Covalent Bonds

Chapter 13

She's most attractive in black. Obi-Wan munched on the sliced zog that had dropped out of his slider. Siri had bright blond hair and brighter blue eyes. The declaiming actress in the holovid's conclusion playing now had amber hair swept up in a bun, but Siri's jaw and wide mouth. There was a drop of hot sauce sliding past the capture of Siri's plush lips and he reached it with his napkin before it could soil her loosely-tied evening wear.

She nodded a 'thanks' before finishing her mouthful.

"Gooey, but good."

"Ummhmm."

The credits came on as in the latest fashion, names scrolling too fast to read, straining-for-humor outtakes punctuating the reprise of musical themes. The music had been sprightly, the acting of good quality and he liked this vid very much. The first they had watched had been a sports holovid, the story of a precocious scramball player with a foul mouth anchoring a woebegone team cursed with an alcoholic Coach. The child actor bore an uncanny resemblance to Anakin's niece, just turning two. Obi-Wan could picture an older Sabra Lars in the role, though Owen and Beru would never allow her to speak in that coarse manner. Younglings. It's hard-wired into parents to protect them.

"Did Ferus ever give you any major problems, Siri?" Obi-Wan wondered aloud. Somehow he couldn't see it. Anakin and Ferus may have abraded each other at times, but Obi-Wan was honest enough to admit it was mostly Anakin's fault.

"He did not. Once he came to me and asked me to ground him so that he could have the experience. It would have been duplicitous and I refused."

"None?" Thought so.

"I was gone for part of his training, but Adi never reported anything to me." Was she different with him than with me?

"Well, she wouldn't, now would she. We protect them, sometimes against their good." Adi loves the old Code, that is, if she loves anything. "Qui-Gon protected Xanatos more than he did his other Padawans, to Xanatos' detriment. Xanatos never appreciated it. Right to the end, he clawed at Qui-Gon."

"I can't see Adi being anything other than straight with me. She's always been that way." Siri leaned away from Obi-Wan. The sofa's one large cushion sagged in the middle because that was where she sat alone most in-Temple nights, and the resulting indentation made her roll towards anyone seated beside her. "Obi-Wan, is Anakin needing any more work to keep him busy? If he's got too much time on his hands --- "

"Thanks, Siri, I'll look into it. Master Yoda will be meeting us tomorrow, perhaps with a new assignment. The Council meetings have been non-productive since I've been back."

"Let's drink to a quiet end to the war." Siri gathered herself and rose from the comfort of the veda-cloth upholstery. Her flowing skirt clung to her backside with static electricity and she turned sideways to pluck at it, gesturing to the sideboard to misdirect Obi-Wan's attention. "See anything you like?"

"Hmmm? Oh, you mean liquor. Give me a minute. It's been quite awhile." He joined her at the polished lammaswood sideboard, noting that there was no dust here, in contrast to some other places in her quarters. Siri enjoys her libations. So did I, years ago. I think I'll join her tonight. "Cassandran Choholl! However did you afford it?"

Siri looked almost shy. "Someone I met undercover, I met again years later. He'd cleaned up his act and bought me this for old times' sake. He was ... nicer than most I'd met back then." She raised a hand to her lips. "It isn't a thing to share with just anyone, but I'll share it with you." Her brow clouded. "It wasn't a bribe or anything."

"'Fruity,'" Obi-Wan read the foil label. "I don't normally go in for fruits, as flavoring, I mean, but I've heard almost legendary tales about this. I'd be honored to join you." She keeps going back to those non-Jedi years of hers. There's a story to tell, if she ever decides to tell it. Siri selected two crystal pieces of bowled stemware, etched with a floral pattern. She poured two fingers in each, decorated them with swizzle sticks and dricklefruit crescents and capped the fluted bottle. They settled onto the sofa once more to sip in silence.

"Ahhhh."

"Mmmmmm."

"Oooh, yes."

"Wizard!"

"Even Anakin doesn't say that anymore."

"I think I'm approaching my second childhood. Maybe it's riding the speeder bikes that does it." Siri rolled carelessly against Obi-Wan's hip. "Good to relax."

"For me, too. Tonight may be the last night we see each other for awhile, so let's make the most of it."

"Yes, once we get in the field again, I'll miss my bed. It's from PhlogTrain, nice and wide."

"So's ours."

Siri sat straighter and played with her fringed sash. "You've lived mighty clean, Obi-Wan."

"I, I don't understand you."

Siri swirled her drink. The swizzle stick tinkled and the dricklefruit garnish almost spilled out. "I mean, when I came back from Krayn's outfit, I'd lived non-Jedi for three years. I know what is out there. I had to choose and it was rough. It took a lot out of me and I nearly didn't return to walk the Jedi path." She knocked back the entire drink, almost choking on the garnish. She threw the swizzle stick expertly into the sink where it shattered. "You, my man, tried so kriffing hard to come back when Master Jinn didn't want you again right away. You kept coming back to his coldness and distance for months --- "

"Oh, it wasn't months --- "

"I was there. It was." Siri leaned away from him and stared straight ahead. "Now I like the path that I walk, but at the time, it was a difficult choice and I'd never considered that it might be. The undercover assignment was just a way to gain Knighthood at first. Master Adi told me it might be difficult to adjust again, but I think that she didn't really believe it. I made Knight, she cut my braid and we embraced. I put on a good show, don't you think?"

"Siri, you say that you are reconciled to your decision. What else is there to say? Why are you telling me this?" You have mellowed. What a surprise. Was it the revised code that did this?

"To reconcile with you. I was envious of your cheerful attitude and didn't release it, I was in awe of your humility and perseverance in the face of such obtu--- "

"Don't say it. It's behind us. Master Qui-Gon and I weathered our difficulties and I've always said that he joined the Force as a different man. He suffered over Master Tahl's blinding and when she had her final troubles, it broke him down. I didn't know if he could recover, Siri." The liquor's effect after such a long time of abstinence took him by surprise and he sprawled open-legged, one thigh resting against hers. "B-But he did. He built himself back up to being Jedi, with the help of the Force. I was privileged to be his last Padawan."

"He was privileged to have you." It's not soft, not weak to say this. It needs saying after all these years. "Stars, look at the time. Dawn will come sooner than we think. I'd like it if you would meditate with me tomorrow morning. In the gardens would be nice, near the zaela trees. Would you?"

"Of course I would, Siri." He gave her knee a fraternal pat and linked her arm with his to stand. "Whoooa, roomtilt. Gooooood Choholl, ha. Been years. Thanks for the vids. Nice changes from my horror ones. This last one nearly made me cry."

"Nu said it was 'sad, poignant, funny and life-affirming.' She was right. I liked the daughter who got taken down a peg. Reminded me of me." She poked him in the arm and they sashayed to her door. What was that line I used to say as Zora to sleep my way up the ladder in Krayn's outfit? Oh, yeahhh. 'Have breakfast with me tomorrow?' 'You know it, baybeeee.' 'Shall I comm you, or nudge you?' Pathetic. Why did it work so well? They both cracked their jaws in huge yawns.

"Late nights are behind us, too, Siri. It must be, what, tenth hour?" It's good to have an evening away. Anakin should find more friends to share evenings with. Do him good.

"We're hedonist Jedi, new post-Revision code Jedi. Dancing under the stars until dawn, drinking to excess, not washing our robes every other day ... who knowsh what will come next?" Siri palmed open the door. Obi-Wan leaned out, then back in again.

"Nobody'sh out there. Nobody to see me leave here and get shuspicions shtarted in their little brains."

"Master Yoda has a little brain."

"He'sh little all over."

"Oh, I don't know. I've heard rumors --- "

"Siri!"

"Well, I have. The Healers conducting our yearly exams have been known to indulge in alcohol, and not the medicinal kind. They've let things shlip before. I'm just saying, Master Yoda is old, but not old old."

"I'm sure I, I don't know what you mean." Obi-Wan again leaned out the open door and then back in, scouting for fellow late night revelers. We're gossiping. I'm not telling Anakin about this.

Siri made a rude noise with her lips. It reminded Obi-Wan of the accipiptero from Dagobah that she had imitated before their vid. "I mean, Oafy-Wan, that he ish not beyond having warm feelings for someone."

"I'm leaving before this gets shcandalous. Gotta use the Force to dishipate shome --- some of this Choholl." Obi-Wan swayed towards Siri with a leer. "Join me in dishipation, m'dear?"

"Suuure. Don't want hangovers tomorrow, do we? Meet you at dawn, where I shaid."

"Very good. Let's do it now." Obi-Wan and Siri rolled their foreheads together and placed their hands on each other's shoulders. "Breathe. Concentrate. Breathe. Concentrate. The alcohol is bubbling away, the effects are going away, and it all happens ... now." And just like that, the edge of the inebriation was gone, they felt good and relaxed, and more than somewhat sleepy.

That same evening, on Naboo ...

Palo awoke with a snort as Dormé's head lolled against his shoulder. She had drooled and the fluid's growing coolness had awakened him. The HoloNews played in a loop, one he had seen earlier in the day. "In lighter news, the war has not diminished the efforts of many to acquire merchandise geared to their hobbies. With the growing scarcity of Jedi Knights in the Republic that is due to their unending gallantry in insisting upon leading their troops into battle, the market in Jedi memorabilia has skyrocketed in value. While lost cloaks are a drag on the market, personalized items such as lightsabers are turning up in black market venues such as Black Sun Souvenirs. Reputable auction houses such as JediNow decry this trend." A Praci's blob nearly filled the transmission. "'More and more, we are being undersold in the unique merchandise market. We have had to resort to niche marketing to elite clientele, to the detriment of the general collecting public. Getting on one of these exclusive lists is an extremely rare occurrence. Anyone who does'" --- the spokesbeing turned three of its eyestalks directly into the holoemitter's lens --- "'can be assured of quality --- '"

Palo whispered, "Off." Dormé sighed as Palo tucked a light cover around her and pushed her face away from the scratchy throw pillow. There would be no waking her until daylight. He kissed her uncovered ear and headed for the 'fresher. As he surveyed himself in the mirror and patted his double chin, a brainstorm flashed for an even better idea to tell Padmé and Master Yoda. "They are perfect for it, those two. I can see it all now." Too late to comm Coruscant tonight. Nibbling on the last of their almond-kwevvu munchables as he settled into bed, he programmed himself to dream about his idea as he had several times before with other ideas. It worked with the singing Varykino furry trout merchandising. It'll work this time. As he fell asleep, he wished that his parents had been as attentive to their offerings to the Goddess of Safety as he had always been. He mumbled his usual prayer to Her right before he slept.

TBC

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