Ezekiel's Business Unusual: Passenger Pick-up and Drop-off

[Zeke]

Zeke's helmsman brings the Curvy Lady in for a smooth landing at their latest port. They're not here for anything more than dropping passengers and acquiring new ones, but Zeke carts out his old speeder bike anyway. His family is seeing the passengers off the ship, helping them get their luggage together and sending them away with warm good-byes and well-wishes. Zeke claps his helmet down over his head and turns to his wife and daughter. "Gonna go ride around and get us some stuff, you want anything?" he asks.

"No, thank you, sweetheart," answers his wife, Carol. "Just have fun. Be careful and don't speed or tailgate." She hugs him tight and yanks his helmet up to kiss him. "Be back in an hour or two, okay? We don't want to be late for our next delivery."

Zeke nods and turns to his daughter with open arms, but she gives him a look like "Oh you've got to be kidding", crossing her arms and sighing huffily. "Dad, I'm not hugging you. Just go, I've got things I want to do." Zeke shakes his head and looks at their cargo shuttle.

"You know we named it after you," he comments, eyes running over the name Sassy Wench on the side. The Curvy Lady I named after your mother." His daughter rolls her eyes, and Zeke decides to punish her for her apparent lack of interest. "Gather us up some passengers while your mom runs inventory and checks our time and stuff." The poor girl gawked. "What?" Zeke asks. "You're good at it."

"It won't be so bad, honey," Carol assures her. "You know the name Cassandra means ensnarer of men?"

"It DOES?" asks Zeke in an astonished tone. "Are you serious?"

"Yes," answers Carol, "Now go and leave our daughter to her work."

Zeke shrugs and flies off, Carol heads back inside to oversee the shuffling of cargo containers that will make offloading at the next world easier. Cassandra sighs irritably and grabs a chair and umbrella from just inside the cargo bay door, setting them up at the bottom of the ramp. There is nobody around, so she's sure she's gonna have to sit here forever for no good reason. "Anybody wanna get on an ancient Action IV to...to...oh, I don't know where."

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei Wu Wei had been running for a while. The spaceport was several miles away from his home. Normally it took two hours by speeder. He cut it down to one hour with Force Boosting and making a bee-line to the place through neighbor's yards, public parks, back lots, and alleyways.

Suddenly he burst out of a grove of trees and onto the open area where the ships were all docked. The planet didn't bother with heavy security around this place. There were few government ships and the planet never exported anything of strategic use to the Empire or the Rebellion for that matter. A few Stormtroopers stood guard at the main gate and another handful patrolled around from time to time. A person could go for hours without even seeing one of the stark-white soldiers.

The spaceport was more empty today than usual. Perhaps it was due to the Empire's need to keep its mission to his house a secret. Apparently whatever they thought he had, it was important. He discretely checked himself to make sure he hadn't dropped anything.

His ID and credits were in one pocket. In his other he carried a datapad with the most recent inventory of the shop. The lightsaber stayed up his sleeve. He'd have to make a clip for it to hang on his belt later.

He walked about the spaceport as nonchalantly as he could manage. An old speeder moved past him. It was headed to town. A quiet sarcastic voice said,"Anybody wanna get on an ancient Action IV to...to...oh, I don't know where."

"Why don't you know where you're going?"

[Zeke]

It took a brief moment for Cassandra to realize that she had been spoken to, and that the person who said it was the human man standing in front of her.

"Because I wasn't told where we're going," she said, more defensively than she meant to, and turned in the chair to look at her mother. "Mom, where is this thing headed!?"

Her mother sent her reply almost immediately. "Zeltros." Cassandra turned back to Wei Wu Wei with a nod. "There, it's headed to Zeltros. I don't know where it's going after that, so if you don't have business with a Zeltron or something, I'm afraid you'll have to keep walkin'."

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei shrugged. "I might have business there. I'll have to see what goes on there."

Wu Wei knew of Zeltros, but only by reputation. It was a planet known for its entertainment. The people there were apparently very hospitable--perhaps too much so for a Jedi. From the business end of things, the people of Zeltros were known for their fine food and drink, and lewd art.

He checked his datapad to see if his shop had kept anything like that in its inventory at any point in time. There was one special order for a painting from the party planet, but nothing in the record about any of its perishable goods. That was no surprise. Wei's father never really dealt in foodstuffs.

He stepped back to take in the shuttle. "So, how much is it for a ride out there?"

[Zeke]

"It's 200 credits," answers Carol this time, coming over to talk to Wei. "It pays for upkeep of your room and the meals you eat. Rooms are a little small, so if you have a lot of baggage to carry you may want to consider leaving it in the cargo bay. We'll leave whenever my husband gets back, which shouldn't be more than one or two hours. In the meantime, you can get acquainted with the Curvy Lady. All sections are open to passengers, except for crew quarters, the bridge, and other passengers' rooms. So, sir, what'll it be? Care to fly with us?"

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wu Wei looked around him. "I don't have any cargo, so the small rooms won't bother me."

He pulled his datapad from his pocket. The transaction completed and Wu Wei stepped aboard the shuttle.

"Can I interest you ladies in some volunteer work?"

[Zeke]

"You can interest Cassandra. I'm still needed in the cargo hold." Carol bows her head to Wei and goes back up the ramp. Cassandra makes a part-growl, part-scream of frustration and begins to pack up her chair.

"What is it, guy?" she asks, wanting to get this volunteer business over with.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei didn't know what to make of the young girl. "Is there any cargo that needs to be loaded or unloaded? If you don't want my help, you can simply say so. It also might not hurt your business to do so politely."

He stepped inside the ship and watched the employees running their checks. "Take a moment to calm down. I'll find my way to an empty seat and wait on you."

[Zeke]

Cassandra blinked. "I thought you had work for me," she said indignantly, setting her chair back up. "But at any rate, we don't make passengers work. That's what the crew is for. Just give mom your creds and get a key card for one of the rooms. We'll take off in a while."

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wu Wei shrugged. He used his datapad to transfer the credits to Carol's account, took a keycard from her and walked up the ramp and into the ships halls.

"Room 7. How fun."

[Zeke]

It's not long until Zeke returns to find Cassandra packing away her chair (she got 3 extra passengers) and Carol waiting on the bridge. She gives the order to go before Zeke can, and the Curvy Lady flew away, exiting the planet's gravity well and firing off into hyperspace.

"Baby, you've got to quit stepping on my lines," Zeke grumbles later in their quarters. "How am I supposed to be a Captain if I'm not the one giving all the orders?"

"Oh, honey!" sighed Carol, kissing his forehead. "It's okay. Go check the cargo bay and make sure I got everything right. Reverse-supervising will make you feel better."

It will, but Zeke fakes a pout out the door anyway, getting up the gigantic data-entry device that represents his invoices, inventory, and spare cargo.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Once Wu Wei had found his room and made sure his card key worked, he didn't waste much time in familiarizing himself with the ship. He assumed anywhere there was crew doing work, he wasn't allowed. But once he noticed the faint vibrations of the ship's engines lifting them off into space, he returned to the cargo hold.

The warning light above the door showed that it was safe to enter the hold. The door was apparently not protected by any sort of imprinting or passcode that he could find. He pressed the button, and the door slid right open.

"Fortuitous."

He stepped inside and began to walk amongst the crates and things, skirting around the shuttle until he found an open space large enough for a small group of people to have wrestling bouts.

His hand felt his lightsaber in his sleeve. He slid it out of his shirt and pressed the button on its handle. The sapphire blade hummed before him. He missed that hum. He shut his eyes and listened to the hum. It crept into his ears and filled his brain. Then it trickled down his throat and into his shoulders, arms, torso, until it seeped into his legs and found the tips of his toes.

The hum reached past his toes and into the ship, and so did Wei. The ship's vibrations and movements became part of him. Then the people were suddenly in his mind. Their warmth, their heartbeats, their breathing. Beyond the ship he could feel the silent emptiness of space.

With his eyes still shut he took a basic fighting stance found in Shii-Cho. Form I was concerned with the basic target points on a person's body. Each cut was meant to disable one of those target points. The most important one for a Jedi was the opponent's weapon-wielding hand.

He started with a simple cut from left to right. He brought the blade back along a similar path. Another simple vertical cut--top to bottom, then bottom to top. Block left, block right. The lightsaber always returned to the starting position, with the tip of the blade pointed at the opponent's nose.

Wu Wei feinted a low cut to the knee, stabbed at the opposite foot, then followed with a quick step forward and a stab at the gut. He blocked high, low, then to the inside and stepped out of the way of the imaginary thrusting blade. One small, quick circle later and Wu Wei had severed the imaginary hand.

On and on it went. Left hand, right hand, right foot, left foot. A stab at the face, a step back and a light tap on the wrist. Then there was a forceful block to the outside, exposing the opponent's front; The blade slid easily into the space where the invisible man's heart might be.

Then he returned to the starting position and found that he had been reversed. The silent emptiness wasn't outside the ship. It was inside him.

[Zeke]

Zeke is fairly well engrossed with the inventory before he even reaches the cargohold. He slaps the button and enters, ignoring the slight warning bell at the back of his head (isn't this supposed to be locked?) and gets to work. Everything's been shuffled well; invoices have been moved smoothly along the row to keep order, and the section he's marked off in green for the current delivery is correctly catalogued and nothing's missing. He finishes the inventory by shutting off the inventory pad with a satisified nod, and looks up at the large, open area he keeps clear for the haulers to manuever.

There's a person in here. That itself is significant, as it means the door was unlocked (a small part of him mutters an "I told you so"), but what really has Zeke's attention is the weapon this man is wielding. This ponytail-and-robe wearin' guy is practicing kata with a lightsaber! Moreover, he's working on Shii-Cho. How do I even remember that after all this time?" Zeke wonders to himself. He moves forward to the edge of the space.

"So I'm gonna venture a guess and say your specialty was Form I."

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wu Wei had been so deep in his kata that he had only really registered the Force's subtle signal that Zeke was there when the man asked his question.

"Actually," he said, "I never really specialized in anything. Form I is very basic. It's good and strong, but most Jedi only really consider it to be foundational. Like learning basic mathematics before you tackle Trig or Calculus."

He was surprised at how calm he felt. He had just been caught red-handed with a lightsaber. This guy knew he was a Jedi. But the guy didn't seem to care. In fact, it all seemed quite normal.

"And what did you focus your training on?"

It was strange, and yet very familiar and welcoming. Another Jedi, talking to him. Discussing lightsabers and the Force. It was as welcome as a summer breeze.

[Zeke]

This isn't the reaction Zeke was expecting, but he's a Jedi, for the luvvathaForce, so of course he's being calm. Zeke can't remember how long it's been since he touched the Force, or achieved such a level of calmness in any method.

"I was a pretty lackluster mix of Forms III, IV, and the teensiest little bit of Form V. In the end, I used a lightsaber better with Telekinesis."

Zeke's glad he moved his lightsabers down here early. He'd had the same idea of practicing in here that Wei had come up with, except he was gonna lock the door. The weapons floated gracefully to his hand and he thumbed them on, watching the two blades hum.

"Yeah, Form III and V while I was one-bladed, then picked up some Form IV since it looked like it'd work better with two blades. In the end, I wound up just floating them to stop blasters and used a Force Pike instead. Got that thing around here somewhere. Wonder where I hid it."

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wu Wei looked about the cargo hold. "Telekinetics. They were abit--" he paused as he fumbled with words, "abstract for my taste. Force Boosting on the other hand was much easier. It's much easier for me to imagine myself running faster or lifting heavy objects. Imagining an object rising into the air and making it do what I want was much harder."

Wei flourished the sabre, trading it back and forth between his hands. "Well, it became pretty easy for me to find the flow of the Force again when I did the kata. Maybe there's something like that that might help you. Then you could find your pike."

[Zeke]

"I don't know what I'd do exactly," Zeke admits. "Saber combat was never my strong suit in the first place, and neither was Boosting, really. Basically all I had was Sense and Telekinesis, but they're both kind of tough to practice in this kind of setting."

Zeke places his sabers pommel to pommel, floating them and spinning them in a disc so fast that the colors began to blur.

"There's not really any direction to it. I'd just wind up juggling boxes or playing around like this and not really accomplish anything other than scraping off a little bit of rust. It helps to have a goal in mind, but I haven't even considered drills since the Clones went haywire."

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wu Wei shrugged. "Well, forget the pike for now. It'll turn up."

Wei swung his saber. "Shii-Cho is fine. I learned enough from holos to get a basic grasp of the other forms. I think I could manage Nimen just fine. You know, Form VI? They called it the Diplomat's form because it was just good enough to get a person out of most situations."

Wei sighed. "Also, most of the Diplomat fighters that went to Geonosis during the Clone Wars wound up dead. But I figure if I can manage Nimen pretty well I can do the rest of it. Want to spar? Just to get yourself into a bit of practice. Defeating me would be a well-defined goal, so I think you'd more than shake the rust off. As the old saying goes, iron sharpens iron."

[Zeke]

"I don't remember that one," Zeke answers, reaching out and taking the sabers from mid-air. "I'll start with one for simplicity's sake."

He disengages Rory's old saber and knocks it aside, within easy reach of his telekinetics, and takes the Ataru stance with a little less confidence than he would've displayed back in the Clone Wars.

"So...uh...here goes, I guess." Zeke lunges first with a thrust to Wei's shoulder. "I really hope we don't slip and maim each other. That'd suck so bad."

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wu Wei parried easily. "Don't worry about that. Don't worry about hurting me; you'll cut too weakly and your practice will mean nothing. Don't worry about trying to hard to hurt me; you'll cut too strongly and leave yourself open."

Wu Wei took a side stance and leveled his blade at Zeke's throat. "Likewise, don't fret overmuch about getting hurt. It will only make you flinch. Then again, don't throw all caution or concern to the winds, because you'll definitely wind up seriously injured. Take your time and trust your instincts. If you try too hard to outhink me, you're just going to end up screwing yourself over."

Wei stepped forward quickly and thrust at Zeke's chest.

[Zeke]

"I know, I know," Zeke grumbled in the wake of Wei's speech. "Balance in the Force, used to hear it all the time."

He slaps Wei's blade aside and pivots around to his own left, striking horizontally across the shoulders. So far he's working on his own, raw ability. He thinks back to before, how he used to touch the Force. He felt boundless happiness from performing his duties to the Republic, from being near his comrades, from speaking with his students, teachers, and friends. He reached for all of that old stuff, trying to draw his old happiness back, and felt the Force weakly in that sea of memory.

[Wei Wu Wei]

The lightsaber's hum melted into everything.

The attack came as though Zeke were moving through water. Wei turned his wrist and angled his blade into the path of the saber. He blocked it and slid his blade along Zeke's. Once he reached Zeke's hilt he flicked his wrist forward and jabbed at the bicep on his opponent's main arm.

[Zeke]

Zeke deflects the next strike too, choosing to focus on his small Soresu training for the moment. He's beginning to realize that what made him happy in the past isn't going to apply here. What makes him happy now? It's hard to think; right now all he can think of is the burns, cuts, and broken bones he's gotten since starting this wretched business where he makes sparring arenas in his cargo hold.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei jumped into the air, moonsaulting over Zeke's head. He twisted along his vertical axis, using the movement to supply power to the additional force of his fall. His saber blurred as he moved, the hum growing higher in pitch as the blade came crashing down on top of Zeke.

[Zeke]

Zeke spun with Wei so that he was still facing him when he landed. He brought his lightsaber up, holding it at an angle so Wei's blow slid off it like rain on the roof of a house. The business has been a good venture for him. He's made plenty of money, met lots of people, and found contentment in a family. A spark of his old smile returns, and he feels the Force flow stronger. Zeke strikes with a stab at Wei's knees.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei jumped. The strike was easily dodged but it had a certain speed to it that had previously been lacking. He tried a rather staccato overhead strike followed by a sharp, whipping cut to Zeke's calf. Things were starting to heat up.

[Zeke]

Zeke blocks the downward strike with a forceful move that actually causes the blades to bounce back from each other, and smoothly swings his saber down to stop the strike at his calf. He pushes the blade away and strikes at Wei's sternum with his right elbow before bringing his gold blade up to make the same kind of overhead strike Wei had just employed.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei nearly smiled. He leaned backward out of the way of the elbow and swung up his lightsaber. He blocked the attack and allowed it to push him lower. He pushed up against Zeke's blade and placed his hands over his head. He planted them on the cargo bay floor and pushed with his feet, sending them into Zeke's midsection. The rest of the momentum would cause him to roll into a standing position.

[Zeke]

The kick connects as Zeke hesitates over a defensive move. Wei rolls up to stand, and Zeke slides back against the crates on the other side of the arena, staying seated to catch his breath.

"Whoo," he muttered. "Break time." He deactivates the lightsaber and leans his head back, staring up the wall of crates. "That was rough. Yeah, you definitely specialized in lightsaber combat. Never was a great fighter, myself. Telekinesis was where it was all at."

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei likewise deactivated his saber. "I liked lightsaber combat. I enjoyed the movement and the mental stimulation. I also enjoyed Force Boosting for the same benefit."

He walked over to where Zeke sat against the crates and took a seat next to him. "I like my body," Wei said, toying with his glasses. "I enjoy moving. I like how I feel when I lift something heavy or when my chest expands when I breathe. I also like how our minds connect with our bodies and with the physical world."

He folded the small, round set of lenses and placed them in his sleeve. "I'm going to have to practice using Force Boosting to correct my vision. It's not much of a change in my appearance, but they say people look acutely different when they don't wear glasses."

Wei patted Zeke on the shoulder. "So how did you used to channel the Force?"

[Zeke]

Zeke sighed and fixed his eyes on a point on the distance wall.

"My Master found a supreme happiness in the simplest of things. She taught me that nothing was negative, and we could celebrate anything. I felt indescribable joy at my accomplishments and the accomplishments of others, no matter how small. I even felt happy for my enemies." He smiled and laughed a little. "It was so confusing for my enemies when they'd get the better of me and pin me down, threaten to take my life, only to have me tell them how happy I was for them. At any rate, I channelled that feeling into the Force, and it was strong in me. The end of the Clone Wars was a...brutal awakening."

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei nodded. "I think that was a brutal awakening for all of us. I lost my master and the Jedi order then. And now, recently...it seems like the phantom of the Clone Wars won't let go."

Wei sighed and rubbed at the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. "I lost my wife and unborn child today. My father, too. I don't know if they've frozen my account or what, but I'm pretty sure my family's business is caput."

He leaned back against the crates. "I'm not sure what I'm going to do now."

[Zeke]

"Das't."

It was all Zeke could think to say.

"Man, dren."

Still, he could think of nothing important or helpful. It was nearly two full minutes before he did think of something.

"Let's train up to our old Clone Wars standard and go bust Imperial heads. We could stage from the Curvy Lady if we had to. I wonder if anyone else survived. Maybe we could re-start the Jedi Order? 'Cause I gotta tell ya, I've been itching to swing back into a Jedi mode for a while." Zeke shrugged and stood, dusting off his pants, and pulled out a smaller cargo crate. He wanted a distraction from the sour mood rising up in his torso.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei turned the idea over in his head. "I guess we could do that. I wouldn't mind the training, and I think it might do me some good in general. I don't know that I'm ready to really face the people who took my life from me twice, though. I'm not sure how I'd act."

He suddenly felt very tired. "I think I'll go back to my room and sleep this off."

[Zeke]

"Enjoy yourself," Zeke said absent-mindedly, pushing the crate with the Force. It would be a while before he was up to par, but he planned to fix that as much as possible. It would be a few days before they reached Zeltros, so there was time aplenty for practice.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei reached his room and emptied his pockets and sleeves. He idly thumbed through the datapad until he found a very recent addition to the inventory. It had been transmitted just minutes before the stormtroopers had come.

Naboo, crematory urns.

Wei arched an eyebrow. The business never sold funeral items.

He checked the item details.

Item: Jedi Secret
Serial No.: WWWJK123
Description: Wu Wei, I have an important secret that you must know. Unfortunately, I will be unable to tell you myself. The business I run is a cover for Imperial Intelligence work. I've been a member of the Intelligence for years now, uncovering Jedi secrets and hideaway locations. I had hoped that I could find you that way, and meet the son I never knew.

I know you must hate me for what I have been doing. I'm sure that I have helped to put to death some of your dear friends and mentors in this manner. However, I hope that I can make amends to you with this information.

I recently discovered amongst the belongings of a Jedi something that hints at an object or place that can help to bring the Jedi Order back to its full honor and place in the galaxy. I wanted you to know about it. The Jedi had a note describing a place hinted at in a pictograph. I found no such thing on him, but only a small plastic cube. I do not understand how it works, but I think that you might be able to figure it out.

It should be jammed into one of the backup power cell ports on your datapad. Remember to shut the pad down before you remove it. It shocked me a few times when I tried to put the cube in there.

Go find a way to restore your order. I will try and keep Te-Ling safe. But do hurry. I am not sure how long it will take the Empire to find you.

In Honest Love,

P'u, Founder and CEO of Tao Imports, Inc.

Wei lay back on his bed. His head swam and his heart pounded in his chest. His face burned hot as tears streamed down his face. He wept silently until at last the moment was behind him. The last thing he thought of was his wife, father, and the Jedi Order as he drifted off to sleep.

He dreamed that night of the Jedi Council. Windu, Yoda, Plo Koon, Ki Adi Mundi, Obi-Wan, and countless others sat in a serene ring around him.

"A great warrior, you have become, Wu Wei," Yoda said.

Kit Fisto leaned forward in his seat and smiled. "You have shown a great grasp of Form I. Do you plan to further your study of the most ancient form, or will you be wading into other waters?"

Wei smiled at the Nautolan. "I'm not sure, Master."

Obi-Wan scratched at his immaculate beard. "I would suggest becoming familiar with Form III, Soresu. It will help you in the days to come. Several opponents wield blasters nowadays. It would do you good."

To Wei's surprise, Anakin Skywalker matieralized in the seat on Obi-Wan's right. "Master, I think Form V would suit him much better. It's more aggressive, which will be beneficial to him if he wants to overcome his enemies."

Yoda spoke up again, "Indeed, might you try to understand Ataru. A natural talent for Force Boosting, you have. A smart complement to your abilities, that lightsaber combat style would be."

Plo Koon voiced an opinion. "Form II is old, and there might not be many situations where you will fight other Force Sensitive opponents, but the Darkside has become strong. You will need to know how to defend yourself from another lightsaber."

Mace Windu's voice cut like a knife, "Do not spread yourself too thinly, Wu Wei. It would weaken your combat focus and the time you have to dedicate yourself to those combat styles. You also enjoy fighting. Beware that you do not find yourself giving into that feeling. Should you decide to make use of it with Vapaad, be warned that there is a danger that you will fall to the Darkside. Only those with the greatest willpower and commitment can master such a dangerous technique."

Could it be that the Council was acually lobbying Wei to take up their preferred methods of combat? He would have chuckled if the situation had not been so severe.

"Whatever happens," Quinlan said from over Wei's shoulder, "know that the Force will be with you." He sounded oddly grave and serious. Not at all like how Wei remembered him.

A voice like birdsong reached his ear and turned his face to the door to the council chamber. "I'll be with you too, Dearest." Te-Ling smiled at him. In her arms she held an infant at her bosom. "Your father loves you, Wei. We all know you'll do just fine."

Wei woke up just in time to hear Zeke's crew announce mealtime.