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Cutie Cuddlies


Jimcorpus

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Cutie Cuddlees

 

“May I order Kowakian monkey Master?” The Togrutan woman, in her dark brown Jedi robe, looked from her menu shown on the tabletop to her fourteen-year-old padawan. The two waited for their Onodone waiter while the green planet Onod One, with all its flowers, spun on its axis through the window.

 

“Why couldn’t you Furia?” Jedi Knight Pricilli Tonna prepared herself for the unusual answer that may come from her padawan of nine years. It happened before. It will happen again.

 

“Some people think they are sentient beings with their own language and culture. That they are advisors to the Hutts.”

 

“Irritating things more likely. They don’t have a language. They don’t have their own villages or other social gatherings. Someone is fooling you Furia. They are pets of Hutts, not advisors. Who told you that?"

 

“Padawan Jankin. He told me one time when I was practicing in the martial arts training area.” Furia referred to an older padawan that recently passed his survival test, and will soon take part with his trials.

 

“Well, I need to talk with his Master. The only people you need to learn from are either myself, or one of the teachers in the classroom. And back to your question. Yes, you may have Kowakian lizard monkey.”

 

“Thank you Master. Ho ho ho.” Pricilli narrowed her eyelids as her padawan just replied in Huttese, using the Force to perfectly sound like a Hutt. People around the café glanced over at their table. Pricilli felt grateful Furia had an interest in the Huttese language. The ginger haired padawan will most likely take the class when she is older. It was just Furia picked wrong times to speak it.

 

The waiter eventually came to their table, with a floating small spherical translator droid. An Onodone from the planet below, he portrayed brown skin with a very long trunk for a nose. His trunk filtered out pollen when breathing on the planet below. An individual experienced a beautiful sight walking on the planet, gazing on all the colors of its flowers. In addition, colors moved about with all the little creatures pollinating those flowers. However, because of all the flowers, Onod One had the title of the allergy capital of the galaxy. Most sentients needed to wear a helmet to breathe due to the abundance of pollen. “Welcome to Onod One Space Station Café. Would you like to start with a drink?” The droid spoke in basic after the waiter talked in his language, with an extreme nasal sound due to his long trunk.

 

“We are actually ready to order. Padawan, you may proceed.” Pricilli responded while looking at the face of the waiter, not distracted by the long trunk since she observed so many different species of sentients from all her years as a Jedi. She then turned to Furia to see what she would order. Wearing a forest green long sleeve shirt and tights, with a dark brown miniskirt to go along with a narrow belt and ankle high running boots, nothing was the typical look of a Jedi for Furia other than her mandatory Jedi robe that showed the same dark brown color as her own. Her padawan loved pushing the boundaries of what attire would be allowed. Perhaps this was Furia’s way of acting out since they recently moved from Tython to Coruscant. “No” Pricilli thought to herself. Furia displayed this behavior even before they moved to Coruscant.

 

“Grilled Kowakian lizard monkey, medium well, with sweet vegetable side and prohibitionist Rishi punch for the drink.

 

Pricilli wrinkled her face a little. How did this fourteen-year-old know the term prohibitionist punch?

 

“And you ma’am?” The waiter asked as he turned to the Togrutan.

 

After a little sigh, Pricilli responded. “Dinner plant with Amanzi nuts and a glass of blue milk.” Pricilli wanted to make sure her meal had plenty of protein. She did not need the extra lipids and sugar.

 

Furia had a little grin on her face. “Those nuts are soooo good. Mecina gave me some the last time I visited her home at the temple. Her family sent them from her planet.” Furia referred to one of her three great friends, the one from the planet with a lot of water and an overabundance of daylight. She was her padawan friend whose parents once upon a time were Jedi, but decided to resign from the order so they could have a romantic relationship and have a family.

 

“Glad we again have similar tastes Padawan. Where did you learn about prohibitionist Rishi punch?”

 

Furia moved up her hands a little as her jaw dropped a bit. “Rishi? It’s near Stella III. I learned it on the pathways. And no, not the singularity pathways. I know not to have those two carbon units right now.” Furia mentioned the pathways, the information system anyone can access from a monitor, datapad, or another device. She also mentioned the singularity pathways, the illegal information system used by the underworld and by others. Then there was the fact the ginger haired padawan mentioned alcohol. Pricilli could tell with the Force her padawan once again was not lying. With how much information on the pathways, and with Furia’s ingenuity, it didn’t surprise the Jedi Knight that her padawan acquired this knowledge.

 

“How are you doing with that time we spent on Onod One?”

 

“Fine Master. Those outfits worked. No problems breathing. No watery eyes. No pollen on my clothes.”

 

Pricilli nodded. Their mission, ordered by the Jedi Council, was to help the local government on Onod One find and apprehend the planet’s White Worm set. Pricilli succeeded, with some unexpected help from Furia. Her padawan deduced the crime syndicate’s location, underneath an old spaceport with numerous caverns below the surface. The members of the set were all arrested without any violence. “A mission success” Pricilli thought to herself. She was impressed by Furia’s investigative skills; however, she was troubled when her fourteen-year-old padawan looked forward to go to battle with them. Then there was the last thing Furia said. Her clothes. Furia so much focused on fashion.

 

“When we get back home, what are you going to do with your spare time?” Pricilli anticipated all types of answers from her padawan with this question.

 

“Martial training. Work on my lightsaber moves. Also work on my moves when not using a saber.” Furia definitely enjoyed learning about combat. She was the rarity for a padawan that felt comfortable with the double blade.

 

“You’re already one of the better students at martial combat. You should work on something you are weak at.”

 

“Yea, but I can be better at combat. And I am going to work on something I am weak at. Dosh. Taking it the next cycle of classes. I want to know how to speak to that nice Sergeant at the front desk of the military hospital without using a translator.” Furia referred to the Transdoshan language Dosh, spoken by the reptilian sentients. The Sergeant she mentioned was Sergeant Crassi, who worked the front desk of the military hospital after many years on the front line for the Republic military.

 

Pricilli thought that Furia once again showed perception of her situation, and being a caring person. She then wondered when they get back to Coruscant, if she would be assigned to a military unit to defend Kashyyyk or Mon Cala, and whether that was with Furia or without her. This war with the Sith. War was never easy on a person’s life. It was especially not easy when one is trying to train a teenage padawan.

 

“In a couple cycles, I’m hoping the four of you will take my Mechanics class.”

 

“Oh, definitely plan on it Master. Dantella, Mecina, and Stacy all plan on taking it with me. Maybe I can build a speeder bike and hook it up to the wall outside the window.”

 

The Togrutan raised her eyelids. “Hang a speeder bike on the outside wall of the Jedi Temple? Furia.”

 

“Must admit would be quick to get a ride.”

 

“No.” Pricilli would have been surprised by anyone making such a suggestion. However, this was her padawan, who came up with these wild ideas all the time. She looked at her padawan have a dejected look on her face, but the look only lasted a second. Furia continued to improve at controlling her emotions.

 

After a few minutes their drinks were brought to the table. Pricilli drank a little of her blue milk while noticing her padawan savor the taste of the non-alcohol Rishi punch.

 

“Padawan, we will be waiting here after dinner until our transportation arrives. It may be several hours.”

 

Furia put her glass on the table. “Yea, I know. Wish we had our own ride. Some Jedi do. Like a nice Corvette with a bunch of closet space and a martial training room.”

 

Pricilli sighed. The ideas her padawan came up with. “Jedi are not supposed to have private possessions, or at least minimize it. We are supposed to share with other Jedi.”

 

Furia grabbed hold of her forest green shirt with both hands and shook it a couple times. “Share my clothes with Master Wassach or Master Ratcher so they can wear it. Kree. Pee.”

 

Pricilli could not avoid making another sigh. She had no argument for what her padawan just stated. “You made your point Furia. But we still at least for now don’t have our own ship, and we need to wait for the Jedi to send a ship.”

 

“At least a shuttle one of these days Master. Make your life easier if you had your own.”

 

“Can’t argue against that Furia.”

 

It did not take long for their dinners to be brought out. The waiter put each of the dinners in front of Pricilli and Furia. “Is there anything else I can do for you?” the translator droid interpreted after the Onodone spoke.

 

“Let me pay now in case we need to leave early.” Pricilli brought out her identification card. As the waiter put the check device on the table, she moved her card near it and pushed for a fifteen percent tip for the waiter.

 

The waiter picked up the device, then looked at each of the Jedi. “Thank you. I hope you enjoy the rest of your time at Onod One.” After the droid translated, the waiter bowed a little then left to get an order from another table.

 

Furia took a bite of the grilled Kowakian lizard monkey, chewing it slowly while relishing the taste. “Oh, this is so good. Thank you Master.” She finished the bite then drank from her glass.

 

“You’re welcome Furia.” Pricilli smiled, noting how her padawan did not take the meal for granted and appreciated it. The Togrutan began eating her meal, eating the plants and enjoying the nuts. Amanzi nuts were possibly the tastiest nuts in the galaxy.

 

The Jedi Knight and her padawan continued eating their dinner, each enjoying the tastes of their meal and drink. A little over halfway done with their meal, they noticed a medium sized transport come into view, then docked at the station. Both of them noticed a leak of hypermatter particles coming from a crack in the back of the hull. Furia took a sip of her punch, then narrowed her eyelids and opened her mouth a little as she turned to look at her master. “Cold” she stated softly.

 

Pricilli did a small nod of her head, then got up out of her chair. Furia stood up and followed her master out of the café, walking towards the gate the transport docked to.

 

The transport connected to the space station by a boarding bridge. As the two came towards the open doorway to that bridge, an Onodone with the uniform of an employee of the station moved from a lectern near the door to stand in the middle of the doorway. Again, a small droid floated in the air near the Onodone, being the translator.

 

“You are not allowed to go in there. It is restricted.” The droid translated in basic after the Onodone spoke in its language.

 

Before Pricilli could do anything, Furia stood in front of the Onodone. “She and I need to check the hypermatter leak.” Without Furia moving her hands, the master could tell through the Force that her fourteen-year-old padawan just did a perfect Jedi mind trick.

 

“She and you need to check the hypermatter leak.” The Onodone spoke, then the droid translated as he stepped aside from the doorway, allowing the two Jedi to pass.

 

Walking with a brisk pace down the boarding bridge, Pricilli darted a brief look at Furia. “Too good.” Furia raised her eyebrows as she shrugged her shoulders, wondering why her master seemed to be complaining when she just helped them get through the doorway unimpeded. Pricilli had more pressing issues with the cold feeling from the transport at the moment, than to speak to Furia about how she as a teenage padawan just did a mind trick better than many Jedi Knights.

 

Over halfway down the boarding bridge, Pricilli became aware of an immediate pressing issue. The hatch door to the transport opened, and in a second blaster fire came at them from two individuals wearing unassuming grey one-piece work suits. The Jedi Knight turned on her lightsaber at the same time, the blue blade emerging a meter in length. She immediately deflected what plasma bolts she could. Concern then gripped her as she noticed the two assailants now shot at her teenage padawan.

 

Soon a different concern caught her focus. In one quick fluid motion, Furia brought out her double-bladed lightsaber while extending both green blades. As if her motion flowed in harmony with the Force, the plasma bolts fired at the padawan became all deflected back at the shooters. One that knelt received a couple bolts deflected directly at the blaster, causing the power cell to explode, killing the shooter.

 

The other shooter tried to get cover with the hatch doorway, but it was to no avail. One plasma bolt hit the left shoulder, one the left knee, but a third hit the left part of the chest, killing the shooter with a smoldering wound where the heart resided.

 

“Furia, we are Jedi. We are supposed to stop them and capture them, not quickly kill them.” Concern shown on the Togrutan’s voice as she looked at her padawan’s face. Pricilli next looked at the boarding bridge, making sure the exploding power cell did not cause a leak in the structure.

 

“I was aiming for shoulders and knees. Need to work on my deflection Master.” Furia did not sound troubled one bit that she just ended the life of two people. The padawan looked down at the bodies and the one firearm not destroyed. “Sith Serenno blaster. One of the standard issues.”

 

“Just stay behind me.” Pricilli went through the hatch, then turned to head towards the bridge.

 

“Yes Master.” Furia followed her master through the hatch, staying a little more than a meter behind the Togrutan while keeping her lightsaber on, just as her Master did.

 

Down the hallway a door opened in front of them. Through the doorway Pricilli glanced at seven individuals with the same grey work suits and blasters. Firing away, they hoped to keep Pricilli on the defensive and distracted. Pricilli readied for what happened next.

Furia also readied. Behind them, another door opened towards the back of the ship. Two people came with blasters pulled, ready to shoot as the door opened. However, they were not ready for the blazing speed of the padawan coming upon them with green lightsaber blades, burning completely through both shoulder joints and both thighs of each shooter. Screaming, their torsos fell to the ground, their wounds completely cauterized, as the two assailants now had no arms and no legs below midthigh.

 

The seven shooters in front of Pricilli stopped firing for a couple seconds, stunned by seeing this ginger haired teenager cause such violent trauma. Pricilli quickly came close to them. One pulled out a thermal grenade and activated it. Tossing it at Pricilli, the Jedi used the Force to keep it from getting to her. The seven shot at her, ready to die in the explosion as long as they could take the Jedi with them.

 

Pricilli moved her lightsaber as quick as she could to deflect the plasma bolts coming towards her. While holding the grenade in the air, she couldn’t get all the bolts. She didn’t need to.

 

Furia came to the aid of her master, once she knew there would be no attack from the back of the transport. The green blades moved effortlessly through the air, deflecting plasma bolts to the ceiling.

 

Pricilli held the grenade in place for three seconds, then it exploded. With all her focus with the Force, she kept the heat blast and shockwave away from herself and her padawan, keeping both safe. The remaining shooters were not so lucky. Trying to kill the Jedi Knight, they killed themselves instead in the explosion.

 

The master and padawan looked in the direction of a sound they heard at the upper part of the hull. Air leaked out of a crack in the hull. “Wonderful” the padawan stated, knowing the two of them needed to get to the other side of a door or else they will be without air soon. The two turned a corner and came near a double door.

 

The padawan and her master felt the cold in the Force, and when the double door opened, they found out why. A middle-aged man stood there, with a slight balding of the scalp to go with a dark moustache and goatee. Yellow eyes stared at the master and padawan. Purple, maroon, and a touch of black colored his shirt and trousers. His trench coat and tall boots came with the same colors. A Sith lord.

 

Furia felt the sudden pull of the Force from him, as he tried to pull her to his red lightsaber blade. The ginger haired padawan resisted by holding her place, prepared for the move. She practiced this move before in the martial training area of the Jedi Temple. The Sith, however, did not prepare for what happened next. From around the corner a large piece of flesh, from one of the bodies, flew towards the ginger haired padawan. Manipulating the Force pull from the Sith, Furia flung the piece at his head. Brining his single red blade up, he cut through the piece, with the resulting pieces hitting his face and upper chest.

 

Enraged, the Sith lunged at Furia with his lightsaber. Pricilli easily deflected the swing. Foretelling the Sith’s next move, Furia brought one of her green blades in between her master and the Sith, preventing his backswing from hitting Pricilli.

 

Furia swung towards his left thigh with her other blade, yet the Sith brought his blade to stop her assault. Furia planned perfectly. She quickly swung with her other blade towards him, forcing him to quickly defend that blade. Furia continued her swings. When one blade became impeded by the Sith, she came immediately with a swing from the other. Pricilli stabbed with her blue blade while this kept on, forcing the Sith to move away from her attacks, making it more difficult for him to keep his balance. Pricilli focused on the control of the double door while stabbing, closing the doors to prevent the air from leaking out of this area of the hallway.

 

With the difficulty of keeping his balance and having to defend against Furia’s quick swings, the Sith began to tire. Even while using the Force, he became more exhausted than he expected. It felt as if less of the Force flowed to him, and he could not fully control it. Another stab from Pricilli caused him to move back, his right foot planting firmly on the deck of the transport.

 

“Back Furia!” Pricilli tried to warn her padawan, anticipating what the Sith would do next. However, it became too late.

 

Too late for the Sith, that is. While using his lightsaber to make a feint attack towards Pricilli, he kicked up with his left foot towards Furia’s face. Fast he moved, yet nowhere near as fast as the padawan. Turning off one of her blades, she stood the other one up in front of her. Before he realized what was happening, the Sith’s left foot kicked into the blade. The loudest scream came from him, as he felt such an excruciating pain. Furia swiftly moved her blade forward, as the intense heat of the blade, the heat of the center of a star, carved through his leg without resistance. The blade moved through his tibia, knee joint, and femur, until the tip of the green blade came inside his hip joint. Immediately she moved the tip of her blade through his hip, bringing the tip into his other hip joint. Furia immediately brought the blade back, positioning herself in a defensive position.

 

Falling hard onto the metal floor of the transport, the Sith lord shot lightning out of his left hand at the padawan, hoping he could have a shot killing this youngster that injured him severely. Pricilli moved in the way, positioning her blue lightsaber blade to block the attack. She stood ever determined. This Sith will not harm her padawan.

 

Lightning leapt from the Sith lord’s left hand towards the two Jedi, mainly to keep his enemies at a distance. With his right hand still holding onto his lightsaber hilt, he retracted the blade, quickly moved the hilt so the aperture laid on his chest, and turned the lightsaber back on. Neither Pricilli nor Furia impeded his move, both waiting for an unexpected attack. The red blade extended from the hilt, burning a hole through the Sith’s chest and heart, continuing to blaze its path through the metal floor underneath the Sith’s body. Looking at Pricilli, he shook his head a little, then stopped breathing. His heart burned through by the lightsaber blade, he died there on the floor, making sure he would not be captured by this Togrutan woman nor her ginger haired apprentice.

 

Pricilli picked up the Sith’s lightsaber, putting it in a pocket of her Jedi robe. She could smell the burnt flesh on his cadaver made by the lightsabers of the Sith lord and Furia. “You all right?” Pricilli asked as she turned towards Furia.

 

“Yes Master.” The Jedi Knight did not notice any fear nor revulsion coming from her padawan. In fact, Furia appeared unmoved for someone that just did a brutal injury with a lightsaber. Her padawan did not feel cold through the Force, but seemed to be pulsing as if on fire. Pricilli never noticed that with Furia before, and the master did not like the feeling coming from her padawan. At least the feeling seemed to be going away.

 

“Let’s find out what this transport is carrying. What do you notice?” Pricilli wondered how in tune Furia was to the Force, now that the fight with the Sith finished.

 

“The cold is gone. But there’s like a bunch of fear, causing the creation of a little more of the dark side.” Furia displayed her strong perception with the Force, as usual.

 

Pricilli touched a part of her wrist communicator. “Onod One Space Station. This is Jedi Pricilli Tonna. There was a Sith on board the transport docked here. Repairs will be needed for a hull breach at the forward section. There’s also a hypermatter leak.”

 

A droid’s voice responded after she heard sounds from an Onodone. “Jedi Tonna. Understood. We will immediately bring security and repair on board.”

 

“Understood Onod.” Pricilli turned off her wrist communicator and looked at her padawan. “Let’s see what’s on board.” The Togrutan Jedi noticed a stairwell, and proceeded to it. Furia blew on the green plasma as if blowing on a flame, then retracted her lightsaber blade. She followed her master down the stairwell, coming upon a locked door.

 

“Let’s see if you’ve been practicing.” The Jedi Knight recently taught her padawan a few ways one can use the Force, including opening locked doors. She wanted to see if Furia listened and practiced.

 

Furia turned to look at her master, with her back to the door. “Really? What you think I’ve been doing. Watching reality shows?” Furia did her best to minimize the frustration look on her face.

 

Pricilli looked at her padawan’s face, wondering if they were about to get into another useless argument. In the corner of her vision, she saw lights flicker on the control panel, then the door opened. That was not the teacher opening the lock with the Force. That was her padawan, opening the lock without looking at the panel nor moving her arms. “Oh she’s good” Pricilli thought to herself. Pricilli held back a sigh, and instead went through the open doorway.

 

A short walk with Furia behind her master brought them to another door. Pricilli noticed lights blinking on the control panel, and the locked door slid open. “Thank you Furia.” The master did not want to sound sarcastic that Furia opened the door without being asked to, but instead wanted to show she appreciated her padawan’s skills. It concerned Pricilli though, that her padawan’s skills displayed better than she expected.

 

Pricilli no longer thought about Furia when the door opened. Looking at the transport’s cargo hold, she became occupied at what she saw. Many small creatures occupied the hold. Smaller in stature than either herself or her padawan, there were perhaps a hundred of them sitting on the floor with the appearance of dejection on their faces.

 

Fur covered their entire bodies, brown and black in color. A hooded gown covered their torso and heads, with holes allowing their furry ears to stick out. Their eyes were a solid shade of brown. Nothing attired on their feet. Their hands appeared to each have a thumb and two fingers. Cuffs enclosed all of their wrists and ankles. The master and the padawan felt the misery coming from all of them.

 

“Aww, they’re so cute.” Furia looked around, surprised and excited at what they found.

 

“Focus Furia. Try to get their cuffs off them. Try not to startle them. We don’t need them to attack us in desperation.”

 

“Focus. Like this?” Furia looked at her master, keeping a calm look on her face despite being ready to argue. One click, then another, came from the furry sentient closest to Furia. The cuffs came off his wrists, then he shook off the ones on his ankles. The little furry creature stood with a stunned look on his face, but easily through the Force the padawan and her master could tell he was now happy.

 

“Where did you learn that? I’m supposed to be in charge of your learning.” A stern look came over Pricilli’s face, wondering what her padawan was doing without her knowing.

 

“Ahh, mechanics, you teach, I live with you?” Furia moved her hands outward, losing control of her frustration with her master. “Master, I haven’t taken your class, but you would think after living with you for nine years I would learn something.”

 

“All right Furia. You’ve made your point.” Pricilli knew she should not have been surprised her padawan learned that, considering Furia at times was very resourceful. The furry creature pointed at his companions, grabbing Furia’s left hand and gave it a slight pull, then gave the padawan a quick hug. “Free the rest. Please watch out that you don’t scare them. I’m going to the bridge to find out what this is all about.”

 

“Yes Master.” Pricilli’s gaze followed her padawan as Furia walked with the creature, holding his hand as they went to the closest one cuffed. Pricilli turned and walked out the doorway, with the door sliding close behind her.

 

Pricilli went up the stairs, hearing the noise of the repair on the transport. Proceeding to the bridge, the double doors opened. She walked in, noticing no one occupied it. Going to navigation, she looked to see where the vessel came from, and where would be the destination with its cargo.

 

“Endor” the Togrutan noted out loud to herself. She never heard of it. It was a moon that orbited a gas giant planet of the same name. Endor was located in the outer rim, in a part of the galaxy far from the planets she knew.

 

Heading is towards a planet Chil Vol, somewhere in Sith space. Pricilli looked around to see if she could find more information. On the captain’s chair laid a datapad. She focused on it for a few seconds, making sure it did not contain a trap. “There they are” she stated softly to herself as two needles came out of each side. Feeling with the Force, she noticed the poison on each needle. “Glad Furia listened to me when I taught her this.” Focusing on the needles, all four came out of the datapad, floated in the air, then put in a waste container. She brought out a small device from her belt, one that she designed herself, and touched the datapad with it. In a few seconds, the digital lock opened. Putting the device back, she looked at the information on the datapad.

 

“Lord Gavstin. Seems he had only one name, not a first nor a last.” She read the datapad out loud so she would remember its information better. “Chil Vol has many resources under its surface.” She looked further down the passage of words. “Due to its cold climate, servants will be needed that can do their duties under the environmental conditions.”

 

She paused her reading. “He doesn’t even have the decency to call them what they are. Slaves.” She went back to the passage. “A species has been found suitable for this working environment. There is a moon named Endor that orbits a gas planet of the same name, in a binary star system with stars of the same name, Endor One and Endor Two.” Oh, how glad Pricilli felt that Furia did not read this right now. Her padawan would start making comments about how unoriginal those names were.

 

“The species is named Ewok. A short primitive sentient, they are covered with fur and have strong padding for feet. They would be able to tolerate the weather conditions, and can work in small spaces that are part of a mining environment. Due to their primitive nature, they would be excellent specimens to make into a subservient condition.” Pricilli never heard of Ewoks before.

 

Pricilli concluded what this transport was about. Taking these Ewoks from a mostly unknown world would be unnoticed. The species would have great difficulty defending themselves against Sith technology. The Sith would look like some deity to them, and being away from their homes on a different planet would take away all their spirit to be independent.

 

Plans changed for Pricilli and Furia. These Ewoks needed to go back to their homes. The sooner the better. She will have to contact the Jedi Council about the situation so the delay on returning to Coruscant will be justified. Also, their ride needed to know they can skip picking up Pricilli and her padawan.

 

Perhaps Furia would be better off taking the ride back by herself. No, the Togrutan thought to herself. She would be able to learn something being exposed to these Ewoks and where they live. Also, she was too unpredictable to be left on her own. A powerful padawan on her own was not something Pricilli wanted to deal with later.

 

She needed to check on how Furia was doing, being left alone with these Ewoks. They might be scared and try to corner her or attack her. Touching her wrist communicator, “Onod One Space Station, this is Jedi Knight Pricilli Tonna. Bridge and transport are secure. There are sentients that were taken from their world by the Sith, and will need to be returned. Once repairs are done, I will be using the transport to take them back home. What is the situation with repairs?”

 

She heard an Onodone make the sounds of its language, then a droid spoke. “Jedi Tonna, we are currently working on repairs on the hull breach that caused part of a deck to lose air. We know of the hypermatter leak. Once repairs are completed and inspection is done, this vessel will be under the supervision of Onod One. You will depart the vessel once repairs are completed."

 

That did not sit well with the Jedi Knight. “Onod One Space Station, this is Jedi Knight Pricilli Tonna. Under the authority of the Jedi Order, I hereby notify this vessel is under command of the Jedi. I will be taking the sentients aboard this vessel back to their home world. Any interference will be considered a hostile act.” It was a little elaborate for Pricilli to state that, however the main meaning became accurately conveyed.

 

A pause for numerous seconds, then Pricilli heard the droid translate after its owner spoke. “Jedi Pricilli Tonna. We are sorry for any misunderstanding. Once your transport is repaired, you will have an unobstructed passage out of the system.”

 

“Thank you. Please let me know when the repairs and refueling are completed. Jedi Tonna out.” She won that unnecessary battle. She wanted to make sure she didn’t need to do another one for the fuel that will be needed. She will have to go back on the station before they depart to report the situation to the Jedi Council. A message from an unknown transport that happened to have a Sith onboard would probably not be believable.

 

“Time to check on Furia” she stated for only her to hear. She left the bridge, hearing the repairs on the ship in the hallway. Going down the stairwell, she came upon the first door and opened it. She thought she heard sounds beyond the second door, as if a mostly rhythmic beat being made. She opened the second door, then looked wide eyed and dropped jaw at the scene.

 

“What are you doing!” Pricilli could not hide her surprise and anger from what she gazed upon. Smoke wafted through the air. A metal sheet, probably used for hull repairs, laid above a fire made from burning refuse. Numerous plants and premade meals rested on the sheet. Numerous of these Ewoks appeared to be dancing, others were hitting different objects in close unison to make sounds, and a few stood by her padawan helping her. Furia cooked at the fire, appearing to broil the food she could find, causing a scene of jubilation. None of the Ewoks wore cuffs, as the Jedi master noticed the cuffs piled at the side of the cargo hold. Smoke concentrated at the ceiling, where vents took it away.

 

“Cooking. Give me a couple minutes then you should try some.” Furia continued cooking without being bothered the slightest by the anger coming from her master. It occurred before numerous times, and she became used to it. The padawan was having too much fun with the Ewoks to get in an argument with her master. Furia went back to flipping and moving the items she cooked on the hot metal sheet.

 

Pricilli stood speechless. She could not think of any response to Furia. Her padawan did get all the cuffs off the Ewoks, and the primitive creatures were no longer in any distress. In her own unique way, Furia made the little furry sentients at ease.

 

“So you know padawan, these are Ewoks.” The furry sentients stopped what they were doing and looked at the Togrutan. They knew that name she surmised. “They are from a moon called Endor.” The Ewoks looked at each other. “Once this vessel is fixed, we are going to take them back home.”

 

“Aww. Can we keep one? As a pet?” Furia rubbed behind the ears of one near her, causing him to express a joyful look on his face as he appeared to purr.

 

“Padawan Furia Tormenta. These may be primitive, but they are sentients. Even if one liked it, you certainly cannot keep it as a pet. That would be like slavery, which is what the Sith planned to do with them for mining.”

 

The disappointed look on Furia’s face shown only for a second. “I understand Master. I’m grateful we did save them.” She looked at the metal sheet, got out from a crate near her a plate with a Sith Empire insignia on it, used the Force to move some plants from the metal sheet to the plate, then offered the food to her master. “Try some Master. Not bad.”

 

One of the Ewoks came up to Pricilli. “Chu chu” she heard from the friendly furry creature as he grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the food being cooked. The Togrutan could not help but smile as she allowed the Ewok to guide her towards Furia, and took the plate from her padawan. The Ewok pointed to Furia, then spoke “Furya”.

 

Pricilli took one of the cooked pieces of plant off the plate with her fingers and took a bite. After chewing it for several seconds then swallowing it, she looked at her padawan and smiled. “Pretty good Furia.” She ate the rest of the cooked pieces on her plate while the Ewoks went back to making their music and dance to the beat.

 

Eventually they all finished eating. Pricilli went back up to the main deck. She talked with the Onodones once the hull repairs became completed and that section of the deck pressurized with air. She went onboard the station to send a report to the Jedi Council on Coruscant about all that transpired on their mission to Onod One. She walked with a few maintenance workers and a delegate from the planet government throughout the transport, making sure everything was repaired. The delegate wanted to make sure the Jedi received assistance any way possible. The last thing his government needed was a Jedi poorly treated after the help they received with the White Worms.

 

Furia looked around the ship to acquire bedding for all the Ewoks. What she could not get on the transport, she acquired from the Onodones, who appeared very willing to help anyway they could. She also received different foods to cook for her new furry friends.

 

With the transport ready to travel, Pricilli and Furia said their goodbyes to the delegate and the director of the station, who both were emphatic to tell the Jedi master and her padawan how appreciative Onod One was for their help, and apologizing for any inappropriate behavior from their staff. No one mentioned the mind trick done on one of the staff by Furia.

 

Once back on the transport, Pricilli went to the bridge while Furia went back to the cargo hold. The Jedi Knight set the vessel’s course for the moon Endor, detached from the space station, moved away from the planet to be free of its gravity well, then put the transport into hyperspace. She stayed up on the bridge for most of the trip, making sure the transport did not get damaged. She did take brief breaks to check on her padawan, and to eat.

 

Furia spent the whole trip with her new friends. She learned to make the sounds of their music. She learned a few words in their language, like “yub yub.” She cooked with them, and slept with them. The Ewoks enjoyed themselves immensely being with the padawan. This girl they just met naturally interacted so friendly and personable to them.

 

After a night of sleeping on the bridge, and eating the breakfast Furia and the Ewoks cooked with all the smoke, Pricilli took the transport out of hyperspace into the Endor system. She noticed the two stars for the system in the distance, and the gas giant planet getting ever larger as she brought the ship closer. With ease she piloted the transport to the other side of the planet, where the moon Endor orbited.

 

Furia spent some time with the Ewok that helped most with the cooking, the one that earlier grabbed Pricilli’s hand to bring her to the food. She went to a monitor in the cargo hold to study the moon and the stars around it. Using the Force to help go through the memories of her new furry friend, with looking at the landscape and the stars at night in the memories, she was able to narrow down the location of their home, a large land mass at the southern hemisphere.

 

Pricilli allowed Furia to bring the Ewok onto the bridge with her to gaze out the bridge window. The transport moved not far above the ground. The three looked at the trees and the ground to find where the home was. In under an hour, the Ewok jumped up and down, shouting “Aiyee!”

 

“Think we found their home Master” Furia stated with a broadened smile on her face.

 

“Yes we did padawan. That was good work you did with the Ewok.” Pricilli slowed the transport, looking for a leveled area to land.

 

“Thank you Master.” It was nice for Furia to hear a compliment from her master. She thought it should happen more often, however she will enjoy it whenever it happens. She gently held the hand of her new friend, then proceeded to the cargo hold with him to try to get all the Ewoks ready to leave the transport once they landed.

 

Pricilli lowered the landing gear, gently landed on the planet, then turned off the engine. After a long sigh, she got out of her seat and went down to the cargo hold to help her padawan. After dealing with the smell of smoke and fur in the hold with all the Ewoks, she helped Furia get them all to disembark.

 

Calmer than Pricilli expected, the Ewoks walked to their homes, going into their buildings and getting situated back to their daily lives.

 

Furia sat on the ground by the last one with them, the one that went on the bridge with her. “Furia” she said in a friendly way as she pointed to herself, “Rahwah” as she pointed at the Ewok. She took her two index fingers and hooked them to each other.

 

“Rahwah” he pronounced as he pointed to himself. “Furya” he exclaimed before he hugged her. As they broke their hug, Rahwah walked confidently back to his home.

 

Furia got up and brushed the dirt off her. Pricilli looked at her padawan. A tear started forming from the inner part of Furia's left eye.

 

This mission became more than expected, but it was a resounding success. The White Worms became eliminated from Onod One. A Sith lord was thwarted from using the Ewoks as slaves. The Ewoks were safely brought back home. Her padawan handled herself mostly well. Furia showed much better skill than expected with her lightsaber. She used the Jedi mind trick with the skill of a Jedi Master, which concerned Pricilli since Furia was only a padawan. Nevertheless, Pricilli did not feel any cold nor hate coming from her padawan. Furia worked exceptionally with the Ewoks, and figured out approximately where their home was.

 

“Furia, don’t cry. You did it. You helped them get back home.”

 

“I know Master. It’s just. It’s just I’m going to miss them.” She turned to look at her master. “Time to go back to Coruscant?”

 

“We need to first look over the transport to make sure everything is working properly, but yes.” Pricilli wanted to make sure none of the repairs broke during the spaceflight.

 

“When we get back, you know how it’s inconvenient to wear the Jedi robe in the pool, and you’ve made comments that drabby dark brown swimsuit of mine is getting too small?”

 

“Yes” Pricilli stated without emotion, afraid where this conversation would head to.

 

“There’s this hot pink two-piece water suit with a front tie. It's being sold at a store near the restaurant district. May I get it to help with my water training at the Temple pool?”

 

The Togrutan Jedi master looked up at the sky, seeing a few clouds and the large shape of the gas giant planet hovering near the horizon. “Why me?”

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