Pressing a flashing red button the holo flickered on. It buzzed and hummed while a faint blue light fizzled and sputtered. This lasted only a moment as the light refocused into a crisp, clear image of a young woman dressed in the signature robes of the Jedi.
Praven waited a moment, cautiously checking to see if anyone was tracing the call. No one was.
Aditaya, the tattooed Mirialian in the holo, smiled sweetly as the call synced up. Praven gave her a curt nod, followed by a small smile. Even light years away, her smile was still so very infectious.
Aditaya fidgeted in the holo, which showed some of her chest and her entire hooded head. Looking at it, the image seemed so very similar to those in the Jedi Enclave, which now displayed many famous Jedi knights and Masters in history.
Praven spoke first. "Is there something wrong?"
She shook her head side to side. "Everything is alright. I jus-"A child cried in the background and cut Aditaya off. The noise subsequently drew her away from the holo, and out of his sight.
Praven waited. Holding his breath as the holo displayed absolutely nothing. Red lights flashed inside his room on the ship. Tubes and wires poked out from underneath a few unrepaired metal panels, displaying some minor damage that it sustained. They could be repaired, if given the time.
The holo fizzled once more before refocusing as Aditaya came into view. She wasn't alone.
The image zoomed out to show a bundle of cloth cradled in Aditaya's arms. Shifting to the left a little bit, he could barely make out a tiny little infant nestled in the cloth, gurgling and giggling loudly over the holocall. Even tinted a faint blue color, Praven knew what specie the child was. With two bars tattooed on the child's face, one bar for each cheek, it was clear the baby was a Mirialian.
Two pudgy arms reached up from out of the bundle of cloth, the child mindlessly waving them about for no real reason other than to play with loose string that hung off of Aditaya's robes.
Aditaya shot him an apologetic look.
"I'm sorry, Praven. She was asleep but I guess she wanted to come over and see you." The baby girl gurgled as three fingers entered her mouth, and drenched them in spit. Gibberish nonsense spouted from her mouth, muffled by her fingers.
To be honest, he didn't mind the interruption. Seeing both of them was a welcomed sight, something he actually preferred popping up more often.
"It's alright Aditaya. I don't mind." As soon as he finished his sentence, the child slowly looked at him, and shook her tiny hands and feet in the air, smiling in pure delight. A shrieking shrill of laughter crackled over the holo.
"I think Kira's right about the whole 'daddy's girl' thing." Aditaya teased, chuckling as the little baby opened and closed her hands at him. Given that the child wasn't even theirs by blood, it was strange to see the infant had already begun to recognize the sound of their voices. And for some odd reason Aditaya was right; the child did seem to get fussy whenever she saw or heard him.
Exactly Six months to this day, a freak accident had claimed the baby's parents, of who were both found burned and ripped to shreds. No one had any idea exactly how that exactly happened and no one wanted he child. So naturally, Aditaya decided to adopt the baby.
"Everything alright where you are Praven?" Aditaya's question crackled over the holo.
He answered quickly, absently watching the baby girl grab Aditaya's fingers and wave them about in pure amusement. "Everything is fine. I'll be back on Tython in five days time."
Aditaya frowned. "Wish I had gone with you. But sadly, the council wanted me here to train a few promising padawans." A very loud sigh echoed over the holo. "I hope they won't be as bad as Kira." Someone snorted in the background, causing a smile to spread on Aditaya's face.
The image sputtered and fizzled up again, trying to adjust as a short haired human female walking into the feed. Praven raised an eye ridge up in the air, questioning what the young woman was doing.
"I see you're interrupting us again, Kira." The Jedi, Kira, gave him a wry smile. "Someone has to. If I didn't, the two of you would be talking for hours." Kira teased while Aditaya gave the older woman a stern look.
"Kira." Aditaya voice sounded stern and irritated, like a mother scolding a child. The red head snorted, taking the hint. "Alright alright! I'll go! Just remember you need to get to training grounds in ten minutes!" All of a sudden the baby gave another loud shrilling laugh, and made grabbing motions towards Praven. Kira paused, quickly glancing down at the baby and then back up at him.
"Seems she misses her daddy."
"Shouldn't you be going?"
"Not used to being called daddy?" Kira mused, smiling and chuckling as Praven felt his face shift into a frown. Aditaya, well aware how Kira loved grating on Praven's nerves, tried to shoo the girl.
"Now Kira, I know you are supposed to be greeting the new padawans arriving today. Perhaps you should go now before they are left standing at the space station,without their instructor." The red head quickly mumbled something before walking out of the feed. They were alone once again.
Praven watched as Aditaya looked at the baby and then to him, seemingly content at the moment. Before the infant entered their lives, he remembered how downtrodden Aditaya had become when they found out It wasn't possible for the two of them to have children together.
The infant Aditaya currently held in her arms, changed all that. As soon as the child gurgled and giggled, creating all sorts of gibberish words and noises, Aditaya laughed and cooed back at the girl. Praven couldn't deny that the sight was a heartwarming thing to see. It was startling the first time the baby came home with them, because Aditaya immediately pointed at him and told the child that he was herfather. It was a new concept he was still trying to wrap his head about. So far, he was beginning to accept it with little difficulty. There were times when the word father startled him, like the time when the baby once called him da-da. It was another variation of the word father and daddy. Or so he was told by both Aditaya and Kira as they laughed in the background.
Aditaya held the baby up a little higher, resting the girl's head on her upper arm to better support the head. "I won't hold you up any longer, Praven. Stay safe and may the force be with you." She didn't bow because of the baby. But she did give him a nod.
"May the force be with you both."
The faint blue light vanished as the call ended, leaving the room darker than it originally had been.