry, and Mace felt as if he were going to vomit. Jemmiah had made a quick getaway after her attempt at saving the day had failed, having asked one of the keepers where the Gurnaf area was and bidding Mace a hasty and somewhat mirthful retreat, before setting off to find Obi-Wan. Windu's situation had not improved one tiny bit. And it was about to get worse. A tall, long striding figure walked in astonishment through the crowds, taking in the vast number of spectators that lined the outside of the barrier. Mace recognized the man's force presence straight away. <QUI-GON!> He sent. <YOU'VE GOT TO HELP ME!!!> Jinn was shown into the enclosure by one of the keepers who knew he was with the jedi temple party. He swept the area with his eyes, reassuring himself that all was well with the initiates, before letting his vision settle on the stricken Mace Windu. Wet Murrit hair fell like bunches against his cheek. The sight he saw before him caused Qui-Gon to completely forget his swollen eye. "Qui-Gon, DO SOMETHING!!!" Hollered Mace. Qui-Gon did do something. He laughed ***** Ocen-Bai Talz looked around him. He was surprised at how well the trip was going. "Everybody done?" "Yessss." his charges chorused. "You sure? I don't want any accidents." "We're sure." "Good. So what do you want to do now?" "Can we feed the ducks again?" "I wanna see the duckies!" "Again? That's where we just came from." "Pleeeeeeaase?" "Oh, all right. Do you still have some credits?" "We do." "Come on then." As they walked, Ocen-Bai contemplated his good fortune. His group of initiates seemed to be obsessed with ducks. That made it easy to keep track of them. Even better, they all appeared to have good bladder control. Quite a relaxing trip, all in all. Well, once they'd settled down from the excitement of a zoo. They reached the duck pond. "Don't give all your pellets to any one ducks, kids. Too much food for any being is bad." "Even a Hutt, Bai?" "Even a Hutt." Ocen-Bai sat down and relaxed. The kids had been feeding the ducks for over an hour now, and didn't seem to get bored. This trip had turned out to be a great idea. He glanced at his chrono. Only an hour 'till I have to get them to the exit? Wow, this has gone fast. He decided it was time for a head count, just to be safe.. One, two, three, four.. five? Wasn't there only four before? "Hey, umm.." Darn it, what's his name.. "uhh.." Arrgh. Forget it. "Alderaanian kid?" "I have a name." "Sorry, but I don't remember it. Anyway, weren't you with the Masters?" "Yeah, but Master Windy saw you here, and said I could come feed the ducks, if you didn't get upset. Please let me staaay." "You're sure you okayed it with Master Windu? You're not trying to lie to me?" "You can ask Windy yourself." "Not that I don't trust you, but it's best to be sure." He pulled out his comlink. "Master Windu?" No response. "Master?" Still nothing. "Hello? Is anyone hearing me?" Silence. Ocen-Bai examined his com. "Darn. Power's dead." "Can I please stay?" "Okay. You can stay." He's going to be a Jedi, right? So he wouldn't lie to me. "Kids, we've got a bit less than an hour left, so start saying bye to the duckies." "Do we haaave to?" "Yes. You want to be Jedi's, right? A Jedi always keeps his word." His original four agreed rapidly, but the fifth.. "I want to stay longer!" "No, we can't disobey." Great kids. Really obedient. Actually.. Obedience is normal, in a kid under ten, isn't it? Or.. "Hey, how about getting something to drink on the way out?" "Sure." They do sound kind of dazed.. Force! Didn't that food vendor realize I was kidding, when I asked if he could slip a sedative in their lunch? If he didn't.. This is bad. Very bad. I wonder how the others are? ***** "Where in the name of Yoda's toasting fork have you been?!!!" Jemmiah could almost hear the exclamation marks in her friend's voice, and Obi-Wan's face made for an interesting study in both annoyance and relief. She swept downwards from the grass embankment, holding her shawl tightly around her shoulders until she reached the bottom of the verge where the bench was that Obi-Wan and a seemingly comatose Simeon were sprawled upon in un-Jedi like fashion. He half arose from his seat, but she waved him back down, trying to place herself between the two weary figures by squashing herself in. "Budge up!" she frowned as Simeon just looked glazedly at her. Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. "Pardon?" She matched his stare before conceding the point. Politeness. Right. "Budge up, PLEASE!" she repeated, copying Obi-Wan's educated and precise tones. When she received no response from Simeon, she reached over and tipped up his crossed legs, so that Simeon went rolling off the bench. "You never really grasped the concept of consideration to others, did you?" Obi-Wan said dryly. He looked at Simeon, wakening somewhat from his stupor. "Just leave him there," smiled Jemmy. "He looks happy enough to me." Obi-Wan placed his hands on her shoulders. "Where were you?" he asked, the urgency back in his voice. "I was getting more than a little worried." "Well, as you can see, I'm fine." she reassured him. She looked back down at the sprawling mass on the ground that was Simeon Cates who, it seemed, was making an intense inspection of her feet. "What's his problem?" she wondered out loud. "I know, he's one of those foot fetishists, isn't he? You sure no how to pick your friends, huh?" As she spoke, she caught Simeon with an extremely daft expression on his face making a delighted thumbs up sign and pointing to her feet. Obi-Wan groaned inwardly. "What's he been drinking, and where do I get some?" Obi-Wan shook his head. "I thought you told me you'd sworn of alcoholic binges. Especially after last time." "That wasn't my fault. Abran spiked that drink." she paused, looking at Simeon. "He wasn't much better. Kept going on about Dimallie." "Dimallie!" Obi-Wan's face lit up. Of course! No wonder Simeon had seemed so distracted of late. Oh, the agony of unrequited love... "You were well gone," muttered Obi-Wan, "and from where I was you were really making the most of it." She wrinkled her nose. "Was not!" she said, indignation beginning to set in. "Oh, yes? How do you explain the earring episode?" "I don't remember." she replied far to swiftly. Obi-Wan smirked. "You pulled it from your ear, dropped it down the front of your top and said to anyone within shouting distance "I appear to have lost my earring. Anyone want to help me find it!" She blinked. "I wouldn't have minded so much," grumbled the padawan, "except every male in the cantina started to form a line!" Jemmiah pinched his cheek playfully. "Awww, bless him. He's jealous." She broke off to look at him more closely. Something about him seemed a little bit different...a bit...green. "Ben, are you feeling ok?" she asked hesitantly. "A little light headed," muttered Obi-Wan, "and these damn kids aren't helping in the least. They won't stop fighting and yelling and..." He caught her smile. "You're not very good with kids are you?" she snorted. "And you are?" She began to feel uncomfortable. "What makes you say that?" Obi-Wan stood up and discretely slipped his arm through hers when Simeon wasn't looking. They started to walk a few paces. "Just something that Qui-Gon said. Remember that time he was joking that children should be seen and not heard? And you said that you didn't think they should be seen either!" The mention of Qui-Gon seemed to completely dampen the conversation. "I think he saw me on the way in." she stated. "What!" "Which means he's going to put two and two together and realize we've been sneaking around behind his back. Although I think we'll be fine for the moment," she added coyly, "as he was a little tied up when I saw him last!" Obi-Wan was looking back at Simeon, who was attempting to pull himself back onto the bench. Was it his imagination or did Simeon look a little greenish? Or was it the sunlight playing tricks on him? He turned to Jemmiah, noticing she didn't look too good either. "I'm ok." she murmured, reading his mind. "Too many Takkini chips. They don't agree very well with my digestion." Obi-Wan himself didn't feel too great either. When he walked, his head seemed to be up in the clouds, as if completely detached from his body. And he had drunk much less of that stuff than Simeon. Force knew how he was feeling... "We need to talk about Corellia." Obi-Wan said flatly. "But I'm not too happy about having to do it surrounded by legions of screaming kids and a Padawan who doesn't know his own name anymore." He made a decision. "We'll get Abran back here. In the meantime, we'll have to try and sober him up a little." He jerked his thumb at Simeon. Jemmiah nodded. "Pity I left that hose behind. That would have done the trick..." "What?" She smiled alluringly at him. "Nothing. You contact Abran and I'll try and find a vendor that sells hot caff." She walked back towards Simeon, pausing briefly to ruffle his dark, spiky hair. "Hang in there, laughing boy." she grinned to herself. "We're not finished with you yet!" ************** Qui-Gon couldn't help it. He just couldn't! Every time he thought he was over the worst of his laughter attack, he would look up at Windu and crease up all over again. Damn, but it was funny! The terrible thing was, that everyone else had taken this as their cue to laugh as well. Before, there had been only the occasional muted titter, a small chortle from outside the enclosure, or a high pitched giggle from the initiates inside. But unfortunately for Mace, everyone had taken the tall, bearded Jedi master's lack of control as a sign that it was ok for them to do exactly the same. And they had. For nearly twenty minutes. Tears were streaming down Qui-Gon Jinn's face. He didn't really know if the crowds were laughing at him, or laughing at Mace, but he didn't have the energy to care. He took a deep breath. "When I said you should try to embrace the living force more," he choked, "this isn't quite what I had in mind!" There was a moments quiet. "Just get this thing off, will you!" growled Windu. He felt he was about to suffocate from the smell of damp Murrit. Qui-Gon frowned. This would be interesting. Gathering the force to calm himself, Jinn mulled the problem over. They'd tried persuasion. They'd tried compulsion. They hadn't tried the force. He walked towards his beleaguered friend, and as he did so he felt the soaking Murrit tense itself for another assault. It stared at Qui-Gon, who reached out with the force, trying to touch its mind. He wanted it to feel unthreatened. He now stood only a couple of paces away. Slowly, he raised his hand. "All right, my little friend. You've had your fun. Time to go home." And with that, the Murrit jumped off. ************* "You just ASKED it?" Windu couldn't believe what was being said. "You mean to say that we tried every means possible in the world to shift it, from berries to water cannons...and you just ASKED it to let go?" Qui-Gon nodded, finding it difficult to keep a straight face. He knew how embarrassing this must be for his friend. The worst aspect of it was that he had been feted as a hero by the keepers and the crowds, whilst even the initiates had a new icon to worship. Qui-Gon basked momentarily in his transformation from villain to super-Jedi, and raised his hands in a mock salute to the crowds. They cheered him. Poor Mace, he thought, as he lapped up the adoration somewhat smugly. It always seemed to happen to him. He was at that moment, wiping himself down with a towel, trying to remove the hair and filth from his head and face. But the smell remained. "IF you've finished," Windu growled unappreciatively, "I think we'd better get moving. Don't you?" Qui-Gon smiled. "Of course." He waved behind him with his hand. "But if you really don't mind, I'd prefer it if you walked at the back of us where we can't smell you!" Mace's features were stony. Revenge might not be the Jedi way but he'd get his own back somehow. And soon! |
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