Private The Great Chandrilan Egg Hunt

[Maeve Linahan]

Murder was on Maeve’s mind as she observed the festivities. Eastertide, it was called. One of the planet’s less familiar holidays, each year the people of Chandrila came together to celebrate one of their most adored creatures, the bunny.

Involving painted eggs and a great deal of children, hundreds gathered in the capital’s city park to embark on a scavenger hunt for hidden treats tucked in decorated eggshells. Many found the tradition delightful. Maeve, on the other hand, thought it made absolutely zero sense.

Bunnies were rodents. She had no idea how people ended up associating them with eggs when they reproduced as mammals normally did, but fine. She didn’t care. Instead, Maeve kept her focus on the egg hunt and the screaming children that ran past her.

Many carried bright smiles and woven baskets. Others wore bunny ears, whiskers and flower wreaths. And each and every one of them swarmed and frolicked across the park like insects.

The sight made her sick to her stomach.

Not because she despised children—which was still true, of course—but because she was going to have to join them on this ridiculous scavenger hunt. Now why, one might ask? Because implanted inside one of the thousands of eggs scattered around the park was a disc which contained compromising information of a wealthy Chandrilan politician.

Now, it was up to Maeve and her newest partner to find it.

Corazona von Ascania​

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[Corazona von Ascania]

Maeve never really seemed to enjoy their assignments together. Cora did not let this deter her in the slightest.

"Oh, goodness! Look at all of those eggs you have!"

Garbed in a flouncy pastel sundress and a pair of rabbit ears, Cora knelt next to a pair of children who's baskets were piled high with multicolored plastoid eggs.

"Shall we count the candies you've found? Oneee, twooo….threeee…."

As each egg snapped open, Cora made an exuberant deal of every treat as it was revealed. Unfortunately, none of them were of the data chip variety.

With that particular task done, she rose from the grass, brushed off her knees, and pranced back over to Maeve.

"Come on, at least try to look the part! We're supposed to fit in, not scare these children off."

Maeve was pretty, but her sour expression and aloof nature would make her unapproachable in this situation. Useful traits for a shadow, but not particularly helpful when you were participating in a festive scavenger hunt rife with children.

With that thought, Cora removed the felt rabbit ears from her head and gingerly attempted to slip them onto Maeve's own.

Unlike the Jedi Knight, Cora loved children and celebrations. Eastertide was right up her alley.

"What do you suppose is on that disc, anyway?" Still smiling, her voice lowered as she scanned the tiers of well cultivated flowers lining the park. Even if no eggs had been hidden there, they'd certainly be trampled to shreds before the day was done.

Maeve Linahan

 

[Maeve Linahan]

Surprisingly, Maeve didn't resist against Cora's attempt to crown her head in bunny ears. She just stood still as a tomb, all the horrors of hell contained in her eyes.

It was a holiday miracle Maeve had the restraint not to slap away the girl's hands, if only out of respect after their last assignment together. Worse part was, Cora was right. Since arriving, she'd frightened six children back to their parents, and if Maeve had any hope of blending in with the festivities, she had to at least appear to be participating.

By the Force, though, was it degrading.

Walking side by side Cora, Maeve continued glowering at the children with undisguised contempt. "I don't know what the disc may contain, but better if we never find out."

"I only pray it's not a stored collection of the man's nudes. Last thing we need is a child's grubby hands to get a hold of it and start sharing it with everyone in a mile's radius." Hundreds of innocent minds ruined. A public scandal that would stay circulating in the press for months. Maeve was not ready for that kind of headache.

As she strode through the city park, between blooming flower beds and the tangled shadows of old trees, she searched for clues. Aware of the tradition as she was, Maeve had failed to bring her own basket. She barely dressed for the occasion, too—unlike Cora, who grinned in a spring sundress, bunny ears swaying back and forth as she skipped along.

Like with the Chandrilan Institute of Arts, she was enjoying herself far too much.

"You seem familiar with Eastertide," she told the Jedi Padawan with a blank expression. "Have you participated in the festival before?"

Corazona von Ascania​

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[Corazona von Ascania]

Cora's upper lip curled at the mention of the disc containing photographs of a compromising nature. The flush on her pale cheeks complimented the pastel tones in her dress.

The Padawan had no earthly idea why those types of images seemed to be so popular, and thus subject to scandal. You could easily look up nude models on the holonet, if needed.

"I haven't heard of Eastertide before today!" Came her bright response. "We have a harvest festival on Ukatis that's similar. We don't hide plastic eggs, but there are plenty of flowers." It had similar enough energy.

Thoughts of her homeworld were enough to put a bit of a damper on her exuberance. In only a few short weeks, she'd have to leave the Jedi behind and take on an entirely different role. Princess.

"I think you're probably right. About the contents of the disc, and us being better off not knowing." One corner of her lips lifted in a wry expression.

"How did the disc end up in an egg, anyway?" There was an almost musical lit to Cora's voice as she scanned the garden, dotted with bright plastoid eggs. She stopped to reach for the bright magenta capsule at her feet, but was beaten to it by a small boy who'd seemingly come from nowhere.

Maeve Linahan

 

[Maeve Linahan]

"Someone in the local senator's office purposely retrieved the data out of some personal vendetta. They were caught before they were able to leak it to the press themselves, but under interrogation, confessed to making a second-copy."

She waved a hand at the egg-studded park. "This was their back-up plan."

"Be it indecent pictures or a shady business deal, they embedded the copy here knowing full well it would be found by the public. For a child to come upon that information would only heighten the ensuing scandal and destroy the public integrity of the senator's office."

In the gardens, Maeve reached over and snatched the bright magenta capsule from the little boy who'd taken it shortly before Cora could.

"Hey!" the boy cried. Tears welled up in his eyes. Before he could start a screaming hissy fit, Maeve hatched open the egg, dumped the contents into her open palm, and inspected what looked like a plastic-wrapped piece of chocolate. No disc. With a flash of disappointment, she dumped the candy into the boy's whiny hands and kept walking.

"I don't understand why the senator chose not to enlist the assistance of local authorities. Perhaps not to draw too much attention, but this is ridiculous." She called another egg to her with the Force. "There are far better things we could be doing besides playing hound dog."

Maeve cracked the egg open. Upon finding only another piece of candy, she subsequently tossed it over her shoulder, smacking a child in the head with it. "But we are Jedi," she continued, "and as always, are obligated to help."

Corazona von Ascania​

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[Corazona von Ascania]

Cora frowned.

"This was their backup plan? Potentially scarring these poor children for life?"

Like all Jedi, Cora sought to put herself between the violence of the galaxy and innocent civilians. The eldest of eight, she had a particularly soft spot for kid.

Maeve did not. She winced as the Shadow beamed a child in the head with an absently tossed candy. Efficient, but not genial.

"Could we help a little more gently, maybe?"

The glint of something metallic reflecting sunlight caught her eye, forcing Cora to squint in the direction it came from.

A little girl, bedecked in an adorable patterned Eastertide dress was cradling a datastick in her hand. She seemed bewildered, looking from the two halves of the blue plastic egg she'd opened, then back to the device.

Startled into action, Cora approached her swiftly.

"Oh goodness! That doesn't look like candy. Would you like to make a trade? I'll give you-"

Looking around frantically, she swiped a pair of eggs—lavender and green—from beneath a nearby bush and offered them to the girl.

"The candy inside of these two eggs, and I can take that boring piece of metal and plastic."

Eyes wide, the girl turned to Cora, examined the eggs held out to her, then the datastick, then the blonde's smiling face.

"Get bent, lady!" She shrieked, then ran off with her prize.

Maeve Linahan

 

[Maeve Linahan]

"I will consider it," Maeve said in response to Cora's request. Being 'gentle' was not her strong point. She was a duelist, a Jedi Shadow, and a woman who boasted a healthy disliking towards anyone under the age of twelve. In a public place swarming with the little critters, she was on edge. All she wanted was to find the disc and retire from this battlefield of screaming children.

Hence her excitement when they found it.

Wide eyes replaced her customary glower as a little girl came upon the disc. The desire to snatch it and punt the child across the park overwhelmed Maeve, but she restrained herself. Cora had asked her to play gentle. Fine. Just this once, she would listen and allow the padawan to kindly trade for the disc.

Or so, at least, until negotiations failed and the bratty semen-demon fled.

"Why, you little shi—!" Maeve said, stopping only last minute to pursue the girl across the park. A decorated egg shattered under her heel as she gave chase. Forget what Cora had said about being gentle. She was going to knock some sense in the nose-picking ankle-biter and get what they came for. No way was she risking the mission for a child's sake.

Corazona von Ascania​

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[Corazona von Ascania]

Cora was as stunned by the foul mouthed little girl as she was by the fact that the child was fleeing, clutching the data stick to her chest. Was she in on it? A secret political agent sent here for the same purpose as them?

Was she just miffed that the adults were trying to take her new toy away?

While Cora stood shocked, Maeve was on the case. The girl peeked over her shoulder, the smug look evaporating from her face when she saw the elder blonde approaching like a freight train.

There was no way that her little legs could outrun the athleticism of a trained Jedi Knight. As clever as she was rude, the girl clambered her way into a tangle of bushes, wriggling through the dense thorny undergrowth.

For her part, Cora chased after Maeve and the girl, cursing her poor foresight to wear flats on this particular mission.

Maeve Linahan

 

[Maeve Linahan]

She charged for the little girl. Although they'd had quite the head-start, Maeve moved as if possessed, rapidly closing the space between them. The girl's smug expression fell to panic. Maeve tried to reach out, to yank her by the legs with the Force and cause her to face-plant into the dirt, but the girl was sharper than she'd expected, diving into heavy bushes.

She would not let it be enough.

Maeve cut her hands through the air. The Force swept aside the knotted shrubbery like parting open a river, and the Jedi Knight staggered through them. A thorn caught on her dress. Soil dirtied her shoes. If not for the bunny ears tucked in her hair, she might've looked like a monster having freshly crawled from its own grave.

"Keep running and I promise you will regret it!" she cried, rose petals falling around her from the broken undergrowth as she hunted after the little girl. Whether Cora was able to keep up or not made little difference to Maeve. She'd resolved to capture the disc by whatever means necessary. She wouldn't stop until it was in her grasp.

Which was why, upon spotting the girl's ankle sticking out from one of the rose-covered bushes, Maeve's hand shot out and attempted to grab it like a talon's claw.

Corazona von Ascania​

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[Corazona von Ascania]

The little girl could only stare in abject horror as the bestial woman ripped her way through the dense brush with seemingly little effort. She certainly hadn't expected an adult to charge haphazardly into the bushes, much less tear through them like wet paper.

A shriek pitched from her little lungs as Maeve's hand snapped around her ankle, dragging her from her hiding spot. Thorns snagged at her dress and dirt covered her scraped knees, but the child seemed more concerned with the angry harpy who'd capture her.

"Lemme go, Lady!" She whined, kicking in protest. Unlike the younger woman from before, this one didn't seem gentle and soft.

The girl met Maeve's stern features with a hardened look of determination. The disc was clutched tightly to her chest with both hands. It was clear that she could not escape—and in that moment, the child decided that if she could not have her prize, neither could the women who'd come after it so fiercely.

With all of her strength and a labored grunt, the girl reeled her hands back and thrust them forward. The disc when spiraling far over their heads, sailing into the placid waters of a nearby pond.

Plink!

Cora had watched it all go down as she jogged towards them, feet aching where shoes rubbed against her skin and lungs burning. Closer to the pond that Maeve and the girl, she suppressed a groan while trotting over to the shore.

Carefully, she removed her shoes and set them aside. Then, she went about tying up her hair.

Clearly, the Padawan had her priorities as she waded carefully into the cold waters.

Maeve Linahan

 

[Maeve Linahan]

"Give me the godsforsaken disc!"

Maeve grimaced as the little girl landed several kicks onto her face. Dirt smeared her cheeks. Her hair frayed into a wild mess. As she clung to the child and attempted to snatch the disc from her hands, she was struck with surprise as the little crotch goblin spitefully hurled it away, out of her reach and into a pond marbled with sunlight. Her jaw unhinged.

If she hadn't sworn to the Jedi Order and vowed to protect all life, she might've punted the girl into the water next. The urge was already crushing enough.

Instead, she settled for a sharp glare and clambered to a rise. Furiously, she cut through the remaining rose bushes until stumbling for the shore. She walked into a dark puddle and froze. One look down and Maeve saw wet mud up to her ankles, and with a heavy groan, she delicately lifted out from it, step by step heading into the water.

She couldn't believe her string of bad luck.

Noticing Cora, unscathed and wading on, Maeve called, "Do you see it? Is it still intact?"

Corazona von Ascania​

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[Corazona von Ascania]

"Ew ew ew ew ew ew ew."

Chanted like an unwilling mantra, Cora gingerly stepped into the pond. Fortunately, she'd seen where the device had landed as it plunked beneath the murky waters.

Unfortunately, it was not near the shore. Now up to her hips, the Noble Padawan grimaced as the skirt of her pretty dress fluttered around her.

A glint of something silver beneath the water caught the sun, and Cora lurched forward in surprise with an outstretched hand.

"I see it!" She called excitedly. "I think that I can—!"

Her bare foot pressed against a slimy rock on the pond floor, causing her to slip and plunge into the dirty water. A handful of bubbles drifted upward, and moments later, Cora burst to the surface, spraying onlookers with cloudy droplets.

With perfectly coiffed hair now wetted to a dirty slick and her dress clinging to her, Cora raised a fist covered in muck. Within it, the silver disc glittered.

Trudging heavily back to shore, she waved her hand frantically at Maeve. This time, she absently sent bits of mud flinging towards curious families as they gathered to see the commotion.

"Oh," She stilled suddenly, cheeks flushing a bashful shade of red. "Nothing to see here, ladies and gentleman! I just…lost my ring is all!"

Maeve Linahan

 

[Maeve Linahan]

Between the horribly soaked Padawan and the soil-smeared nightmare that was Maeve, the Force had not been kind to the Jedi.

Parents looked on in shock, some trading scandalized looks, others shielding their children's eyes and guiding them away from the pond. Which was fine by Maeve. Let them stare. She and Cora had got what they came for and she saw no more reason to bother blending in.

She cast aside her bunny ears and, once Cora reached the shoreline, plucked the muddied disc from her cupped hands. Unable to restrain her scowl, Maeve wiped the gunk away and examined it in the light.

As she did, a voice shrieked in the distance. "No! That's mine!"

The little girl from before exploded from the bushes. Red in the face and caked in dirt, she came at them like an axe-wielding maniac. But Maeve didn't even bother looking in her general direction. With one raised hand, she Force-pushed the girl and sent her flying backwards into the shrubbery.

"Enough of this nonsense," she said and revealed a pocket-sized datapad from her dress. "The disc was only in the water briefly. We need to ensure whether it's still functional or not."

She'd promised not to check what the disc contained. But after what'd happened today? She had to see just what madness was worth this trouble.

Carefully, she plugged the disc in and waited to see if it would play.

Corazona von Ascania​

​

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Cora could only gape as Maeve send the child soaring away, watching as the little girl landed with a thud in the bushes.

The Padawan winced. "Couldn't you have-"

She stopped short, interest immediately drawing towards the datapad as her neck craned to get a better look at the small screen. The disc chugged away, and after a few seconds of struggled whirring, a flickering image appeared.

In it, a distinguished, graying man was sat against what appeared to be a hotel backdrop. Which would've been relatively normal, had he not been dressed as a baby. Pink frilly clothes, pacifier, diaper and all.

Cora furrowed her brow. This was certainly strange to her, and she could see how it would potentially be embarrassing.

"Oh." She struggled for an explanation. "Maybe he is simply...fond of costumes?"

The lower half of what appeared to be a woman—long legged and clad in the highest and pointiest of heels—walked into the scene. This newcomer was holding onto the leathery handle of an implement, and some unintelligible dialogue was exchanged.

The video continued, and Cora let out a scandalized gasp.

"Oh, stars above! Such filth!" Came her cry as she plastered her hands to her face in surprise, eyes peeking out with morbid curiosity from behind slivered fingers.

"That...that is most inappropriate." She hissed lowly. "Please, let me throw it back into the lake."

Maeve Linahan

 

[Maeve Linahan]

Forget the fact she'd thrown a little girl aside like a rag doll. Far more important matters hung in the balance, starting with the disc in her hand.

Maeve leaned forward and watched with bated breath.

The following video began innocently enough. Well, not really—the man, which she recognized as the current Chandrilan Prime Minister, wore the outfit of a newborn babe, suckling on a neon-pink pacifier. She cocked an eyebrow. Just what in Ashla's Light was she watching?

The video dragged on. Enough for understanding to dawn on Maeve like blinding twin suns. Why she didn't stop right there, she'd no idea.

By the time the man started howling, Maeve reached a hand, shut the video player off, and ejected the disc. Surprise rendered her utterly speechless. Once she had lifted her jaw from the ground, the Jedi Shadow held the disc in her palm and stared at it blankly.

"No need," she said, then crushed the entire thing in her fist.

When he fingers unfurled, all that remained of the disc were broken shards of circuitry and powdered steel. A single stride towards the pond and Maeve released it into the water, allowing decorated koi to nibble and consume what little of the cursed object remained. Then, she turned and settled onto the grassy bank, a faraway look in her eyes.

A long, agonizing moment of silence passed between them.

Uncomfortably, Maeve felt an egg underneath her and raised it. This time, she cracked it open and poured out two wrapped chocolates into her hand. Shucking the first open, she plopped it into her mouth and chewed, then offered the second over to Cora, assuming she sat by her.

"Do me a favor, Cora. Let us not breathe a word of this ever again."

Corazona von Ascania​

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[Corazona von Ascania]

From behind the cover of her hands, Cora could only watch in hypnotic disgust as the video played out in earnest. Despite appearances, the Padawan was not entirely innocent. She was aware that preferences existed, but this was by far stranger than anything she could've imagined.

Perhaps that was why she made no fuss when Maeve crushed the disk in her hand and dumped the remains into the pond.

Following along, Cora settled onto the ground next to Maeve, taking great care to rearrange the soaking pleats of her skirt around her neatly folded legs. The two shared an uncomfortable silence as the families around them returned to their own devices.

A pair of children frolicked past, laughing with excitement. It came in stark contrast to the Jedi who'd just been traumatized by the Prime Minister's unusual fetish.

A spark of surprise touched her eyes as Maeve offered a candy—she didn't think that the Shadow liked sweets, but perhaps this incident warranted distraction. Cora nodded her thanks as she twisted the wrapping away and popped the square of chocolate covered caramel into her mouth.

"Understood. This never happened." She agreed firmly with a curt nod. Then her expression softened a tad.

"I pray that this never happens again."

Lady Velvet novels could get a bit spicy, but Cora would not be subjecting her readers to such unrefined filth.

Maeve Linahan