Maren looked out of the ship as it approached the planet. He saw how thousands of different ships from smaller than his companion's one to ones who were bigger than some of the mountain ranges on his planet coming and going from the planet. He knew about starships of course. The elders talked about how they brought the outsiders and he could sometimes observe them flying to the location of the Nightsisters. These were few and far between and never grand like in some of the cases here. The boy was seriously impressed and had to thank himself for his quick thinking, accompaning the strange person he found in the middle of nowhere.
As they were approaching the planet a 'Peep' sound came from the frontdesk. Then a little blue light emitted from a disk and a metallic person appeared with no mouth and shining dots for eyes in his round head.
"Pleaze, identify yourself." the robot rasped in a monotone voice
"Jedi Master Pfthia Cell from the jedi temple."
"Well, this is kinda a given if someone is a jedi." the droid croacked in a tone, which almost could be misunderstood as sarcasm.
"You have permission to land."
"Thaaaank you," chirped Maren's associate, "and have a good day."
"I have to inspect gonks like you how do think my day is." the planetary guard answered before the connection ended.
The ship entered the planet's atmosphere. Once again Maren could not believe what he saw. The whole planet was one gigantic city with buildings with all shapes and sizes. It was like when he played with some of his brothers building with stones only that on this world the playing kid actualized his wild imaginations. While they flew he could see buildings reaching into the sky, vast casms beneath them and everywhere there were different types of flying vehicles, looking like insects buzzing around this hive city. Maren tried to not let these new influences shake his demeanor, but it was hard not to feel exitement... or stress. The boy could not really pinpoint the emotions he should feel right now. On one hand he wanted to immediatly explore this fascinating place but on the other hand the warrior in him expressed extreme caution. Something about this place was dangerous and not in the kind Maren was used to.
"Are we going to the temple directly?"
"Yes, that was the plan, why?" she looked at him for a moment and then a smug smile creeped up on her face, "Oh, do you want to sightseeing with me."
"No", Maren answered, hoping his natural skincolour would not expose his shame. Then he realized she was blind and he felt even more embarrassed. He calmed himself down and spoke further with a stoic voice. "No, what I mean is I only have a loincloth on. I don't know how it is with the jedi, but from your outfit I would assume you are not nudists."
"You are right, we aren't, well sometimes Master Kalip but he believes in the living force so... yeah let us get you some clothes first."
The droid steered the ship from its original course and flew it to a spaceport with hundreds of different ships lining up.
Before they left Maren got a mantle, a simple shirt, shoes and new tousers, which were a bit too large for him from his benefector. The lad put the tooth and the sphere in the pockets. He was sure it translated for him, because he was certain they did not speak his mother tongue with each other anymore and this planet spoke it probably not too.
The droid unplucked himself from it and the trio left the ship.
They waited a while for the shuttleship all the while the woman complained about the delay and the robot peeped and dooded similary angry. When the shuttle finally artived the three of them entered it, in reality the woman and Maren entered. The droid had to go into the cargo bay, something he was quite unfond of. The shuttle was very cramped, but his companion got him a seat place at the window. The nice couple who sat there before were so kind to five them their seats... with a bit convincing from the jedi. Maren looked out the window, looking at marketplaces, enormous parades and other curiosities. He asked about some of them and to each one she gave an answer... or at least tried to. It did not matter to him, he just wanted to get some information out of her and the best way to do it is to start with simple, inoffensive ones.
He asked her about her favourite colour, food, music and other things. Her anwers were for the firsts red, noodles, what is that, and opera, because it is so bombastic. But she did not have a paticular explicit taste in music.
Now on to the more complicated ones.
"What did you search on Dathomir?"
"I already told you, silly. I had a vision I would find my destiny in that system, but I thought I will find it on Taris, but you were on Dathomir so the force led me to you."
'Oh right I already ask her that.'
"So you still believe I am your destiny."
"Yes, absolutely, you are strong in the force chi- eh... Maren."
"Yes yes, you can call me that." he answered with a wave of his hand. It was inevitable.
"Yaaay! We are getting closer." the jedi said cherfully, clapping her hands in quick succession
"And what did you see in your vision?"
"Nothing much just a strong presence in that system and it will be with me forever."
Maren woulf be not unpleased if this came true.
'So next question.'
"How did you loose you eyes?"
"Oh I didn't loose them I am a Miraluka, we see through the force."
"Hmh I understand."
He did not.
'So that is why she does not run into every wall, despite being so... energetic all the time.'
"And you put this machine on your head while we played to help you see."
"That's right, I can see basically everything, some things even better than a person with eyes, but hologames and ship piloting are kinda not my strenght. But after I got that headseat I can at least see the games as any other...I think."
"Marvelous", came deadpan out of Maren's mouth, "so what can I expect when we arrive at the temple."
The blind woman gave him shrewd smile. "Tehee, that's a secret."
Maren could swear that she winked under her blindfold, he narrowed his eyes.
"You could at least give me some information, I think we both do not want that I make a fool out of us."
"You won't make a fool out of yourself and especially me and if someone says something else they can bite me."
Maren was shocked about the sudden declaration of loyalty and could just in time prevent himself to make a surprised sound. 'Well colour me surprised.'
What the young boy would take several years to realize is what the other emotions he felt were. But for now he could only identify the initial one. He was so taken aback, he didn't even continue his questioning. He was really not good at this. He should work on that.
"Oh we are almost there."
The young lad looked out of the window. They were heading to a massive marketspace. Apparently here was a festival too, looking at the bountiful an colourful banners theear deafining music and the mercants who tried to scream even louder. Maren did not know where to look first, so like he learned from his training he firstly looked for possible threats and escapes. He looked at the woman.
"This is our destiny."
"You mean destination."
"Oh yeah," she scrached her head, similar colour as Maren's now, while laughing nervously "sometimes I forget to switch of the jedi, but let's get R4 and get of."
After they did that with some complications, one reason being it was everyone's destination, the other being that they were frisked for weapons at the entrance by the police. The woman showed them that she was a jedi and after some discussion they reached the marketplace.
"And now, for some trousers and shirts for you."
With R4 in company the group were scooping around the plaza. The place was really big. His escort told him that it would take probably two to three days to traverse it.
"But the the guy we're going to visit is not far away."
There were all kinds of different shops all around, from those who sold clothes, those who sold children toys and those who sold more exotic "stuff". One for example had some kind of, in the boy's opinion, garbage pile, which was just different metals in dozen of shapes and forms. The various colourschemes of the metals were highly incompatable with each other and there were a lot of sharp edges. Maren would use it as a toture device. After a more intimate examination and a question to the woman ,who in return asked the handler, both found out it was supposed to be a bench modern art apparently.
"More like MIDern art, right?" she nudge the boy with her elbow, while giggling like a little girl.
"You are such a killjoy." came the answer with a pout after she did not hear Maren laugh.
'Maybe I should have stayed with the Nightsisters... but I like the expression she gives, I wonder why.' he thought scraching his chin.
The boy reassured her that the joke was great and he was just baffled at its genius, which lightend her mood.
Walking further the trio came to a parade. Here was the epicenter of all the noise. The group waited a bit on behalf of the jedi even though she could not see. Her answer was she could definetly see the people. Maren still did not understand how her sight exactly worked. He saw stages on wheels, where on top multiple people, aliens all of them. What interested him more was the clothing or more the lack of clothing the females wore. They barely covering their more... explicet areas. Aside from that the colourful outfits were decorated with little metallic plates, climpering as the dancers moved in hypnotic circle movements and catching the sunlight giving them an even more colourful appearence.
Maren did not know, but he would really like to put the woman in one of those and watch her dance. At the front of the biggest wagon stood a dazziling woman. Blue skin with two tubes going out of her head going as far as her knees, a captivating figure and most importantly a bright shining smile. Maren appreaciated her beauty even though he felt not the same feelings as when he looked at his companion. In his eyes she eclipsed the dancer in... he did not know what.
The hoofer had the same outfit on as the others except she wore a crown out of feathers from animals the boy did not recognized. The awestruck lad will one day try... no WILL convince the jedi to wear it too, this was unquestionable. The complete set has of course to be worn or it would not be right. The reason was ahain not quite clear to him, but it HAD to be done.
While exploring these confusing feelings, he suddenly had a itch at the back of his head. He immeadiatly discarded his previous thoughts and concentrated on it. As long as he remembered he had pratically a sixth sense for danger and the sorts. It was never wrong so Maren tend to give it its absolute attention. The young boy looked around the crowd. Multiple aliens, each looking stranger than the last standing packed being enamoured by the star.
"HAS EVERYONE A GOOD TIME!" she screamed in a device in front of her mouth, shining her great smile. The crowd went wild with cheers, Maren did not pay attention and was searching for the reason of his worry.
"THEN SHOW ME!"
The crowd went even wilder and everybody started to dance, cheering at her.
"I LOVE YOU ALL. WITHOUT YOU I COULD NOT BE HERE", she yelled while blowing kisses.
Maren would have admired her ability to persuade thousands of people, but he was more and more agitated by this suspicion in his head.
'What could it be?' The pulsating in his head grew louder and louder. This usually death on his part and he was far too young to do that.
Then after what for him felt like too long of a time finally the boy found the source of his unease. There was an alien, green in skin, large bulging black eyes, two atenna like growths comming out of his head and a pointy mouth. He was small, for a Dathomirian, but still good two heads taller as Maren. He wore a long dark coat and for a brief moment Maren could see what only could be a weapon on his hips.
'Why would someone go on a festival wearing dark clothes.' This was of course not his only reasoning for suspecting him, the more prominent one was that he did not joined the dancing and his weird look at the star. He did not blink once while looking at her and he had a look between absolute admiration and boundless fury.
"Woman.", he tried to get her attention.
"Yes, Maren." she gave him her usual beatiful smile, her shining white teeth making him blink. She really exceeded the front dancer in every aspect.
"That guy there, possible threat."
The woman looked at the stranger and almost gasped.
"You are right, we have to stop him." she put her hand on her weapon.
"Don't this will cause a mass hysteria."
The woman nodded. "Let's take him by surprise."
"I go to the front and you the back, metal man go with her."
The jedi looked at him puzzled. The droid peeped unpleased.
"Trust me. It will be great."
Maren and his companions encircled the alien, which was harder than it seemed as there were loads of people crammed at the plaza, but he was small so it was not a huge problem. The woman on the other hand easily through the crowd. The droid just rammened them aside, what caused some ruckus, but the people were just too engrosed with the star of the show to care. They had to hurry as the green alien moved his hand to his weapon ever closer, still looking like in a trance straight at the dancer. Then finally just before he reached it Maren got to him.
"Hey what's up."
"H h huh?" the male groaned, but now looking at the boy.
"Trying to kill her?"
"Y Ye Yeah"
"Can't have that."
And with the might of a Dathomirian dragon the boy made a great an powerful fist, reached back and punched him square... in the testicles.
"Ooohh", the alien went as he slumped forward, at the same time the woman gracefully came from behind and snatched the blaster from his belt and put it under her coat. For good measure the droid rammened into him and he fell face down in the dirt.
Suddenly some people with funny sharpended hats rushed through the crowd to the trios position. When they arrived they took a look at the downed person.
"Master jedi, is this the man you were talking about."
"Yes, take him away and I want to talk to him later."
"I am sorry Master jedi, but this a case for the police."
"And now it is mine, after he attacked my padawan or do you not know paragraph 958 of the galactic decree."
The policeman scrached his head, visibly uncomftorble, but then gave out a sigh waving his hand as to wish away the problem.
"Understood, we bring him to the station."
"No you bring him to the temple, some of the guards will get him, you can come with if you like."
The policeman and his colleagues grumbled a bit, but agreed.
"Why did you not let the guardians let gim bring to the temple?", Maren whispered.
"Because you saw how tight the checkpoints were, how did a guy like THIS get in?"
Maren understood... a possible leek and she did not trust them to deliver him safely.
To not disturb the people any longer, the group took the criminal into a holding jail not far from their position. For Maren it was gigantic. This place had 50 cells on two floors and you could probably get 10 people in there. The floors were wide enough so that 5 people can walk shoulder on shoulder. The jedi told him this jail was a small one and was built recently for the festival and there were multiple around the route of the festival. With the three policemen that accompanied them, there were 15 of them at the building. A few of them wearing masks. According to his travel partner, some policemen, who work in more dangerous parts do that so criminals could not target them and for the festival a part of them were probably stationed here. In the holding cells were some aliens put together, possible drunkards or other smaller delinquents.
The bug eyed alien was brought to the back of the first floor to private cell. While he was dragged to it he screamed in a really high voice: "It's all her fault, she told me she loved me, but you saw how she wiggled in front of all those people in that skimpy outfit like a WHORE."
"But isn't she a professional dancer? That is her job, isn't it?", the woman asked as the police officers put him in his cell and activated some kind of barrier excuding a red light.
"Don't you get it you dumb cunt, the last time I visited her I told her to stop doing it for other people and come live with me in my appartement. There she can do what you women are supposed to do, to cook, clean and take care of our children and I provide."
"And what do you work as?"
The alien was silent for a minute staring at her with contempt. "Right now I don't have a job, but only because this asshole of boss didn't like that I took some money out of the register. He is the thief giving us so low salary and I had to pay to visit Aari. As if he doesn't stuff his own pockets."
"You paid her so you can visit her?"
The male shook his head in diapprovement, doing a tsk tsk sound.
"Stupid female, she is the most beautiful girl in the galaxy,"
'That is not true.' thought Maren.
"and I pay 1000 Credits a month to her and THEN SHE DOES SPMETHING LIKE THIS! I TOLD HER TO STOP THAT. SHE LIED TO ME! SHE SAID SHE LOVED ME! FUCKING WOMEN THEY ARE ALL THE SAME!" the male now started to scream the last sentences repeadiatly. Maren got kinda annoyed by his hollering, but more importantly he got his weird feeling again.
"We can talk later in the temple more. Let us just wait."
After a few more minutes of whining, the door opened. Maren and the woman sat on each side of the cell with three of the policemen with masks and the droid with them. The rest went back to the front and played a game with numbers and people on little paper boards. The jedi told him they were playing cards and she will show me later some games. The prisoner still was on about how women will betray you, but Maren knew that kind, the cowardly kind, the elders were the same, he would be the first one to abandon you if the times got rough.
They heard a rattle in the front. Five more policemen came in and went to the office where the others were. Then the twelve officers suddely left. Maren's suspicion grew bigger. He looked at the woman. She did not look back, but he felt how she reached out to him again. She noticed. The five new guys came to the back and greeted their colleagues, then they turned to jedi and said with a distorted voice.
"Master jedi, your people arrive soon, you can wait at the front and relax a bit."
"No we sit here very well."
The policeman was quiet for a moment before he continued. Maren readied himself.
"You must be tired, it would be good for your and your padawan's health to go to the front room."
"No, no I don't think so."
The eight cops looked at each other and then
"Master jedi we implore you to reconsider."
The woman looked at him.
"No."
The officer sighed, making a metallic rustling noise with the mask, the other police officers getting agitated. Maren could feel . But they will soon learn, a jedi is differnt from a general mobster.
"Then we hav-"
"Mister officer", said Maren innocently, "when did you and your colleagues become policemen."
Casually while he spoke the sentence he threw the orb at one policeman on the far left and jumped at the other one on the far rightwith his little makeshift knife. The thing here was that people instictively want to listen to the whole sentence first. If you do two things simultaneously, you can catch them by surprise. He learned that during his training on Dathomir. The jedi sprung up and ignited her double-bladed yellow lightsaber. The policemen still not knowing where to look first, slow on the draw were no match for the trio. While Maren who was now stabbing the unprotected throat of the officer, the jedi used her powers to easily push the rest against the wall, pinning them down. The with a piroutte she sliced four of them in one horizontal swing, killing the four on the left.
As this happened the guy Maren attacked, threw the boy on the ground, bleeding from his neck but not lethally. He held his hand on the bleeding wound and drawing his weapon. Maren never seen something like that, but from what he gathered, they point it at you and then you die.
"You little freak, not bad, but sadly not enough, nice try tho."
Maren stared into his soul, while he finished his monoloue. Holding his little bloody pircer, he did not dare to advance, not because of the fear of death, he did not have it, but at this moment the droid, who the policemen foolishly did not see as an enemy got behind him. A little metal probe came out if the droid and just as the cop wanted to shoot, a small bolt of lightnig appeared from the probe and zapped him in the leg.
"Ah, shit damnit." the man screamed losing the feeling in his leg and dropping on one knee. Maren not letting go of another chance, rushed to him and now more on his level rammened his knife again in his throat this time hitting a vital area. The man tried to shoot the boy before he met the void, but the angle was weird and R4 zapped this time his shooting arm. With a gargle he went down, the blood making a mess out Maren's new shoes. He wanted to kick the fallen enemy for ruining his shoes, but decided against, because he did not want to shame him and himself with such childish behaviour.
At the same time the last three officers fought with all their might against the force that pushed them against the wall, but were suddely released from it falling to their knees.
"Surrender, enough are dead, this is over."
"Sadly failing is worse than dying by your hands, master jedi", the leader said, regret mixed with defeat in his tone. The other two raised their weapons and pulled the trigger. Blue beams emitted from the end and flew with blinding speed at the jedi. Maren wanted to shout something, but the women just effortlessly, almost annoyed at the audacity to attempt something this idiotic, redirected the bolts back to their faces, leaving only the leader alive. He just looked to them laughed sorrowful and put the blaster against his temple.
"The money wasn't worth it. Not their lives."
But Maren using the chaos already sneaked behind him and kicked the blaster out of his hand. The officer could only turn around and give a short displeased "Hey" before the woman flicked her hand and he crashed against the wall. The man made groaned, seemingly still concious, only barely.
The trio looked at the aftermath, at the bodies on the ground. The woman looked at them with a stern look on her marble coloured face.
"The guards should be almost here, after we done shopping and with your initiation into the jedi order, I am going to have a lot of work to do."
"Hopefully that excludes the cleaning", Maren mumbled sarcastically to himself.