AUTHOR'S NOTE: All characters NOT recognizable as genuine Star Wars characters are mine. MINE! If you are crazy enough to want to use my characters in your stories, ASK ME FIRST! That's about all I can think of as of late...I'll let you know if there's more.
"Carrie, come back here! You won't get to play with your dolly later if you don't come here," Jess Maloken bribed her 18-month-old daughter. Jess was rather tall for a Menoral midworker. Most were about two meters in height, whereas Jess was close to three, with the purple-black hair and deep blue eyes traditional to the Menorals.
Carrie Maloken, with the same sunset hair and eyes as her father, just looked pleadingly at her mother across the front room of the home. "Dolly...Mama, dolly?" the toddler said.
"Oh, come on, Miss Impossible," Jess coaxed. "Come and give Mama a hug?" she said gently.
"O'tay, give Mama hug," Carrie said as she stumbled several times over the toys scattered on the floor. She fell hard almost half way to Jess, hitting her head on the corner of a table. Landing on the soft matted floor, Carrie began to cry.
"Shh. Hush, hush...It's okay. Shh, don't cry, my child," the woman whispered, trying to console her daughter.
Carrie, just excused from one of Master Yoda's lessons, ran to her quarters as fast as she could, in hopes that she would be able to drop her things off. Today was the day that Ally came back from her first mission as a Padawan, and Carrie couldn't wait. It had been a full year since the two had seen each other, and the time had been nothing but brutal Carrie.
Suddenly, Carrie came across a small group of Jedi Knights returned from a diplomatic mission spanning the width of the hallway. Still running, she managed to do a double summersault over their heads to keep up her momentum, planning to hit the ground running...except she didn't.
"Carrie, how many times do I have to tell you not to run in the Temple unless you're running on an obstacle course?" The question came from Jedi Master Mace Windu.
Slightly frustrated at the fact that she was hovering, Carrie replied quietly. "Sorry, Master Windu, but today's the day that Ally and her Master are coming home. I wanted to be there on the landing pad when they got here," she said apologetically. "I promise, I won't do it again..." she trailed off.
"For a long while, I hope," Master Windu finished. "Now, please, Carrie, will you continue without running?"
"Yes, Master Windu. I promise I'll try," she said, looking down.
"Good. Now get going. Their ship will be landing soon, I think," he said, giving the suspended student a quick but warm smile.
With that, Carrie walked as fast as she could till she was out of Windu's sight, then she was running again. Nearly colliding with several more Jedi on her fast race to the landing pad, Carrie was just in time to watch the ship come in. The doors hissed open, and Ally came walking down the ramp just as she spotted Carrie's infamous sunset hair amongst the rest of the Jedi.
"Ally! You're finally home! I can't believe it! You look exactly the same as when you left!" Carrie exclaimed, racing to meet her friend.
"Neither have you! Ack! Yes you have! You look like you're taller than Master Windu by now, Carrie," Ally said in mild disbelief as she pulled the Menoral into a warm and long awaited embrace. "It's so good to be home."
"It's so good to have you home, you goof."
The looks on the council members' faces were everything but friendly, the warmth that Master Windu had shown the day before now gone. Ally, her Master, and two other Master-Padawan teams had been summoned for this meeting.
"Arisen close to home, problems have," Yoda announced after a long silence. "Monta Rafe is loose."
"What would you like us to do, Master Yoda?" Jedi Master Loo Vanar asked quietly.
Master Windu shifted in his seat. "Master Vanar, I would like you, Ally and Masters Torul and Eerik and their Padawans to apprehend Monta Rafe and his coterie. There is one...setback, you might call it, however. Monta Rafe's coterie has found a way to void their appearances and blend in with local midschool students in the Strafa District. Four Padawans will be sent in to pose as students at the midschool."
"But Master Windu," Ally started, "you are only sending three teams on this assignment. Where will we get the fourth Padawan?"
"A good question, you have asked, Ally," Yoda commented with what she thought was a small grin. "The fourth Padawan, Carrie Maloken will be."
Master Eerik, who was to Ally's left, suddenly stepped forward. "Master Yoda, you said she would be the fourth Padawan. She has not been taken as one yet."
Mace Windu coughed. "Carrie still has two days left in her attainment period. There is still time."
The benches were filled more than usual in the practice room, making all of the students a little anxious. Matten Gamor, one of Carrie and Ally's closest friends, was the prime example of nervousness.
"Mattie, don't worry," Carrie tried to show the calm that her friend obviously wasn't feeling. "You'll do fine, I can feel it."
"Easy for you to say. Nothing ever makes you nervous," he replied as they made their way to the far end of the room, watching pairs of students practice a bit before the session actually started. "Come on, let's do one practice round before we get paired off with people we've never practiced with."
Nodding, Carrie stepped out across from Matten and picked up a kata practice rod and looked him in the eye. "I'll go easy on you if you want me to."
He smiled. "Hah. I'll do the same," he retorted, and she laughed. "Now come on, quit stalling. Let's go."
Master Aesrial Kateri stood on the edge of the practice room, watching the students spar with each other before the session began. No doubt they would all be good with training, but none seemed to catch Kateri's eye. Even once the session started, to him, none stood out enough. Each had their strengths, but they seemed to flaunt their weaknesses to each other. The boy sparring with the Menoral girl looked like he was proud of his nerves the way he showed them off.
"A good group this year," one of the other Masters said nearby to another.
"Yes, the quality of sparring has most definitely improved," the other said.
'Not exactly up to standard, though,' Aesrial thought to himself. Granted, the last class had left much to be desired though they were all about ten years old or younger, but this group had about the same quality as the younglings did, being around two years older. 'Perhaps a few would do better if they were in a higher skilled class,' he thought vainly. Kateri walked around the room, between the mats, observing each pair of students carefully. He looked more at those few that had some success in hiding their faults. The Menoral girl was one of them, though her partner left much to be desired, and a pair of shorter humans in the far portion of the room.
"He's watching you," Mattie hissed through clenched teeth as he barely managed to block another of Carrie's advances.
"Quit thinking about the Master, and think about your opponent," she replied, spinning around and kicking Mattie's legs out from under him with ease. Standing up, Carrie slowly lowered the tip of her saber so it hovered about an inch above the boy's chest, then removed it and helped him up off the floor. "See what I mean? If you'd been focusing your attention on me, you would've seen that com--AAAH!"
"And had you not let your guard down to help your friend, child, you would have sensed that coming, as well."
Carrie and Mattie looked at the source of the third voice, the Master that had been watching Carrie. "Yes, Master," they both replied, her getting up hurriedly as she did so.