LL2 8 NewsNets
A day's worth of dirty clothes lay wadded on the floor. Only the desk lamp lit the bedroom. Wearing nothing more than shorts and a tank top, Kess sat sideways in the chair with her elbow on the desk and her feet propped up on a dresser drawer hanging awkwardly open. Her reading ended only when her eyes began to drift shut.
A knock on the door shook her out of her accidental nap. She pulled her feet down from the dresser so she could to sit up straight. "Come in."
Kayla slid through the door with a big grin on her made up face. She was dressed to impress, cleavage and all. "Hey, girly. Figured you'd be up."
Kess blinked away the sleep. "You either had a date or a job interview." She glanced at the chrono. "Date."
Kayla plopped onto the ruffled bed, bursting with giddiness. "A date you would not believe."
Kess let a smile creep to her lips. "Did you get laid?"
"No," Kayla pouted.
Kess raised a brow and then turned to her desk, "Your right, I don't believe it."
"Guess who it was with," Kayla dared.
Kess shrugged as she tossed the datapad wearily onto the desk, "I don't know. Han Solo?"
Kayla slapped Kess' knee. "C'mon gimme a real guess."
She turned around in her chair to look at her friend, this time putting a moment's thought into it. "I don't know. Who?"
"Rett D'monck."
Kess' woke up. "My Rett?"
Kayla nodded with tongue in cheek.
"My fencing partner Rett?" Kess clarified again.
Kayla bit her tongue in a proud smile.
Kess' disbelief sobered with a new respect to her friend. "Nice catch."
Kayla stretched her back with a swoon. "I could listen to that accent all night long."
Rett's accent reminded her of her grandfather's accent. Her tired brain fell into a fantasy about an odd combination of the two. A blue-eyed Jedi with an Inner Rim accent?
Her mouth twisted to the side. You go, Grandma!
"I take it you had a good time?"
Kayla sat up eagerly, "Want to hear about it?"
With a sigh, Kess shook her head, motioning to the datapad she was reading. "I do. I really do. But Luke wants me to get through this chapter before training tomorrow."
"What are you reading?" Kayla hid the disappointment from her expression, but Kess could sense it anyway.
Kess pulled it back in front of her to read the long title. "The Bundah Cult: Relaxation Techniques for Effective Meditation."
Kayla nearly laughed, "He's going to make you a Bundah believer now?"
Joanne called to them from the living room, "Kess come here, quick!"
"No," Kess answered as they both stood. "He just doesn't have that much Jedi stuff for me to read."
Kayla snorted on their way to the living room, "As if you had the spare time to read anything."
Kess didn't hear her. Her eyes were stuck to the light of the vid that Joanne was watching. The announcer on the NewsNet had Luke's picture behind his shoulder. "…able to confirm with Commander Skywalker yesterday…"
The screen flicked to a shot inside the Council Building where the reporters caught Luke on the way out of a Council Meeting. "Commander Skywalker, is it true that you have taken on your first Jedi Apprentice?"
Luke expressionlessly folded his hands behind his back. "Yes."
"How soon can we speak with Lieutenant Lendra?"
He caught his breath before answering, "I'll have to get back to you on that. Excuse me."
The vid cut back to the blue-skinned anchorwoman, now with Kess' picture behind her shoulder. "With the Empire's borders receding and the Jedi power in the New Alliance growing, we have a new hope for the end of this civil war. In other news today…"
Kayla turned to Kess and opened her mouth. Joanne turned on the couch to speak as well.
The comm beeped.
All three women abruptly shut their mouths and looked at the comm terminal instead.
It beeped again.
Joanne lowered her voice, "I'm only guessing, but I think it's for you."
Kess moved to the comm. Joanne muted the vid and Kayla sat down at the couch, hanging elbows over the back of it to eavesdrop politely.
Kess thumbed the button. "Hello?"
Leia's face flickered on the screen. "Hi, Kess. I'm glad you're up."
Kess shifted in the chair. "Councilor! I think you were the last person I expected to hear from right now."
Leia gave her an understanding eye. "Did you see the NewsNets tonight?"
"Yeah, I did."
"Has anyone requested an interview yet?"
"No."
"If they do," Leia eyed her with almost a friendly grin, "turn them down. I'm going to see if I can get a little Politics training and New Alliance Security added to your Jedi curriculum before you do any interviews."
Kess nodded. "I understand. What should I tell them if I'm cornered?"
"Tell them you're too busy with training and duty." Leia smiled, "I know it wouldn't be lying."
She smiled wearily back, "No, it certainly wouldn't."
"On another topic, Minister of State Dell André has just announced his retirement, but that won't hit the NewsNets until tomorrow."
"The Minister of State is retiring? Why?"
"He's been fighting for our freedom for over thirty years. It's just the right time for him. I commed because I want you at his retirement ceremony. I'll send Threepio over with the details."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Good night." Leia's face flickered away.
Kess leaned back in her chair and rubbed her eyes with her fingers.
Kayla got up from the couch. "And I thought my date was something to talk about."
Kess was lost in thought. How did the reporters get a hold of a picture of her without Kess realizing it? She climbed out of the chair and looked at the time, then patted Kayla once on the shoulder. "I'm glad you and Rett had fun. Tell him I said 'hi'. I'm going to bed."
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