HOME"The Better Part of Valour."
A.K.A. "Igbo's Finest Hour."
A.K.A. "Igbo-minious!"
Written and Directed by:
Paul Burton.
Fiction by: Paul Burton and Anthony Hummerston.
STARRING:
Rojic,
Jimmi,
Karnov,
Niall,
Kory,
Mama
And special guest stars:
Hen3ry , Joe-9T, Henry and 'Blinkie.'
as the droids.
AND
Storm Cutter
their patched-up wreckage.
AND:
Oona, Reena, and Colonel D'Estrella.
“Igbo then said, ‘Now let’s see what my new pets can do!’ Then Niall shot a cable-gun into the trees, and swung over to where Kory, Oona and the slaves were cowering on the ground. Kory stood up. ‘Sweetie, I love you, but we’ve only got twenty-two years to save the Republic!’”
The audience nods and gasps appreciatively.
“‘Keeping my word is one of the things that make me better than you.’ Igbo replied. ‘I’m staying until the bitter end. The Nexu will have their feed and there’s no way you can defeat me! You’re cowards and Nexu fodder!’”
A child looks up and asks, “Was that a Flash Gordon flashback then?”
“Yes, I do believe that is was!”
Mama rocks back in the chair. Her grandchildren are at her knee, hanging on every word. She smiles. “Of course, that’s what the history books tell you. But let me put the record straight….”
There are a few minutes where our heroes take their positions. They know that in a straight fight they will lose. On the ground, Kory, Oona and the slaves are looking fearful as the Nexu approach. Oona raises her hands up slowly. Kory raises the purloined blaster. Igbo is still incensed. The speeder guards are going to get what they deserve for failing him!
As the freed Nexu bound into the area, Oona concentrates. The whole party suddenly starts to levitate! The Nexu growl and yowl in their frustration. Oona’s force skills are more than a match for the Nexu’s climbing skills as they all race for the uppermost branches of the trees. The Nexu are arboreal creatures, and good at climbing. Their claws dig into the trees as they scamper after their quarry. The quarry in turn ready the crude weapons that the guards have given them. It takes a lot of effort for Oona to levitate the whole team, but it buys them valuable moments. As soon as they are on a safe-ish branch high in the canopy, blaster bolts start streaking down into the chasing cats. This attracts a lot of attention from Igbo’s minions, who crowd to the prow of the skiff for a better view of the spectacle.
Igbo flies in to another rage. “Where did they get blasters? Kill them!” He yells. Our heroes are also wondering where Kory and Oona hid the guns. “Where did Kory hide that blaster?” Karnov whispers.
Mama chuckles, “I’m kinda surprised that she only had a blaster stashed away. I was half expecting her to get a spaceship out of there!”
The Nexu have surrounded the trees where the captives are sheltering. Rojic utters a line. “I have a nasty feeling about this….” The others watch with horror as the Nexu start to lash out. Finally they can keep up the pretence no more.
At some unseen cue, Mama whips out her hold-out blaster. She aims straight at Igbo, and before he can turn her way or appreciate the danger he is in, she plants a shot right into his chest! If there was any other signal to start firing, then it was missed. This action spurs the rest on, and a mighty firefight ensues. Karnov is attacked by Igbo’s bodyguard, a large and brutal-looking Nosaurian named Karq. The bodyguard is there to do one thing: Guard his master. Karnov runs straight for Igbo, but Karq is too quick for her. A vibro-axe slices past Karnov’s nose, making her back up a fraction. Joe-9T has taken up the role of Karnov’s bodyguard, and soon Sarah-Jane is pumping hot plasma into Karq. Away in the trees, Kory is slashed from a Nexu claw, and Oona is bitten. However, they hold the line –thin though it might be. Their number one priority is to protect the other prisoners. The others snap off branches to use as clubs, though the effectiveness against a hungry Nexu is going to be minimal.
Rojic flies off and executes a tight arc around the stern of the skiff. From a stand-off position, he starts pumping shots into the helm. The woman standing there cowers in reaction to this action. The helm merely opens its innards and stars to fizz and pop. The craft shudders a little, but the shot has no other effect, -yet!
Reena, Oona’s sister is trembling. There is no time to hold hands with Niall though. He pushes her behind him, to clear her out of the way, and to protect her. He snaps off a shot at the Nexu, which keep going in and out of view in the trees. They yowl even louder. Oona takes the opportunity to scramble higher up her tree, reaching down to help Kory, who is trying desperately to keep the beasts at bay. On the skiff, Niall and Mama are still ribbing one another.
“You didn’t’ think it was gonna be that easy did you?” Mama yells to him.
“You know for a second there, yeah, I kinda did!”
A Rodian thug closes on Jimmi, a cryo-whip in his hand. Jimmi doesn’t see him of course, but can sense him in the force. Jimmi is concentrating. The Rodian expects Jimmi to dodge, leading his enemy with the whip. When Jimmi stands stock-still, the whip cracks and crackles beside Jimmi’s cheek. As the crackling dies down, ready for another strike, a scream comes from one of the dancing girls. The ship shudders slightly, and starts to slew a little leftward. The girl squirms under the cover of the stage. There she finds several other girls, all huddled in terror. Two Nosaurians have caught up with what is going on and swing their vibro-blades at Mama. For a large target, she proves rather difficult to hit though, as she cross-steps left to correct for the listing of the vessel.
Meanwhile, Embu has taken offence at Jimmi’s rejection of him last night. Embu is not one to take rejection lying down. -He didn’t even get as far as getting naked and articulate! Jimmi is also pointing a blaster at Embu, which tends to sharpen the mind somewhat. Embu pulls his own blaster on Jimmi, but his shot goes wide.
Embu changes tack, and reaches out to Jimmi. -But not in a good way! Jimmi senses the aura of the dark side of the force swirl around Embu. The dark-side devotee closes his fist slowly. Jimmi starts struggling for breath in a choke-hold. Karnov is desperate to use her lightsabre on Igbo. Igbo senses the danger and stands up. Some imperceptible force surrounds the Rodian crime lord, making Karnov hesitate for a second. Mama is caught up too, though she to cannot put a finger on it. An aura surrounds Igbo. His reputation makes them waver, even though he’s been good to them up until a few seconds ago, and only Kory has described him negatively.
A Gamorrean and his cronies take a swing with a vibro-axe. Their target is Niall, who responds by using his blaster to shoot at close range. The first Gamorrean looks down at a large and smoking hole in his chest. His companions look at Niall through the hole from the other side! Joe-9T starts pumping large gouts of plasma into a Nosaurian bodyguard. Embu tightens his grip on Jimmi’s throat, and follows it up with another shot. Niall is slashed with a vibro-axe. Karnov is swinging with her lightsabre, but Karq the bodyguard is a skilled combatant. He keeps Karnov at bay, and in two hits gives Karnov some battle scars to show to her grandchildren! A Rodian crewman starts shooting, trying to stop Rojic as he flutters off the stern of the skiff, still shooting at the helm. Rojic is not having this, and shoots the Rodian twice. The Rodian trills in pain.
Joe-9T is starting to do some serious damage with Sarah-Jane. His impassive features make him even scarier. Jimmi manages to stop Embu in his tracks by snapping off a stun shot. Karnov and Karq are still trading blows and parries, but not making much headway. Karq is single-mindedly doing what he’s employed to do. However, he can’t defend on all fronts as another good shot from Mama slams into Igbo. –There goes Karq’s bonus! The cryo-whips have it this round, although Jimmi’s attacker is still struggling to get a telling blow. His counterpart at the stern manages to crack Rojic a good one! Rojic gets another shot into the helm, but is stunned by the force of the blow. He plummets to the ground, only just managing to catch himself before doing a ‘swatted fly’ impression. Even so, the attack winds him, and he struggles to keep above ground for a few seconds. Luckily, the shot to the skiff’s helm has had a catastrophic effect. The prow dips alarmingly. This spurs on the defenders, as more attacks rain down on our heroes. However, the crew of Storm Cutter are used to sudden lurches, fades left and rough landings, -they keep their feet. As the skiff ploughs into the ground, many of the minions slide forward along the deck. Their screams are a sound to behold! Several are stunned; some die in the crash. Mama and her team manage to stay upright and avoid the same fate. The Nexu in the trees regard the fallen minions on the ground and growl appreciatively. This could be the dessert course on a shiny silver platter! In the crash, Reena screams as she starts to slide along the slippery, slanting deck. Only a quick reaction from Niall stops her from a swift exit forward. He uses his lightsabre arm to fend off an attack while he grabs the girl, and a second later, two halves of a Gamorrean slide by –one on each side!
Jimmi still has time for humour amidst the chaos of the crashing vessel. “I said Weebles! Not greebles!”
In the trees, for now the defenders are making slow progress. The Nexu are have been beaten back, but are starting to probe the defences, searching for an opening. Kory and Oona are valiantly putting themselves between the angry beasts and the slaves. Oona bags an adult, relieving the pressure a little. The beast slumps between a fork in the branches. Joe-9T has a second to look around. “There are duels in the trees!” He observes. Rojic’s head comes over the rail at this point. “Jewels! In the trees? What? Where?”
“Duels sir. Don’t get too excited!”
The downed minions struggle to their feet. By the time they have nervously eyed the Nexu in the trees, several sentry guns open up from the perimeter. The minions scramble for cover, but the guns are well programmed. Energy bolts fizz across the arena. One by one, they pick off the survivors. On the skiff, the numbers of enemies have thinned out considerably. One lone protocol droid is still standing and holding a tray of drinks though. He looks rather proud of himself. However, the fight is not over yet! Embu wings Jimmi, who has had enough of this. Jimmi focuses on the darkness in the force, and lights it up with two crisp shots. Both blaster bolts thump into Embu, who collapses. His features crumble. The dark side exacts its terrible revenge on his dying body and his face contorts in agony. Jimmi turns away from the spectacle. Reena manages to stun a Gamorrean, and it’s nothing to do with her dancing!
Taking her cue from Niall and Jimmi, Karnov executes a neat reverse swing, catching Karq the guard, off-guard. “En garde!” Karnov adds. Now angry, Karq presses for another attack, but Karnov is too nimble. In a deft move, the lightsabre slices through armour, flesh and bone. Karq gives out a grunt of surprise. His eyes widen, but his limbs are already sliding into a neat pile on the floor. Igbo hollers with rage! Karq has karked it! Other bodyguards pile in and injure Karnov. Igbo’s thin little mouth jabbers something is his own tongue. It’s probably not repeatable even after the watershed! On the subject of sheds, the ship settles further, severing a power-line to the sentry guns, and crushing their control shed. –Too late to make much difference, however!
Oona contributes to the death toll, by felling a second Nexu. The creature snapped at her, but in turn got a blaster bolt straight down the throat! The big cat scrambles for grip, but it is only a post-mortem reflex action. The heavy body crashes to the ground. A second later Kory yells helpfully. “Catch?”
“Don’t start that again, please!”
Niall is sparring with another Gamorrean. Reena gets a lucky shot on a Nexu at extreme range. The growl of rage from the beast distracts Niall’s opponent enough for him to add another Gamorrean to his score. Igbo has seen his two best lieutenants bite the dust. The crime lord sits down heavily, causing several shots to miss his head! He slams down on a button on the throne, which starts to lift up! The throne extends down below him some six feet or so. Mama wings Igbo, but he is unfazed. The throne deploys a pair of stubby wings and starts to float up and over the stage in a tight arc. It then races to the tree line. Karnov waves her lightsabre at it, frustrated at Igbo’s escape. Mama has a clear shot, but to make sure, takes careful aim at the skimmer. The force flows through her, and the shot slams into the escaping hover-craft, making it wobble alarmingly. With a cry, Igbo guns the machine between the trees and disappears. If names could hurt him, he would be killed, as a barrage of abuse in several languages follows him. –So much for the brave crime lord – ignominiously retreating into the forest.
“Coward!”
“Scaredy-cat!”
“Not so fearsome now, little green man…Or is that yellow?”
“Cluck! Cluck! Cluck!”
“Karking putridaa Sportardoo!”
The rest of the insults are not printable. Luckily Joe-9T runs off a hardcopy on a piece of ticker tape for later analysis! Our heroes cannot rest easy though, as a scream from the other side of the forest alerts them to a more pressing danger. One of the Nexu has leaped up, and is in among the slaves! They bravely defend themselves, but for one poor fellow, his time is up. A claw and a bite later, and bloody chunks start to slide down the trunk of the tree. “Eeew!”
On the ruined skiff, the fight is not yet over. Despite their boss high-tailing it to safety, his minions are laying down their lives for him. The Rodian behind Jimmi has corrected his aim, and lashes out. Jimmi tries to roll with the blow, but its force causes Jimmi to black out. Another Rodian goes for Joe-9T, but looking down the barrel of Sarah-Jane spoils its aim. Reena is having a run of good luck. The force is strong in this one! She kills a Gamorrean, who thought she might be easy pickings. –Not so!
Karnov lashes out at a Rodian who is attacking Joe-9T. The droid is not badly damaged. Niall has his back to a Gamorrean as it charges in with an axe. At the last possible moment, Niall executes a fast riposte, ripping through the flesh of the Gamorreans arm, before plunging the lightsabre into its chest. A second later, lots of piggy pieces are all over the floor like a jigsaw from a slaughterhouse.
In the trees, Kory is knocked from her branch by a Nexu paw. She rolls with the blow, but loses her perch. In a desperate scramble to avoid falling to her death, she manages to grab at a vine, and find a lower branch. There is no time to catch her breath, as the Nexu turns on a six-credit coin and scrambles after her. –At least this has diverted its attention away from the slaves! Kory’s strength is fading fast; she’ll not be in this fight much longer!
A Gamorrean slices at Joe-9T. Scrapes and sparks dance in front of the droid, crushing his casing. The vibro-axe makes a horrible buzzing nose as it slices through the metal. Joe-9T doesn’t feel it of course, and his own fused circuits merely add to the buzz. Niall is now nicely warmed up. His new opponent is rather more cautious than the last. Niall swings with the lightsabre loose in his grip. The Nosaurian steps back, as Niall completes the swing, his opponent steps under Niall’s guard. Niall tightens his grip and smashes the pommel of the weapon on his opponent’s head. Karnov turns on Joe-9T’s attacker, but isn’t quite close enough to score a hit. This makes it turn a fraction to face the Quarren, and this is all Joe-9T needs. The droid fills the Gamorrean with several shots of super-heated plasma. A cheering smell of hot bacon wafts over the battle. “Oooh! Bacon!”
“-And extra crispy!”
Kory has been dodging blows from a Nexu, looking for an opening. It’s hanging on with one paw and swatting at her with the other. Kory raises her blaster. The beast is at full stretch when she takes her shot- straight into the other paw! With no grip with its front feet, the monster topples backward. It scrabbles at the tree with its claws, making huge gashes in the trunk, but to no avail. It plunges to the ground, careering off several branches at it falls. Kory is too weak to do more than cough, “Catch!”
Two Nosaurians are wading into Mama. They both swing with powerful swings, but when they both connect, the damage is minimal. They hiss at her instead. Niall wades through the remaining defenders, hardly even drawing breath as another Gamoorean is cut into wafer-thin ham. Karnov leaps onto the stage to deal with a Rodian, who is aiming a blaster at the terrified dancing girls beneath it. In a deft upswing, the Rodian is caught off balance. A brief swat with the lightsabre, and the Rodian exits stage left in two bits. One of the dancers was naked, but she doesn’t follow the dead Rodian, so he isn’t pursued by bare! Mama is concentrating on the Nexu, still threatening the remaining slaves. She takes careful aim, but the low-powered pistol and the long range are too much for her to hit home. The Nosaurians close in. One suffers a minor bruise to the metatarsal as Mama pops the empty power pack from the gun onto his foot! Jimmi takes a cue from Mama and shoots another Nexu, which slumps down in the branches, dead. The remaining minions still alive can see where this fight is going, and surrender. Niall and Joe-9T slide down the slippery sloping deck of the skiff, and close the gap between them and the trees. A few shots later and another Nexu bites the dust. Kory and Oona help the slaves down. The last remaining Nexu cub climbs high into the trees to lick its wounds. Niall runs to Kory, who is struggling to keep upright. “You took your time….Catch me….” She says, and tries to faint into Joe-9T’s arms. “I’m an assassin, not a catcher.” He replies as she slides on by. “Sweetie….?” Kory pleads with her last breath of consciousness. Niall catches her.
“I suppose you have this effect on all women?” Joe-9T says.
“-And some men too, no doubt!” Jimmi adds, running up to help.
“Lucky it was Kory and not Mama falling into my arms!” Niall says, and then looks up, hoping that she didn’t hear.
Back on the skiff, Mama and Rojic make their way to the helm. “Anything a Toydarian can destroy, we can put back together….” She says hopefully. Rojic isn’t so sure. “I blasted it good and proper…”
“So you’re the one that’s going to have to hold these two wire ends together while I fly this thing.”
“Why me?”
“‘Cos if I stand and hold ‘em my feet will earth out the circuit. If you fly, the current goes up one arm across your heart and down the other.”
“That’s not really very reassuring….”
Mama thinks quickly. “Or we can have a final death-stick and wait for Igbo to bring the rest of his retinue. I’m sure he has a few hundred people he can call on, as well as a few more fearsome beasts from his collection.”
“Which two wires again?”
“Good boy!”
“I’m not a boy I’m a Manzzzzzzzzz!”
Mama yells to the others. “All aboard!” Joe-9T caries the prone Kory to the ship and steps on. Niall and Oona help the slaves to get on board before jumping on themselves.
“This trip will be short and rough, but….” Mama shouts over the rattle of the damaged engines. “But what?” Oona asks.
“You can always sit and watch Rojic slowly frying…..”
There is a pause as they all consider the horror of this. They sit down slowly.
Joe-9T asks, “Popcorn anyone?”
“Oooh! Yes please!”
“Sweet or salty?”
“Hot and buttery, just like a Toydarian on the grill…Talking of which….How did you cook it so fast?”
“I removed Rojic’s cranial patch and put the kernels in the hollow. –Ten seconds and four hundred amps, and job’s a good ‘un!”
“Eeew!”
Once underway, the skiff levels off. Mama picks up the lightsabre that belonged to Embu. Niall clears his throat. “Ahem!”
“Finders keepers.”
“Put it down!” Niall says, his threat tinged with anger. The tone of his voice makes everyone jump. There are a few seconds while Mama holds his gaze. However, she knows better than to tangle with him. She hands over the weapon.
“Thank you.” Niall says, his anger ebbing away as quickly as it arose.
He looks the weapon over, “This didn’t belong to Embu.”
Mama is about to say something about it not belonging to Niall either, but decides to hold her tongue.
Niall continues. “Most likely he and Igbo took it from a Jedi.”
“Then direct your anger toward him!” Mama says, offering some reconciliation toward Niall.
“Oh, he’ll get what’s coming. Don’t worry. He’ll not evade justice forever.”
Niall looks around at the others. They all nod agreement.
The skiff makes a bee-line for the drifter’s district. “We’re coming up a little fast…” Mama warns. The skiff heads downward. A plume of smoke stretches out behind it. The drinks droid puts a protective hand over the drinks.
Luckily for everyone, it is only a couple of miles flight for the skiff. She puts down rather unceremoniously in a vacant lot near Storm Cutter. “Strip everything of value!” Rojic calls, letting go of the wires. “Ouch that was hot!”
By the time the rescued people are aboard Storm Cutter, there is nothing much left on the skiff worth having. Several people have arrived to ogle the wreckage of the Nubian ship. “Shame we can’t fly it over the sea, and ditch it!” Joe-9T says, ruefully.
“No point. Besides, think of the environment!” Karnov warns.
Joe-9T doesn’t. “Pfft!”
They leave the wrecked Nubian skiff where it is. The two officials from earlier come out to see what is going on. “There’s a docking fee…-And an unauthorised landing fee and a surcharge for environmental cleanup…..Let’s see….”
“It’s okay. It belongs to Igbo…Or rather, ‘belonged.’”
“What about the environmental damage.”
Joe-9T sums up. “Pfft! -Not like I’m breathing it in!”
They look back at the crumpled skiff, which is now belching acrid smoke from the starboard engine. “I expect Igbo will be along to pick it up soon. We’ve left a marker, so he knows where it is!” Niall glowers at the officials, so they don’t press the matter further.
They hurry to Storm Cutter. Mama lags behind. “What’s up, feeling your age again?” Karnov asks.
“No. I’m not going anywhere without this!”
She hustles along the protocol droid, which still has the tray of drinks in its hand. Niall fires up the ship as she and the droid scuttle on board. A few of Igbo’s goons arrive just in time to blast at Storm Cutter as it powers into the atmosphere and is gone.
“Set course for Coruscant!”
“Course set…Hen3ry?”
“Beep! Pip!”
“Punch it!”
Storm Cutter pierces the night sky, and the stars become ribbons once more.
“Who is this droid?” Karnov asks later.
“I don’t know. It was serving drinks on the skiff.”
The droid says. “Would master Igbo the magnificent like a drink? I am programmed with over six million flavours of cocktail.” It offers the tray of drinks. They all take one. “Mmm….Tihaar with a hint of pine-needle!”
Rojic squeals. “That’s enough for me!”
“What’s up? Not celebrating?”
“No! Tihaar is excellent for degreasing engine parts!”
“There’s another three bottles of it here on the tray.”
“Mine!” Rojic grabs a bottle and snuggles it like a kitten.
“Well we got what we came for.” Oona says, looking pleased, and snuggling up to Niall, “I’m glad you came for me….” She hugs Reena, “For us…!”
“That’s two you owe me sister….s!” Niall says, in jest. They toast one another with the drinks.
Karnov slips Kory into the bacta tank. Oona looks longingly at it. -she's almost in as bad a shape as Kory!
“I’d call that a win….” Rojic ventures.
“Yeah, I expect the bounty on your head isn’t going to be as much as the rest of us.” Karnov replies, turning around.
“Well Kory and Oona shot the Nexu. -That wasn’t me.” Rojic protests.
They turn on Rojic. “But you crashed the skiff.”
“Actually the helmswoman did that.”
“Only ‘coz you shot the controls up.”
“Well that’s only a hundred credits or so to fix.”
“What about all the minions that died in the crash?”
“A few. The sentry guns did for the rest. That’s Igbo’s fault.”
Mama interrupts the discussion. “Well I’ve never killed a minion before…”
The others all turn on her. In unison they all say. “Trust us. We were there. We’re pretty sure you still haven’t!”
Mama turns to the droid. “Would master Igbo the magnificent….” It starts to say. She shuts it off.
Rojic flaps behind it, his hands full of tools. A few moments later, he looks up.
“Modified protocol droid. Programmed to mix drinks, record conversations and be sycophantic.”
“Not much use then?”
“Not unless you want a cross between a cocktail waiter and a parrot.”
They all try to imagine this for a minute.
“Designation?” Niall asks.
“Let me see. There’s some carbon scoring here….But…..Hand me that bottle of Tihaar…..Here we go….Three…..Three, three, three, zero.”
“Um…. They all think.” Finally, Reena speaks up. “Igbo called her ‘drink droid.’ But I think I prefer….Er…. ‘Trio?’”
Trio.
There is another pause as it sinks in. Niall decides to be kind to the girl.
“Trio it is then!”
Mama shrugs. “As good a name as any….”
Rojic has some bad news. “Bad news is that most of the protocol protocols are shot. Servos worn, brain and vocabulator screwed. There’s a list of repairs as long as your arm. The only thing in good working order is the gyros. This droid’s not going to be much good other than as a bartender.”
They think about this. Then Rojic whoops. “Our own bartender! -What’s not to like?”
A few hours later, they fish Kory out of the bacta tank, put a blanket around her shoulders and prop her up in front of the computer. Trio brings her a hot chocolate drink with a good shot of rum in it.
“I’m just curious….” Kory says, sitting down at the terminal.
“About what?” Karnov asks. Kory taps at the pad in front of her.
“Here it is….There’s bounty on our heads. Me and Oona get special mention, seeing as we’re already known fugitives…..Twenty….”
“Twenty? I’m insulted!” Oona says, without thinking.
“Twenty thousand!”
“That’s more like it!”
Niall turns to Rojic. “If you’re thinking of turning us in for the reward…..Don’t. I can hurt you with my brain….”
“Aw! You know I wouldn’t! –Well I wouldn’t turn Kory in.”
“What about Joe-9T? We could programme him to turn himself in, and claim the reward…”
Joe-9T turns around slowly, still cradling Sarah-Jane. “I can hurt you with my gun!”
Karnov has been thinking. “What about the cages? We left them behind.”
“You’re more then welcome to ask for them back. I’m sure Igbo’ll let you have them.”
“Probably give you a tour…Of the inside.”
“Then sell tickets for other people….To come and see your insides.”
Karnov acquiesces. “Okay, so going back isn’t an option….Yet.”
“We’ll send Tuun the money. He’ll be okay about it.”
“We razed his shop to the ground!”
“Well, he is our friend!”
Mama gets up and helps Kory to her cabin. As they reach the bridge door, she turns back. “Next time, when someone says ‘shall we steal a gun from a Hutt?’ You say ‘YES!’”
They all think about this. Rojic is all for this plan. “There are two things to remember about stealing from Hutts. One, they’re harder to deal with, but two, the bounty on your head tends to be rather underwhelming. They don’t like to part with money.”
“Is Toydaria anywhere near Hutt space, by any chance?”
They send a message to the colonel. When they arrive back on Coruscant, he’s there waiting for them.
“I hear that you’re wanted men….-And ladies. -There’s also a bounty out on Jimmi.”
Mama is in a good mood. “See! My mother always told me I’d never amount to anything. I’m worth twenty-thousand!”
“That’s about nineteen thousand more than the ship!” Rojic sighs.
Mama scolds him. “Don’t be rude. I have the death sentence on…one system!”
“Good for you. –Don’t lose your head.”
“Oh, ha-ha! Very funny!”
The colonel looks them over. “Looks like you’ve been in a cat fight!”
“-Like you wouldn’t believe!”
Karnov quips, “We had to throw a bucket of water over the Twi’lek sisters. -Terrible business, fighting over who was going to sleep with Niall!”
Oona shoots her a look.
The colonel advises them to lie low for a bit. He is joined a short while later by Mistress Luce. She addresses Karnov. “The council have been looking into your training records. There are a few gaps, but nothing insurmountable. Once you have constructed your own lightsabre, and passed any outstanding tests, you can be accepted as a Jedi knight.” Karnov resists the temptation to whoop loudly, high-five anyone close, and yell “In your face!” To Niall.
Everyone looks pleased for Karnov. “We’ll help you in your trials.” Kory offers.
Her comment is tempered by Rojic. “Yeah! I need to hone my gun aiming skills!”
Tisha Luce.
Niall hands over the lightsabre liberated from Mama who liberated it from Embu. “We found this. We thought that it should be kept safe at the council.”
“Thank you. There is a chance that we can trace to whom it belongs….Or belonged.”
“If Igbo harmed a Jedi, then I won’t rest until I see justice.”
Oona is reassuring. “We’ll work on that. He’ll get what he’s owed. For now, we must rest.”
“Every dog has his day.” Rojic says, with feeling.
“Unless there are more dogs than days.” Mama reminds him.
Karnov asks, “What’s a dog again?
Mama.
Mistress Luce indicates to Niall to follow her. As soon as they are away from the others, she turns to him. “I’ve been impressed with you Niall, so I have petitioned the council to take you on as a Padawan.” Niall raises an eyebrow. “Though the decision hasn’t gone down too well in the council. –They failed you for a reason. But I think I understand why you were never chosen.”
Niall lowers his head, thinking back to his academy days.
Mistress Luce continues. “But I’m willing to take a chance on you. Go out on a limb, as it where. -If you are agreeable.”
“Thank you mistress. –Though there are….Complications.”
“I am aware of your relationship with Oona. She and her sister are also to be trained. Their masters will be selected shortly. I can turn a blind eye to your relationship, so long as it does not interfere with your training.”
Niall asks about Oona. Mistress Luce doesn’t have much to go on. “She must learn control. The force is strong in her family, so her sister may also be suitable for training.”
Niall is optimistic. “At least serving the Jedi is better than being a slave to Igbo.”
“In the meantime, you must take care of them both. There’s a bounty on their heads, and who knows what trouble that could bring.”
“I’ll take care of her.”
“I know you will.”
“-And the council, Mistress?”
“A master has the final choice over their selections for Padawan. You’re record in the service corps is unblemished, and you’ve proven to be a loyal servant of the Jedi and the Republic.”
Niall can see what is coming, “There’s a ‘but’ there somewhere.”
“But you’ll have to learn to temper your anger.”
It is Niall’s turn to say “But…”
Mistress Luce looks at him. He holds her gaze. “No buts. You’ll do as I say. My approach to the force is one of quiet contemplation. Not rash thought and impulse.”
Seeing an opportunity to impress his prospective mistress, Niall says. “I will think about your offer.”
“Good. You’re learning already!”
We are taking a short interlude...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Footnotes: