Eleni and the World Tree part 2
If there was tasteful decor in the universe, Eleni was sure that she was now about as far as she could get from it. The Excelsior, a slightly antiquated, but always profitable casino ship, was the last place she thought she would ever find a Jedi. Mirrors, gold wall sconces, gold chairs, a gold piano, crystal artwork, and a garish hovering light fixture with thousands of glowing firegems made the place too opulent for her stark Bene Gesserit training. It reeked of affluence, politics, and greed. Danar would have been enjoying himself immensely. Even with the letter of introduction he provided, the personnel were treating her warily since she had refused to deposit anything but Tapani credits upon arrival.
The young smuggler sat in a couch which seemed designed to make the occupant long for the much more comfy seats that surrounded the gambling tables. Eleni stayed put, though. She had paid for 4 hours docking bay rental, and so far the first two had given her little hope of finding her quarry. On these casino ships, everything was styled towards forgetting time, and losing money as quickly and as much as possible. The ship’s casino was built as a series of decks open to grand central staircase which showed off the brilliant hovering gem chandelier. The place was massive, and each deck brimmed with gamblers, scammers, and barflies. Time. She checked her chrono. Hopefully Vanya‘s information was correct, and the ancient, reclusive Master Barnes truly existed n the midst of the chaos.
Vanya had hinted that he might be trouble. Reclusive old master jedi were apparently a crotchety, grumpy subset that preferred to be left that way. Still, Eleni had to believe that he would have the secret to dealing with Collin, and thus play his part in saving Parnell, not to mention a giant tree. This guy was the only one yet living who had apprenticed under Master Taskill, the source of Bracca legend that had ended the first Collin blight. Eleni set her smile in determination. The old man would have to help them. She only hoped that he would not give her any trouble about it.
The welcome droids had searched her for weapons when she came aboard. No matter. She didn’t need a weapon. She was one. Eleni looked at her chrono again before scanning each of the five gambling decks. No bright and shiny jedi signal, but someone was winning- a lot. That was the fifth time in 10 minutes that the distinguished gent in the white tuxedo had made the crowd surrounding him gasp in surprise. Deciding to investigate, Eleni did her best to wander nonchalantly towards the lively table. Quintec, a game of chance involving 5 gems randomly placed on a series of numbers from one to 1,000, was not normally so exciting. Not unless someone was cheating.
The main focus of the Quintec table glanced her way, stiffening for a moment as she waded into a spot nearby. The man was impeccably dressed, not looking older than 50, with dark hair slicked back, gray only at the temples. Their eyes met for a moment, and Eleni smiled softly. He senses me, she mused. Definitely not your average gambler. But a jedi playing games of chance? It sounded so unfair. His attention returned to the table as the five sparkling gems landed on random numbers - none of them his own. The crowd around him seemed to visibly sag, then thinned considerably as some grumbled about lost wagers. Eleni shrugged, moving closer.
“You win some, you lose some.” she offered.
“I hadn’t lost in quite a while, Miss…?” He replied.
“Captain, actually.” Eleni liked his reaction. Smooth. She slid a small marker out to place a bet, leaning way over the table. “And you are?”
“Baele, Barnes Baele.” His own marker went out as well. “And you are no captain that I’ve ever seen.”
Eleni gave him a false smile. “You must not get around much.” She punched in her numbers. This game was extremely random, and it was rare that anyone won more than a few hundred credits. Master Barnes had been raking in the money for nearly an hour.
Her eyes went over his marker, making note of the room number while he was distracted by setting his bet. She lost quickly, while he won a mere token. She reached over to take her credit marker, and he smirked, “Pity. I had so many other witty things to say.”
“It’s a long cruise.”
Baele had moved closer, no longer paying attention to the Quintec table. “You know what they say about a cruise. It’s a never-ending party.”
He grabbed two drinks off of a passing tray, and offered one to Eleni. She didn’t notice. Her attention was at the left entrance, where someone in Mandalorian armor had just appeared. Not Boba Fett, but possibly a bounty hunter. The way she ignored the drink caused Baele’s eyes to follow her gaze. His reaction was far from calm. Eleni frowned as the jedi master pressed the drink forcefully into her hand, gave her a wink, then turned around to grab his credit marker.
“Long story, but we really MUST do this again soon.” He nodded to the dealer, then managed to look casually hurried as he wound his way through the crowd.
Eleni raised an eyebrow, then glanced back towards the entrance. The armored woman scanned the crowd in a casual way, but her fingers went nervously to the empty holster on her belt. Odd that a hired mercenary type would act so nervous. Still, Barnes Baele was slipping away. Eleni wandered by the bar and dropped off her drink. The woman was still looking over the tables. It was tempting to stay, just to see if such a novice was after her, but her thoughts quickly went back to Parnell. There would be plenty of time for toying with the bounty hunters later.
It wasn’t hard to find the right corridor. Even without the room number, she could sense his intense desire to get away. The door was open, and Eleni smirked as she found the old jedi scooping up his clothing and shoving them into a case. They littered the floor.
“I thought your type had ways of keeping your unmentionables in the right place.”
Baele looked up, slicking his hair back as he tried to regain some composure, “Cheaters never prosper, or haven’t you heard.” He zipped the bag closed with a sharp tug.
“That’s not the type I meant.”
Baele straightened at that, his eyes growing stern as one hand groped around in the front pocket of his bag.
Eleni remained calm and still, “I’m not here to fight you, Sir. I have come to ask for your Help.” She let her Voice slip in to the last of her words.
The old jedi blinked slowly as the last word echoed and tickled his mind, but then his eyes narrowed. “No. You are mistaken.”
His hand merely touched her arm as he brushed passed her, and she hit the far wall with sudden force. Eleni gasped, but managed to regain her balance. She blew a strand of blonde hair from her face, and stepped closer to him
“That wasn’t necessary! I am only here-”
Master Baele rounded on her, his light saber now in his hand. “Look, you- Miss- I have carved out a rather nice life for myself here. I do not need anyone barging in, dragging bounty hunters along with them, and revealing my abilities to the businessmen who owe me several million credits.”
He was circling her now, and she followed, her movements suddenly becoming more fluid and graceful. His every move was countered, precisely timed to keep herself out of striking distance. The old jedi gave her a strange look, and the light saber extinguished.
“You do not move like a jedi.” It was almost an accusation.
“But you ARE Master Taskill’s padawan. His only remaining living padawan.”
At the mention of his master’s name, Barnes Baele gave her a wilting look. “I have not been a padawan since before you were born. “
Eleni relaxed her posture, “You are the only one left that knows how to fix what has happened, Sir. At least let me buy you a drink?”
Minutes later, they were in his suite of rooms, each holding an open bottle from the honor bar. Eleni silently cursed her idea to dull his senses, as the ex-jedi was not about to let down his guard. His eyes watched her evenly as she explained how Collin had managed to return to the Acre’s domain.
“That is what it did before,” he muttered, looking down at the bottle wistfully, “it found someone lonely enough, dark enough with a wish to please, and manipulated him into taking it to the Acres.”
Eleni raised an eyebrow, Parnell was not a perfect man, but he had some redeeming qualities. “Was he punished?”
The older man gave a sad smile, still not looking her in the eye, “Only by his memories.”
She sat straighter, realizing, “and by his conscience. The thing is full of darkness and very subtle. You weren’t at fault, you know.”
“It’s a bit late to convince me of such things, my dear.” Baele patted her knee, “Why don’t we concentrate on the present.”
She frowned, but knew he would need more convincing than she could legally give. “As you wish. How did you and Master Taskill defeat it the last time?”
He chuckled, settling back, enjoying the way she did the same, “I’m not exactly sure.”
“Your Master never explained?” Eleni glanced at her chrono again. She had to hurry it up somehow.
“Well, “ there was a long pause as he seemed to go unfocused, “I know I had nothing to do with it. We were being surrounded by blue. The dark creature was everywhere, threatening to drain us along with the Acre. Master Taskill was so calm. A sudden green flash of his light saber, and the next thing I knew, he was holding a plascube with a glowing part of the creature wriggling inside. The rest was dying around us. “ Barnes Baele gazed into her eyes with the look of one haunted by memories, “It died anyway, you know. The whole tree. Thousands of Bracca died with it. All because I wanted a pet.”
Eleni sympathized, but knew she wouldn’t win this argument, “Come with me. Please. Show me what your master did.”
The old jedi shook free of his thoughts, returning to the present, “Take its head, “ He stood, gathering up his case. “That’s the only bit of advice my master gave me. Do what you can with it.” He cleared his throat, “Time to collect my credits and be on my way.”
“Wait!” Eleni found she was levitating off of the floor. No amount of thrashing could get her any closer to him, “It doesn’t have a head! It’s just miles of blue string!”
Barnes gave her a rueful smile, “then you have your work cut out for you, Captain. I wish you luck, but that is no longer my life.” He left the room.
Eleni found the floor again after a good ten minutes of floating. She growled to herself. No time to chase him through the ship or track down the Mandalorian. She had used all of her availible cash to dock for four hours, and the Mismatch was about to become the fastest guest shuttle the cruise line had ever owned. Her eyes turned back towards the room for a brief moment. Baele had left his light saber on the table. She scooped it up and tore off for the docking bay.
to be continued again…
