31 Reunion

We get out of our taxis only to see Bastila and Mission leave a far nicer hover car. I raise an eyebrow in question to which Bastila sheepishly shrugs.

"We may have made some rather… unnecessary purchases."

"What she means," Mission interjects, "is that we're filthy stinking rich! We've got this totally awesome ride that we tricked out, and we've just been waiting for you to get your lazy butt here to go wild in the underworld!"

Listening to her exuberant words, I examine the vehicle more closely. It's mainly a dark blue color, though it has red accents crossing along the sides and roof. Seeing parts that seem to fold out of the car, I shoot the girls a questioning glance.

Bastila responds. "Given our usual encounters, I felt that it would be prudent to ensure that any vehicle we were to board be able to defend itself. As such, it has been fitted with the strongest armor available, as well as various defensive systems."

"What she means is that we could probably take on a dedicated fighter and win. Seriously, we've got missiles, laser cannons, and even something the guy tried to convince us not to buy. Then he begged us to not make him install the payload on it!"

I sigh. I just know I'm going to regret asking, but… "What is it?"

She grins, and for a brief moment I think I detect a tinge of madness in it. "An antimatter pod!" Seeing my questioning look, she explains.

"Apparently a couple of them randomly appeared while someone was flying through space. But the pilot was an idiot and launched one of them at an asteroid field nearby to test what it could do. To sum it up, the asteroid field ceased to exist. And so did the planet it orbited."

My mind blanks for a moment, then I decide that I'm not going to bother questioning where the damn thing came from. Instead, I move onto something that won't destroy a planet if handled carelessly.

"So how much did all of this cost?"

She looks away and scratches her cheek. "Well, y'know how our credits have trouble being changed to modern money. So it's kind of hard to say what it would be to us…"

At my glare, she ducks behind Bastila who sighs. She says a number. I stare at them. Then I stare at the car. I look back at them. They give me awkward smiles. I return them and see them visibly relax.

"We're selling it when we leave the planet, except for the antimatter thing. No way am I letting that out into someone else's hands."

Mission protests, of course, but Bastila nods silently in understanding. I cut off her protests with a swipe of my hand. "We do not need something like this, nor do we have the space on the ship to put it."

"What about the cargo hold? We could toss the swoop bike and-"

"I've had that thing since Taris! Not to mention the unique accelerator it has! Even if swoop racing got replaced by pod racing, at this point it has sentimental value!"

While Bastila looks at me with amusement in her eyes, likely recalling our first encounter when I led an absolutely flawless rescue to save her, Mission pipes up.

"Oh, swoop racing is still around." Her eyes light up. "Actually, there's a big race going on tomorrow in the lower levels. The prize pool is enough to get us another ship!"

"And where exactly would we get a crew for that ship? Carth plans to rejoin the Republic, so we'd need Shmi to pilot the Ebon Hawk."

The two deflate at my revelation. "Carth is leaving us? That is rather unfortunate. When does he plan to depart?"

I sigh. "He left to enlist right after we got here."

Mission adopts an indignant expression. "And he didn't even come to say goodbye!? Stupid old man!"

"Hey!" Jolee shouts from behind me.

"Sorry, not you!" He snorts at her apology.

Bastila sighs and puts a reassuring hand on Mission's head. "You know how he is. Though I find it surprising that he would rejoin them, considering their current state."

"Oh? What do you mean by that?"

Bastila blinks at me before realization crosses her face. "Of course none of you would be aware. You see, the Republic does not have an army at the moment. Instead, it has a small peacekeeping force that it sends to resolve political issues."

My jaw drops. "They have no army? Not even a token one?" At her confident nod, I sigh before putting a hand on Mission's shoulder. "It's no wonder we were brought here. If that's the state of one of the galaxy's superpowers, then it's screwed the moment any real conflict arises.

Don't worry, Mission. When Carth finds out about this I'm sure that he'll be running back, full of self righteous fury."

She snickers at the thought before shaking both our hands off. Yeah, you're right about that. But anyways, Big Z! Old man! Juhani and Shmi! Long time no see! You destroy a city on that lady's planet while we've been gone?"

Zaalbar growls an offended reply while Jolee snorts. "Of course we didn't destroy a city, we went there to save her planet! Can't very well do that wif we go destroying everything, now can we?"

Juhani nods in agreement. "Indeed. The only destruction caused was to the enemy. And a small part of her Capital City."

Mission gives Jolee a look of smug satisfaction while Bastila watches with an amused smile on her face. "Now hold on there, we had a good reason for that! And it helped me get us a head start on some good help!" At our questioning looks, he smirks. "Oh wait, what was I talking about again? It couldn't have possibly been important if this old man forgot it right? Well I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

I roll my eyes at his sense of humor before finally turning my attention to the Jedi Temple. The headquarters of the Jedi Order. Their final refuge from the enemies who would see them fall.

And I'm disappointed. Judging by the look on Jolee's face, he is as well. Must be why he was joking around so much. He's trying to act like the Jedi failing to change in four thousand years isn't a massive disappointment. Though I half-expected something like this when I saw Qui Gon and Quinlan Vos' robes.

Thinking of them, I look around, realizing that I haven't heard from someone yet. Well, two, but only one of them is no longer here. "Where did Padawan Secura go?"

Shmi is the one to answer. "Ah, she went ahead to the Temple." She squirms a bit looking up at it. "Are you sure it's alright for someone like me to be here? It's far too grand for a slave to enter."

I roll my eyes. "We've got to fix that mentality of yours. First off; you are not some run of the mill slave. You are my slave, which automatically makes you more important than the majority of people you are likely to meet.

Secondly; if it really bothers you that much, we can get your chip removed while we're on the planet. We can ask Qui Gon where he got Anakins removed while the two of you talk. I'm sure you both have a lot to tell each other."

Ignoring her shocked look, I gesture for everyone to walk. It's time to return to my roots.