-
The scared pre-teen sniffled a few more times as she listened intently to the Jedi Knight. The girl had heard many stories of the Jedi, and perhaps an equal number of tales related to the Sith and Dark Jedi, but she had never met a Force user before. Until now, Jordana was convinced Jedi, Dark Jedi, and Sith didn't exist but were mythological beings created by ancient civilizations to explain what they could not explain, such as volcanoes, lightning, and violent storms. Much in the way other ancient cultures believed and worshipped their own Gods, Titans, and even Demons of the Nine Hells.
The girl scratched her cheek and as Wei communicated with his droid, she kept looking to the mouth of the alley, keeping an eye out for any of the security guards or even Q`ark. Such a shame the lizard-like creature had an alterior motive for the girl. Jordana was beginning to enjoy his company and his quirky behavior had begun to grow on her. When the child heard the Jedi Knight mention The Reverend, the girl returned her attention to him even though he was still speaking with the droid.
She scratched her nose. Wei finished speaking with his droid and returned his attention to her. The girl listened as it was explained to her of the Jedi Order and the Rebel Alliance. Though she found it ironic that a Jedi would steal anything, she certainly wasn't passing judgment. In fact, if she thought it would be appropriate to high five the Jedi Knight for stealing from the Imperials, she would have! Jordana harbored deep disdain for the Imperial Order and any associated with it, certain she was that somehow they were behind everything that happened back on Zaloriis and Wercin III.
But no matter how deep her disdain for the Empire ran, the moment Wei mentioned slave trading, the girl began to shake her head and though she tried to keep it from happening tears welled up in her eyes again. "No, no, no, no. No way. I was a slave! I escaped and wound up ...." Jordana stammered. She had no idea where she was exactly. "... wherever here is! I don't care how many people it would help, Wei, if your plan involves me having to be a slave to infiltrate a slave trading ring, count me out! I can't do it, Wei. I'm sorry, but I can't be a slave again."
In all of her animated hand gestures, head shaking, pacing back and forth, the teen's backpack slipped from her shoulder and down her arm so she hefted it back up again then swiped the tears that had fallen from her cheeks. Just now it hit her, too. Her nose wrinkled and a look of disgust came over her face. "Good gosh, I stink! Ugh!" Jordana continued to pace, eying Wei on each pass. "I must be farkled," the child murmured. "What's your plan? And it better not have me being a slave," the girl warned him, mimicking gestures her mother had used a thousand times before. That flippant snap of a pointed index finger, thrusting her chin slightly up and forward, the setting of the jaw, tense, and that look that said 'best not to test me'. But to see all of this on a twelve year old? Some might find it quite comical even if the child had been quite serious.
-
"Of course you won't be a slave!" Wei said. "I could never ask you to do something like that! Why would I save you from something so horrible only to have you go back and become a slave anyway?"
Wei took her as seriously as he would have anyone else. The girl's attempt to be threatening and put her foot down made her look cute. She was rather like the children he had seen who would put on their mother's dress shoes or their father's work boots and fancied themselves grown up. Even so, the Jedi did not laugh.
"No, you will not be a slave at all."
Wei scratched his chin. "Let's go find a place where we can get a good meal, get a real bath, and a good night's rest. We will find you some decent clothes to wear, and then we can come up with a real plan."
"R4, We're going to find a place to stay overnight. Let me know if you come up with anything. We will be in touch."
Wei used his personal datapad to bring up a small map of the area. "Let's see. Le Yer looks good. Resort city. Kinda rich and fanciable, but we'll fit right in once we get cleaned up a bit."
The Jedi walked out into the street. Things were quiet. They were near the spaceport, which meant finding a taxi would be no problem. They could get a ride to Le Yer. "Come along, Jordana. And if anyone asks, you're my daughter, and we're here to relax a little while I'm doing business."
Wei turned and offered the pre-teen his hand. "Come on. If you like you can even ride piggy-back."
-
The pose held, the child didn't relax it until Wei stated a second time that his plan did not include her having to be enslaved again in order to infiltrate The Reverend's criminal orginization. The mention of food had the girl's stomach growling. In all of the excitement she had forgotten just how hungry she really was. "A shower would be astral," the girl said, using the teen slang term for 'cool'. "And I'm really hungry!"
Hiking her backpack further up on her shoulder, Jordana followed Wei from the alley to the street. She kept back a step or two though, just in case any of the security guards from the cantina happened to be lying in wait. But as Wei wasn't attacked and didn't spring into action himself, the pre-teen figured the guards hadn't bothered to give chase.
As Jordana approached and Wei offered her his hand while suggesting she could ride piggy-back, the child eyed the man dryly. "While I do appreciate being rescued, I'm not five, you know. I'm almost thirteen." Many human children seemed to look forward to becoming certain ages, usually ages in which more freedoms (as well as greater responsibilities) were granted. Certain rights of passages such as being able to stay up later, drive a speeder, and able to shop at the malls without parental supervision.
Jordana thought of those things as she and Wei got into the back of a hovertaxi and she felt a moment of saddness. Her parents had been pretty poor so being able to afford a new dress for a school dance would have been out of the question, as would waking up on her fourteenth birthday to find even a crappy speeder parked out front with a big bow on it, but she missed her parents the most.
The hovertaxi ride to the resort city was uneventful, thankfully. It was also pretty quiet. Jordana had some questions for the Jedi Knight but she thought it best to save them for a more private location, save for one. The girl peeled her eyes from the window and looked to Wei. "What planet am I on?" She finally asked, but did so very quietly so the hovertaxi driver wouldn't hear. Wei answered. The girl nodded after a moment then looked back out the window. The resort city was beautiful, if not way too crowded. The main strip was all flashing neon signs and lights, every other business seemed to be a casino.
Finally the taxi pulled up in front of a rather nice looking hotel and deposited the two beneath the shade of a canopy and onto a red carpet. Jordana looked at the doorman, saw some of the lobby through the glass doors, then looked at her clothes. If ever in her life did Jordana ever truly feel poor and uncomfortable in her own skin ... She forced a quick grin when Wei asked if she was ready, then followed him inside. The pre-teen fidgeted uncomfortably and avoided the rude stares they received from the snobs of society. The child couldn't wait to get to the room and away from the scrutiny of the public.
-
"Please forgive the dirt," Wei said to the man behind the counter. "We have been hiking in the nearby hills today. The city looks beautiful from higher up, doesn't it Flower?"
Wei amazed himself at how well he got back into the hang of espionage. Master Vos' training stuck to him even now, so many years after the Clone Wars. He just hoped Jordana would remember to keep pace with the ruse.
"It's her birthday," Wei continued nonchalantly as he handed credits to the woman and got a room key in return. "I meant to have my schedule cleared before making this trip, but things happen, as they say."
Wei leaned in close to the receptionist. "Is there a boutique nearby?" he whispered. "I promised her a surprise, and since then she hasn't been able to keep out of my things. I wanted to buy her a fancy dress."
The woman offered a smile, wrote an address on a bit of flimsi as she handed over the card keys for the room Wei rented. The Force Cripple returned the smile and gave Jordana a conspiratorial wink.
"Is there a menu for room service? We'd like to take dinner in our room, if possible." The lady gave Wei a menu, which he passed to Jordana. "Choose whatever you like."
Wei entered the address into his datapad, and soon the local network had directions for the Jedi to follow. He waited for Jordana to make her dinner choices while he scanned the resort. Old habits die hard. Soon he knew exactly how he would defend himself and his pre-teen ward in the even the Empire or the slavers tracked them back to the resort.
"Ready when you are, Flower."
-
Jordana rolled her eyes up to Wei as he went on with the ruse as he spoke to the receptionist behind the check-in desk. The look she flashed the Jedi Knight at calling her Flower should have told him everything right there. The pre-teen might be appreciative of being rescued and taken under his protective wing - at least for the time being - but he was not going to get away with calling her Flower for much longer. First thing we'll do is change my fake name, the orphan thought as she plastered a big fake smile on her face and nodded her head when asked about the apparently beautiful view of the city from on high.
Jordana took the room service menu from the Jedi Knight and flashed him another brief look. This man sure was confusing to the young lass. He carries a saber, the elegant weapon of the Jedi, seems to be able to manipulate or utilize a power or energy that exists but Jordana wasn't so sure on that, and he seemed like a good man in general. At least he had some morals and scruples. But the child didn't understand the need to tell lies or to steal, as he'd admitted earlier that he does steal. The girl seen him hand over the credits to the lady behind the desk as he paid for their room and took the keycards.
The pre-teen followed to the lift and once inside started to peruse the menu. Everything that had a photo looked good, made her mouth water, and her stomach growl very loudly. She giggled and blushed. It was both funny and uncomfortable for the teen that her stomach had growled so loudly that there was no hiding it from anyone. There were plenty of items on the menu that the girl had never heard of, some she couldn't even pronounce. It all looked quite pricey, too. There were also some dishes listed that sounded rather disgusting, like the Vercupti of sgazza boleruueé which apparently originated at a place called Dex's Diner on Coruscant. It was made of insect meat, tubers, dough, and Dexter's secret ingredient, lubricating oil. The girl blanched. People eat that?! EW!
"I'll have the Jolly meal with a happy patty and shroomchips and a lurol smoothie," Jordana told Wei as they exited the lift and headed down the fourth floor hall to their room. Once inside the girl left the menu on the nightstand situated between two single beds then slid her backpack down onto the bed furthest away from the large picture windows and sliding glass doors that led to a balcony.
"Oh and Wei?" Jordana waited for the Jedi Knight to finish scoping out the room and look at her before she continued. "Flower? Really? You couldn't just use my real name? Or a variation of it like Dana or Anna? Just call me by my nickname, which is Jaxy."
-
"You don't like Flower?" Wei teased. Flower seemed like an obnoxious thing a father might call his daughter, so he went with it. If he had been honest with himself, he would have said he once upon a time planned to call his own daughter by that pet name. If his wife had lived long enough to give birth to his son, and then try again for a second. Wei shrugged.
"Very well. But we won't use your real name, or mine. My name is known to the Empire, and in the event you told that Moocher your name, the slavers will know yours as well. That's two dangerous groups after us that know something about who we really are."
The Jedi used the room's internal comm to send the girl's food order, as well as his own.
"Come, sit," Wei said, motioning to the set of chairs sitting on the balcony outside. "We need to talk in earnest."
The Force Cripple slid open the transparisteel door and took a seat in a chair. "You have had a big night. A lot has happened, and it's no doubt you have questions. Where would you like to begin?"
-
Jordana looked to Wei as he encouraged her to join him out on the balcony for a bit of a chat. Usually, taken from the child's past experiences, when adults said they wanted to talk it meant the kid was in trouble. Or at the very least about to get some lesson from lecture or a blatant attitude adjustment. Tired from her adventures, hungry - which made her quite cranky - the girl's shoulders sagged. She pushed her backpack then dragged her feet along the carpet as she followed the man outside and took a seat in one of the two chairs.
Temperature wise it was cooling down nicely and a bit of a breeze had picked up and the sun was nearly set. As it tried to cling to the last remaining minutes of its time to shine, the sun painted the sky with brilliant oranges, fiery reds, deep purples, and stormy blues. Huge, pillowy clouds seemed to form and grow, continually reaching upward, and slowly fill in with the deep blue-dark grey of an approaching storm. Still a ways off the storm was, but there was a hint of its developing presence in the breeze. Jordana loved that smell! The scent of rain made everything smell so clean, she fresh and new. She loved storms because they washed away all of the poodoo of the day, wiped the slate clean so that everyone could start all over fresh in its wake; like being given a second chance. The orphan loved the thunder, the brilliant flashes of lightning, and how alive storms seemed to be.
The girl closed her eyes and lifted her chin while inhaling deeply of the rain-scented air. The faintest of smiles tugged at the corners of her mouth. Slowly she exhaled then opened her eyes and looked to Wei. She did have questions but the child didn't know where to begin. Admittedly the girl was surprised that he hadn't started in on her with a ton of probing questions. She couldn't imagine that it was typical or usual to find a twelve-almost-thirteen year old girl wandering the streets of any planet with a lizard-like creature as tall as she on a daily basis.
Her mouth opened. Then closed. The pre-teen needed a moment to figure out how best to ask her questions. The child didn't want to bite the hand that was about to feed her, after all, and it would go against the teachings of her father to insult the man who had helped her so selflessly. After a moment of thought, and chewing on the inside of her cheek, the girl finally spoke. "You said you're a Jedi Knight and I saw your lightsword, which is pretty cool, by the way. But --" Jordana paused and bit her lower lip. "Why do you steal? I'm not judging," she quickly added as she held both her hands up, palms away from her briefly before folding them again in her lap and pulling her legs up to sit Indian-style in her chair. "I just don't understand. My dad told me that no matter what, stealing was wrong and it never should be done. And," she shrugged her left shoulder, "... you're a Jedi! I thought you guys were suppose to be all, I dunno, good 'n stuff."
-
Wei did smile, but he didn't laugh. Her question was simple, obvious. It was a good place to start.
"Let's just say that my Jedi training was not what you would call 'normal.' During the Clone Wars, my Jedi Master spent a good deal of his time undercover. We were trying to use espionage to win the war. We thought if we could use cunning to get close to the Separatist leaders, we could save troopers' lives and thousands of civilian casualties. Of course, the Emperor ordered the Jedi exterminated. I survived, but officially the Jedi are extinct, and their memory is the one the Empire wants its citizens to have: that Jedi are power-hungry and corrupt at best, and self-righteous and hypocritical at worst. The Empire is still hunting the few Jedi that survived their infamous purge."
Wei cast his gaze across the canvas painted by the setting sun and sighed. "But that doesn't answer your question. I steal because of my Jedi Training. If I can discretely divest a wicked man of his means to do wickedness and use that for good--a real good--then I have done well. Suppose I agreed to go with the bouncer to see this Reverend. I could have stood there nose to nose with a face as cold and hard as durasteel and said 'Release your slaves! Handover your smuggling ships and face justice!' but then, where would I be? I can't just put the man in binders and hand him to the authorities. I'm not supposed to exist. Matter of fact, the Empire probably would be more likely to arrest me than him."
Wei chuckled a little. "So, I plan to find this ring of slavers, and take all they have--their money, their materials, and all the people they kidnapped for their unjust trade. Their money will be used help the enslaved return to their old lives, or start new ones. The materials will be used to aid the Rebellion and put an end to this unjust government. The people can live as they used to, or join the Rebellion if they have a mind to do so. The Reverend and his lieutenants wouldn't dare go to the Empire to report the theft, because they would have to admit to their crimes to do so. But they won't be participating in the slave trade anymore, either."
Wei shrugged. "I could steal from the Empire, I suppose, but even amongst the loyal Imperial citizenry there are honest people who only want to make a living and provide good lives for their families. I risk endangering those people and supporting the negative stereotype Imperial propaganda would have them believe. By destroying this slaving operation, I do something to repair the image of the Jedi and the Rebel Alliance as well."
Wei glanced at the girl. "For now, it's just better that I do my best to remain as much of a shadowy figure as possible."
-
The pre-teen was pretty quiet for a spell when Wei finished answering her guestion. She was trying to digest it all. Her mouth quirked, perhaps she wanted to say something more on the topic but just couldn't quite find the words. Or, perhaps she had the words but was afraid to give them a voice. "So, basically, you're telling me that you steal because the ends justify the means and that it's okay to become the living personification of what the Empire wants the public to believe about the Jedi?"
The child spoke a little too hastily. While she couldn't take back or rephrase what she meant, she could apologize for coming as judgmental. It wasn't what she had intended. "Sorry," she murmured. The girl thought on it again but in the end she just dropped the subject. Who was she to judge? Her life was so far from perfect and the girl had a saying, which was, 'before you judge me, make sure you're perfect'. She figured that also applied to her when on the end of passing judgment on others.
Of course, the child was a virgin in more ways than the obvious. Her life had been quite sheltered from the rest of the galaxy. The child hadn't seen or read a holonet news report since being taken from her home and her family and sold into slavery so she had no idea what was going on in the 'Verse. There was much, oh so very much that she needed to learn, especially if she was going to survive and make her way in life. Jordana had never felt so alone before as she did right now, though Wei was sitting in the other chair a few feet away. She wished her parents were here. Jordana could easily pretend that she was just on vacation with them. Maybe they were at the casino having a grand ol' time gambling with money they'd won in a state lottery and she was just chillin' until it was time to go to dinner and a show. She could pretend. But why bother? It wouldn't change anything and she had outgrown playing pretend two years ago, if not three.
The girl lowered her eyes to her knee as she idly plucked at a loose string hanging from the inseam of her pants. She had so many questions but they seemed to all shout at her all at once from the different corners of her mind that she couldn't focus on any single thought. Of course, that could have also been her mind's way of preventing her from suffering some kind of break down or mental reset by skirting around the questions she really wanted to or perhaps should be asking. Pretend is so much easier, though, the girl thought as she looked from her scuffed and dirty pant leg toward the setting sun. Another thirty minutes and it would be the moon's time to reign the heavens. She idly wondered what phase the moon would be in tonight. Full? Quarter? Half? New? Unfamiliar with the phases of the moon and the standard hours of Abregado-Rae, Jordana would just have to wait and be surprised. The girl was really beginning to hate surprises.
"Why would you think that this Reverend wouldn't report it to the Empire? The Empire knows all about the slaving. As well as the drug and human trafficking. THEY are the ones who took me away from my family and sold me into slavery!" Jordana's soulful dark eyes narrowed, her brow wrinkled with trouble, and her lips pursed tight as her jaw set firmly. The last statement was more hissed than spoken. She didn't expect the Jedi Knight to believe her. Adults never listened to what children had to say, no matter how heinous or unbelievable. The subtle change in the girl's dangerously narrowed eyes spoke volumns. She didn't want to talk about what happened. Tears stung her eyes, shimmered on the lower lids of her eyes. Jordana shook her head and blinked the tears away, then angrily swiped them from her cheeks as she stood and pushed her chair back.
She sniffled and cleared her throat, stepping over to the balcony to lean against the rail. She propped her foot up along the bottom rail and laced her fingers loosely together. From up here, life looked rather simple, luxurious, worth living. Pretend is so much easier. There was one question weighing heavily on the child's mind and it was the one question she probably should have asked first. "What's going to happen to me?" She was afraid of the answer, so she didn't peel her eyes from the myriad of colors painting the darkening sky. As the light waned, so too did some of the colors but a few seemed to become even more vibrant as if they were taking their last deep breaths before succumbing to silence for another night.
The girl knew she was simply far too young, way too inexperienced, and extremely naive to be on her own. She'd be dead within a month if left to fend for herself. Of course, if left to fend for herself, the opposite might hold true. Perhaps should would learn to be self-sufficient, how to survive, and be forced to mature much faster than most children her age. But she also knew that Wei probably had a responsibility to turn her over to authorities who would place her in the system. Jordana would bounce from foster home to foster home, perhaps be abused by at least one foster home, and be lost in the system until she turned seventeen, the age of legal adulthood.
If that happened, Jordana had already planned to run away. She didn't know where she'd go or what she'd do. She just knew that she wouldn't let herself get sucked into a system that was terribly broken. Of course, weren't most supposedly organized forms of government broken?
-
Wei allowed her words to wash past him. Of course he was the living embodiment of what the Empire wanted its citizens to believe. That's how propaganda worked. The people in charge took exactly who you were and made everything about it evil.
The Empire might know about the Reverend's slaving ring, or even be collaborating with the Reverend. But the Empire would throw the Reverend in jail just to save face if news of Imperial involvement reached the ears of the public. It was the first, if not the only reason not to deal with the Empire. You never knew when the Empire would turn on you: you only knew that inevitably they would.
Wei decided instead to answer her more important and immediate question. "You choose. If you want to find your parents, I will help you find them. If you would rather not see them, you can come with me. There's paid work within the Rebel Alliance. I don't expect you want to be left in the hands of the Empire."
Wei stretched and stood when the bellhop knocked on the door. "There's dinner. For now, let's focus on the present. We will eat, get a hot shower each, and get a full night's rest. Then tomorrow I will begin my mission." Wei paused and mischief danced in his eyes. "That is, unless you would like me to leave the slaving ring in tact to sentence more people to a life of hopelessness, despair, and cruelty."
He realized his teasing might not be received well, and before Jordana could reply the Force Cripple apologized. "I'm sorry. That was mean. Come eat, and we'll see what we can't do to make you laugh."
-
Food! The girl didn't need to be told twice as she nearly ran the Jedi Knight over as she bolted from the balcony to the room. She sat down at the small table for two and anxiously got their plates set up. The child was already taking a huge far from ladylike bite from her happy patty and chewing it hungrily. Catsup dotted the side of her mouth and a mustard drip colored her chin. "Fffhiss is ssssoo gooooood! Mmmm!" It was a wonder Jordana didn't choke with how quickly she inhaled the first three humongous chomps she put into that burger. But as her stomach's signal to the brain finally arrived to tell it that it was okay, the girl could slow down, she had alraedy beaten it to the punch. Some shroomchips were stuffed into her half-full mouth and it was all washed down with a healthy drink of the Lurol smoothie.
"OooOOO! OW! I hate that!" The pre-teen exclaimed with a sharp hiss of pain. Her right hand immediately shot up to rub furiously at her right brow. "Brain freeze," she explained. It took a good two minutes for it to subside, too, which really sucked! Now she finally grabbed a napkin and wiped the sauces and crumbs from her mouth, then took a much smaller bite of the happy patty. "Do you like horror movies?" She asked. "I ask because Tenta Kill-5 starts in a few minutes." Jordana indicated the advertisement tent sitting off to the side of the table. It was bragging about the hotel's special holofilm channels that came free with the room but most others across the 'Verse had to pay for the special service.
"It's about a group of kids who go camping and wind up fighting for their lives as they're attacked by a vicious, humongous, gross swamp monster! Quality entertainment right there, I tell ya'," Jordana said as she swung her foot, nibbled a shroomchip, and flashed the Jedi a big cheesy grin.
Interesting how the child didn't comment one way or the other at the Jedi's offer to help her find her parents. Of course, the pre-teen assumed they had been killed. And why not? Her daddy hadn't come to her rescue, neither did her mom. Weren't parents who loved their kids suppose to swoop in and save the day?
"Come on, you know you want to watch one of the best "B" rated horror holo's ever made," the girl said in a tone of voice that both dared and teased the Jedi Knight.
-
Wei shrugged and smiled. "Sure. Let's see what's going on in cinema."
The Jedi allowed Jordana to do whatever she liked. She had such a hard day. She deserved to be entertained. "If you end up with nightmares, just remember that my lightsaber is not a night light," he joked back.
The girl was in a playful mood. That was good. She needed to laugh. So Wei would play the part of fun babysitter for now. Wei sat down with his own food--a large bowl of noodles in a sweet coconut broth. The Force Cripple added some spicy sauce to his noodles and pulled a pair of chopsticks from a fold in his sash.
Wei glanced at them fondly. The sticks were made of a solid, heavy wood carved with vines ending in budding blossoms. A gift from his wife on their first wedding anniversary. His face flickered with sadness for a moment, then he let go of the feeling.
He took a mouthful of his food and set up the holoprojector to play Tenta Kill-5.
-
"Oh ha ha," the girl said when Wei told her she couldn't use his lightsaber in the event of a nightmare. But her tone hinted that it was all in jest.
Jordana wrapped her food back up. For someone who was completely starved, she only ate about half of her burger and a quarter of the shroomchips. Jordana had learned a few years ago that she couldn't allow herself to over eat for if she did, it'd be coming right back up. She usually ate half then waited half an hour. If she was still hungry then she could eat a little more.
"Wait, don't start the movie just yet. I hear the shower calling me!" Amazing how a little bit of food could change the mood of someone. Jordana felt much better now that her tummy was full. The girl grabbed her backpack and shook the contents out onto the bed. There wasn't much. A sketch book that also served as a diary, wadded up pages that had been ripped from the sketch book, a writing stylus, and a photo. The girl sighed. Not even a clean pair of underwear to put on once she got out of the shower.
Thirty minutes later, Jordana finally emerged from the 'fresher. She had a towel wrapped around her head and her body. "Okay, Wei. 'Fresher is all yours. You can start the movie now. Oh, do you have any change? I thought I saw a sign for a laundry room right off of the lobby so I can wash our clothes."
Jordana sat down at the end of the bed she'd occupy this night. She watched Wei as he cleaned up the table a bit, noticing that he'd cleaned the chopsticks he was using before and laid them carefully on a napkin. "Those are very pretty," she complimented, having noticed the delicate ornate carving up near the top. "I'm not sure how you're able to eat witht those things, though. I tried once and let me tell you," the girl shook her head, "It was not pretty!" The pre-teen finished saying as she stood and folded the comforter down and turned back the sheet and blanket.
-
Wei picked up the sticks with a small flourish. "I have two pair, actually. They're--" he paused for a moment. "They're special. If you want to learn, perhaps I will teach you. And don't worry about the laundry. I'll take care of that."
The Jedi watched the girl preparing the bed for the night. "So, no movie after all? Or will you be watching from under the covers?"
He had a few spare changes of clothes now that he joined the Rebel Alliance, but they were hidden along with R4 and the starfighter. Wei wanted to get some new clothes for Jordana, but at such an hour all the clothing stores would be closed. It would have to keep.
While the astromech was on his mind, the Jedi checked his chrono and his personal comm. No word yet. Wei wasn't worried. It might be a little while before R4 checked in. It might not be until morning depending on how difficult accessing the Empire's databanks proved to be.
"Give me the clothes you want washed, and I'll handle it. The movie is set to start whenever you like. Just press the button on the remote there. Also, it seems the room came with a small refrigeration unit, so I put your food in there. You can reheat it whenever you like."
Satisfied that everything was in order and Jordana's basic needs had been met, Wei was ready to get cleaned up and ready to sleep. It had been a long day.
"I have a card key. I plan to put the 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the door so the help doesn't bother you when I go clean the laundry. If anyone knocks, or tries to get in, ask for the password. The password is Hydrospanner."
-
"You don't get to watch movies much, do you?" The girl asked as she hopped into the bed and pulled the covers up, then bunched them all around her. Once those were bunched perfectly, she propped her pillows up and then grabbed that comforter she had folded to the end of the bed. That, too, had to be bunched up just right around her. Once she was comfy and all settled in, the pre-teen grabbed the remote from the nightstand that was situated between their beds. "Whenever you are going to watch a scary B-rated holohorror, you must be comfy cozy and all bundled up. Unless, of course, you're older and have a boyfriend. Or in your case, a girlfriend. Then it's a rule or something that the girl has to curl up next to her guy and, in your case, you must put your arm around your girl and keep her safe from the oogity-boogity." The orphan explained to the Jedi Knight.
But that also made her think of a question. As out of the blue as it might seem, she asked, "Are Jedi allowed to have a love interest? What about marriage? Can you get married? And if you can't ... how do more Jedi get made?"
Jordana pointed to the direction of the 'fresher. "I left my clothes in there on the floor. You might want to hold your nose when you pick them up. They're pretty ripe," she warned him, wrinkling her freckled button nose as she nodded as-matter-of-factly. Reaching up, the girl gave the towel wrapped around her head a good rustling then pulled it away. Her dark blond hair had a tendency to curl a bit on its own near the ends. "Can you pick up a brush? Oh, and maybe a toothbrush and toothpaste please?"
The look on Wei's face made Jordana giggle. She nodded. "Yes! I heard you. If anyone knocks ask for a password, which is hydrospanner. But if someone tries to get in, I'm just going to scream. Somehow I don't think anyone breaking and entering is going to have a password."
-
Wei listened with patient amusement. For being a girl who had such a hard time living as a slave, she had a very resilient spirit.
"When I was a Jedi during the Clone Wars, Jedi were not allowed love interests and marriages. The Jedi Council saw them as needless attachment that fired up the emotions and tempted people to the Dark Side. We would say "There is no Emotion: There is Peace. There is no Ignorance: There is Knowledge. There is no Passion: There is Serenity. There is no Chaos: There is Harmony. There is no Death: There is the Force. We did not allow ourselves attachment, did not allow our emotions to get the better of us, and learned not to let getting what we wanted get us instead."
Wei shrugged. "I never did understand the process, but there were Jedi assigned to different planets tasked with checking infants for Force Sensitivity. We discovered a correlation between Force Sensitivity and having a high midichlorian count, but it was a bit more complex than that. Jedi didn't have to have children in order for there to be more Jedi: we just needed the other parents to commit their children to the cause."
Wei sat on the edge of his bed. "It's ok, though. Any Jedi who grew up during that time would eventually wonder who their parents were, but we were ok with not knowing. Even though we never met them, our parents gave us a fantastic opportunity. The Jedi brought me up in a safe and supportive environment. They taught me to do something fantastic. I was always at peace. Also, I got to see more of the galaxy and meet most of the most interesting people in the entire universe. I didn't need attachments or a wife: it was as though the entire galaxy was my family."
Wei stood and looked away. "Of course, Order 66 brought all that to a stop, and then there were no Jedi anymore. But they didn't kill all of us." Wei turned back to the girl and offered a roguish wink. "I went back to my home planet and hid. I met my father, and I did indeed have plenty an opportunity to keep a beautiful woman safe from the oogity-boogity."
The Force Cripple grabbed the smelly clothes off of the refresher floor and pulled a comical face. "I think some sort of new life form is germinating in these clothes. I'll be back."
Wei stepped out of the room and locked the door behind him. He checked the tags for the girl's sizes and committed them to memory, then he put them in the wash.
-
Jordana only had two choices in life now. Either give up and die or pick herself up - no matter how many times or how hard she falls - and continue on. Her father had once told her that it would be a cold day in Hell before he'd ever just give up and that he expected the same tenacity from any child of his. So it was, probably on a subconcious level, that Jordana persevered for two reasons: to honor her father, and, to spit in the face of those who tried to break her. Spite was a very powerful ally; if used properly.
The child smiled gently to the Jedi Knight as she listened to his experience. There wasn't anything she could say to make any of the horrors he lived through any less horrible and the child wasn't about to add insult to injury by even trying to come up with anything to say. Her smile grew a little when he mentioned a new life form growing in those clothes of hers, then she watched the man leave the room.
After hearing the door lock, Jordana lifted the remote and had her finger poised over the play button but didn't push down on it. Thoughts of something Wei had said really made her think, forced her to wrap her mind around them and what they might mean. In fact, so perplexed by these words, the girl tossed back the blankets and padded over to a small desk that sat in a far corner of the room. She found some paper and a pen and wrote them down, meaning to ask Wei about them in the morning.
She took the notepad back to the bed with her and set it down on the nightstand. Then she hopped back in, bundled herself up, and hit play. It was time to completely enjoy Tenta-Kill 5.
In five minutes flat ....
The girl was out like a light.
-
Laundry cycles were never very long affairs, and soon enough Jordana's clothes were clean. Wei grabbed the collar of his own shirt and gave it a quick sniff. His nose wrinkled at what he discovered. He'd need to get his own clothes washed soon. But he'd get a fresh set from his small cargo compartment first.
R4 checked in just before Wei returned to the hotel room. Several locations ping as hotspots for local crime. A casino, an abandoned amusement park, and a few cantinas in the area. It is likely the casino funds the ring, the cantinas provide "merchandise" and the amusement park is where the new slaves are sold and shipped away. Exercise caution.
The Force Cripple opened the door to the hotel room before replying. I shall. Forgot my change of clothes with you. I will be by in the early morning to fetch them. I have a few errands to run for myself and this girl. I also have some other assignments for you as well.
I will faithfully serve.
No doubt most of these places will be well-guarded, but even they have lulls in security and business. Later tonight--perhaps halfway between midnight and sunrise--Fly by the casino, amusement park, and a couple of the cantinas for a visual check. Don't fire the thrusters, don't start up life supports, or even the safety lights. It'll take some time, but you should be able to get to all of these places on just repulsors. With luck, you'll look like a late-night cargo skiff. Get me some holos of these places. If there's any sign of trouble, run like a taun-taun.
Acknowledged. Good night.
Wei put up the comm and slipped into the refresher. After a quick shower, Wei checked on Jordana. Fast asleep. Wei turned off the movie and lay in his own bed. Then he too slept.
**********
The following morning, Wei got up early, met R4 at their base camp outside of town, got his spare clothes, and then went shopping. The Jedi managed to find a clothing store that opened early, and bought three outfits in Jordana's size: a fresh pair of pants and a cute top along with a good pair of running shoes; a knee length dress that suited the moderate temperature with a pair of matching sandals; and lastly, a sleeveless black dress that went to her ankles with matching heels and purse.
Wei knew if he brought her along, she would need to run. The short dress was just for fun. The black dress was set to stun. If the casino turned out to be a very high-society sort of place, she would need to appear older. Clothes and make-up could make anyone seem older, or at least more mature. But it took poise and sophistication to sell someone the notion a person was an adult.
Fortunately or unfortunately, Wei knew that many full-grown women who loved to gamble were hardly poised or sophisticated. The Force Cripple wasn't sure what Jordana's parents were like, but Wei knew if Jordana was his daughter, he'd want her to know how to behave with class. He'd figure out how to teach her. Luckily for him, he had been married to a very classy lady.
The Jedi snuck back into the room in time to lay the clothes out and order breakfast for himself and his charge before Jordana could wake up herself. Breakfast would arrive in a few hours, leaving Wei time to meditate on the Jedi Code while the sun rose.
-
As Jordana woke, the girl just laid there in the bed on her left side, facing the wall. She had a moment where she had completely forgotten where she was and whom she was with. Waking in a strange place in a strange bed ... but then she remembered and it was okay. So comfortable she had been, for it'd been years since she last slept on a real bed, the girl had slept so soundly that for once she did not wake from nightmares. She actually felt very well rested for the first time in a very long time.
The orphan rolled onto her back and glanced over to see Wei kneeling on the floor with his eyes closed. Her mom use to do this sometimes but while sitting on the couch. She use to call it her mental vacation. When Jordana asked what that was, her mother explained that since she and their father would never be able to afford to go on a real vacation, that sometimes she would close her eyes and let herself mentally pretend that they were on vacation; usually it was some exotic location that Jordana had never heard of. Of course, being a child, Jordana didn't quite understand what her mom was talking about and thought it was really weird. But she also learned to just leave her mom alone when she was 'on vacation' like that so she left Wei alone, too, as she tossed the covers back and sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
As she stood she saw the new clothes laid out at the foot of her bed. The girl glanced to the still meditating Jedi Knight then back to the clothes again. She smiled. The pants and shirt she could totally dig. The dresses though? Jordana had never really owned a dress before so she could't imagine being able to wear one and have it look nice on her. She also saw the heels, which made her stifle a chuckle. I trip over my own shadow and I'm suppose to wear these at some point? Psh! The long dress was pretty. It was simple but quite elegant, at least in Jordana's twelve-almost-thirteen year old opinion.
The sundress and sandals were cute, too. In fact, Jordana was surprised that Wei had some taste in women's clothing. Not many men were able to choose clothes for the opposite sex and have it match, let alone look good on the person. Of course, Jordana's opinion as to whether or not either dress would look good on her wasn't really high on the meter. The girl grabbed the jeans and t-shirt, the clean underwear, and disappeared into the 'fresher. She was overjoyed to see a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a hair brush on the vanity sink for her, too. The girl spent five minutes brushing her teeth. She couldn't stand having a dirty, icky mouth! Of course, when one grew up poor with parents who couldn't afford and didn't have any type of insurance, one learned how to take care of their teeth and body really well.
Even though she had showered last night, the girl did it again. Because she could, not because she had to. In her mind she also didn't know if she'd get to shower again tomorrow so she might as well take advantage of it while she still could. She was grateful for Wei's help and generosity, but she doubted he'd let her tag along once he was finished with this mission he set out to do in bringing down the slaver ring and freeing the slaves -- or whatever it was.
Needless to say it was at least an hour from the time Jordana had entered the 'fresher to the time she finally exited. She had on the jeans and t-shirt Wei picked out for her, her wet hair brushed neatly. The girl would let it air dry as she always had before. "Thanks, for all this," Jordana said to the Jedi Knight as she motioned to the new clothes and then indicated the room they'd shared for the night, too. A knock on the door had the girl glancing over her shoulder, but Wei assured her it was probably all right, just room service. Still, to be safe, she stood off to the side and let the man take care of it.
Sure enough it was food and it smelled so good! Jordana sat down at the table and started to dig in as soon as Wei set out the plates. "Hey, Wei? You said some things last night that really got me thinkin' and I wanted to ask you some questions. Is that all right?" He indicated with a nod that it would be acceptable.
"Astral! Okay, well ... you said that the Jedi Council didn't allow marriages and for Jedi to love another because they thought it was needless attachment that fired up emotions, right? But fired up emotions can be so useful, so powerful, so motivational. I mean, as long as someone was able to control those emotions, I guess, and not use them to do bad things, what's wrong with being attached and emotional with someone? You also said that it could lure people to the Dark Side? What is the Dark side? I'm guessing its bad, huh? And if there's a dark side, is there a light side? What's the Force?"
-
"Well," Wei said after a mouthful of egg, "if we want to see the danger in powerful emotions, then we need to study the Dark Side itself. The Sith--the enemies of the Jedi--have a code. I recited the Jedi Code last night."
Wei grabbed his datapad and a stylus, opened a word processor, and started to scrawl out words.
There is no Emotion: There is Peace.
There is no Ignorance: There is Knowledge.
There is no Passion: There is Serenity.
There is no Chaos: There is Harmony.
There is no Death: There is the Force.
"This is the Jedi Code," The Force Cripple explained. "The Sith Code goes as such:"
Peace is a Lie: There is only Passion.
Through Passion I gain Strength.
Through Strength I gain Power.
Through Power I gain Victory.
Through Victory my Chains are Broken.
The Force shall set me Free.
"You are right that there is a Light Side of the Force, as well as a Dark Side. The Jedi allow the Light Side to flow through them. A Sith commands the Dark Side, and bends it to their will."
Wei paused. He ate a few mouthfuls and chewed slowly while he considered his next several words. The Jedi's mind rifled through the experiences of his life to find a means to express the two philosophies accurately and clearly.
"Let's talk about last night. Remember when I faced off with that bouncer? There was a very real chance that we could have been killed. Remember how you felt? Were you scared? Were you upset about the situation? Maybe you were angry?"