Arriving at their destination, the rushing blue fog of hyperspace collapsed back into white streaks as the ship yanked itself back into realspace. The white was quickly replaced by a terrestrial planet that rushed up to meet them before stopping just as quickly. Having arrived closer to it, the planet dominated the view from the ship. Its green and blue landscape stood out vibrantly, but the eye was inexorably drawn to the huge grey and notched ring that encircled the world. Kuat, home of the most major Republic shipyards.
The landing was quite different to that of the previous day. While on Lakara they had simply touched down at the only spaceport with little direction or formalities, here the pilots had to follow proper skylanes. Thankfully, given their Jedi status, they were given priority and exempt from most of the paperwork, being ushered into special lane higher in the sky and assigned a landing site in advance. On this one occasion however, they did not need to use the commercial spaceport. Rather, their craft glided over the steel city towards a much grander place. In the distance, Laeus could see a towering estate, almost a palace, which gleamed brighter than anything else around it.
And then Laeus looked down, and through a window she could see beneath the ship. Unlike on Coruscant, the cities of Kuat did not cover the whole planet and had no more than five levels, and unlike that gilded city, the lower levels of Kuat were open to the air and could be seen from above. And Laeus peered into them and saw that each level further down was dimmer and blacker than those above, where the lights weren't gleaming white but a deeper, condensed yellow that lit the houses of the lowly shipyard workers.
Laeus already knew most of the basics about Kuat, but Dhoril had filled her in on the details of Kuat society on the way. The world was ruled over by ten noble houses, all human, which controlled all the major industry as well as governance. It was one of these houses that had produced the Force-sensitives, a fact now clearly evident, so Dhoril had spent a lot of the journey giving an outline of their family history, all the way back to when Kuat had first been colonised thousands of years ago. Laeus found the information interesting, but ultimately irrelevant to the mission. Still, it was this expansive knowledge of the worlds and peoples in the galaxy that was one of the reasons why members of the Jedi archives came on these missions, Dhoril especially. Having knowledge of the destination was useful for navigating it and obeying local custom. Even though most of the time worlds would yield to however the Jedi wished to do things, some of the more distinctive cultures of the galaxy wouldn't, which was precisely where a second Jedi with local knowledge came in handy.
Laeus continued to stare into the lower levels, which ran like canyons through the surface of the city, weaving together until they led to the heavy industries which gave them life. By the time she looked up again they had nearly reached the silver palace, which now dominated the front window just as the planet had earlier. There was nothing of its height surrounding it, only enclosed gardens and miniature plazas all the way to the boundaries of their land miles away, dotted with smaller buildings to serve whatever interest the nobles might have on any given morning, day, or evening.
Upon reaching the palace's airspace they were directed into one of its many private landing sites. On stepping out the two Jedi were greeted with another welcome party, though this time not consisting of important officials but servants and guards of the estate. Each one bore the same symbol on their clothes, which also adorned the landing pad and was plastered intermittently on the walkways, the symbol of House Barrolay, one of the ten noble houses of Kuat.
"Welcome master Jedi," the servant at the front of the group began, bowing to the two, "my Lord and Lady Barrolay await your presence. If you will follow me." Then, without even waiting for a response, the man rose with utmost formality, turned, and began walking towards the estate. Laeus shared a brief glance with Dhoril before they set off after him. As they walked, Laeus noticed that no one spoke at all, the servant leading them didn't even look at them. Once or twice, she considered trying to start up a conversation herself, but the procession had a rigid tone that suffocated those feelings before the words could even rise in her throat.
But the atmosphere of the procession was forgotten, if not exactly made up for, when they entered the palace. The leading servant waved them inside and then shut the doors behind them, leaving them alone in a lobby of immense wealth. Like the outside, the interior was bright and gleaming, everything kept clean and polished. Directly in front of them was a grand staircase, at the top of which a human appeared in expensive and noble clothes.
"Greetings! Greetings honourable Jedi!" He yelled from the top of the staircase, descending at a moderate pace to greet the Jedi on the floor below. Reaching them, he shook hands with Laeus, and then hand and claw with Dhoril, who was not expecting such an interaction. "It is such an honour to have you here on the Barrolay Estate! And, and an even greater honour for you to be leaving with my own children. Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't introduce myself. I'm rather used to people already knowing who I am, haha. My name is Relfis Barrolay. As you might have guessed, I'm head of the Barrolay household, so I'm sure the honour goes both ways, haha." The man spoke with a bellowing and jolly voice, which resounded across the silver room and back as if specially made to fill its emptiness.
"Pleased to meet you, Lord Barrolay." Laeus replied with a smile.
"Oh no no, not Lord, I wouldn't ask that of you. Just call me Relfis."
"Very well, Relfis."
"Yes, good. Ah, and you are, master Jedi?"
"My name is Laeus, and this is Dhoril."
"Ah, I see." The nobleman then looked at the big alien. "And what are you, Master Dhoril?"
"What am I?" Dhoril asked slowly.
"Well, I mean, alien and everything obviously, but what kind are you?" Dhoril took a moment before answering.
"Nothing anyone on your world would be familiar with." He replied in his low, steady voice.
"Ah… I see. Well then, master Jedi, would you like to sit and have a drink first, or would you-?"
"We are not here to idle, Relfis, we would prefer to move straight on."
"Ah, of course, of course. Well then, follow me." Relfis turned and began walking back up the grand staircase he had first come down. The two Jedi followed him, though Dhoril took more time to walk up. The stairs were not made for his large feet, so he had to be careful or risk losing his balance. While they waited for him at the top, Relfis continued talking. "Sorry if I was being rude in offering you a drink Master Laeus, I don't want to hold you up. It's just that this is such a special day for the family we wanted to make something of it."
"I understand Relfis, but the Jedi do not. We feel that it is best not to prolong the process of collecting a child too much, we find it tends to cause extra emotional stress on the family."
"Oh, not for us, I assure you master Jedi. We have been preparing for this day since the Order first told us our children were Force-sensitive. No no, it's a great honour for us, we're more than happy."
"I don't doubt that, but no amount of honour can fully mask the pain of losing one's child. Having an extensive ceremony may cause more harm than you realise."
"Hm, well, it may be a bit too late for that."
"What do you mean?" By this point, Dhoril had joined them.
"This house was obviously not built for my kind." He commented dryly.
"Ah, yes, sorry about that Master Dhoril. You may also need to watch your head on some of the doors," Relfis warned. Dhoril let out a small sigh, or what was approximate to one with his kind. The nobleman turned and began leading the Jedi down a corridor, the one from which he had originally come. Laeus walked alongside him to continue their conversation. "Ah, yes, about it being too late. Well, news that our children had been chosen for the Jedi got around somewhat, gossip among the houses is pretty unavoidable you see, and a lot of the other houses started being interested. At first it was just congratulations and such, but then some of them wanted to see the children, and started asking questions about them, and the process and well, we figured the only way to get rid of them was with a ceremony of some kind."
"I see…" was all Laeus said.
"It is no surprise to me," Dhoril commented, "the Kuati noble houses like to deal with all their internal events with some sort of grandiosity."
"Haha, you know us well Master Dhoril. Yes, we put on an event in our hall about a month ago, showing off our children as Jedi-to-be so the other houses could intrude to their hearts' desire. After that we politely told them to give us privacy. Missus Barrolay wasn't very keen on the whole thing, but I see no problem with it. Nothing wrong with being proud of your children I say, and it did at least get the other houses to leave us alone finally."
Laeus said nothing. She had her own opinions on the matter, but she kept them to herself. They walked along without saying anything more, through various hallways and rooms of grand design and decoration. As they turned a corner and began walking down another of such hallways, however, a new voice yelled out to them.
"Hey! Relfis, stop there!" Laeus saw Relfis's face immediately screw up in irritation. The three of them turned to the source of the noise; a man dressed only slightly less grandly than Relfis striding towards them from the other end of the corridor. Behind him a woman clad nearly entirely in heavy red and purple robes was racing to keep up with him. Relfis spoke back.
"Feridin…"
"Relfis, don't think I'll let you do this without me speaking my mind."
"Feridin! Have you not spoken your mind enough already‽" The lady in the robes hung at Feridin's elbow and leaned out to speak.
"I'm so sorry Lord Relfis, I tried to tell him what you said but he insisted-"
"It's fine Juli, just be quiet." Relfis held up his hand and she went silent. Feridin didn't, however, and Relfis's jolliness disappeared as the two men began to argue heatedly.
"Relfis, this is unacceptable and you know it."
"It's your continued protests that are unacceptable."
"You know damn well that they'd be better off raised in this palace."
"You know damn well you're not changing mine or Setra's mind. The Jedi Order is a fine institution."
"They deserve to be raised in their true household, not given away to mystics." Feridin gestured and glowered at the two Jedi in disdain. Laeus had been considering intervening, but this convinced her that her words wouldn't be welcome nor much help. "They're not the common folk, they're Barrolays! They have a legacy!"
"They are not your children Feridin, and you are not the head of this house. They are mine and Setra's legacy, ours alone, and ours alone to decide. In any case, you seem to forget that to have birthed Jedi is one of the greatest legacies of all."
From beside Feridin's elbow the lady in robes spoke again.
"He's right my lord, what Lord Relfis is choosing is-"
"Quiet!" The protesting noble held up his hand and she immediately went silent again. "You wouldn't understand Juli, you're not a real Barrolay."
"Neither are you, you're a Depon." Relfis muttered under his breath.
"What was that?"
"I'm not having any more of this Feridin. We're giving them away to these two fine Jedi today and I won't be convinced otherwise. The matter is settled. If you continue to protest or try to meddle like a child then I'll have the guards lock you in your room for the day, is that clear?" There was a pause as the two men held each other's stare. Eventually Feridin looked away first.
"Fine. You do what you wish Relfis, but don't think I'll forget this mistake." He turned away and began walking angrily back down the corridor. Juli gave the three of them a very apologetic look before running after him. When they were gone Relfis let out an immense sigh. He turned back to Laeus and Dhoril.
"I'm sorry about that master Jedi. You'll have to forgive my brother-in-law, he's quite outspoken with his opinions. But he does not speak for the rest of the house, I assure you." Laeus smiled but chose to remain silent. "Now, if we may continue."
The three began walking again, continuing the rest of the way in silence. They headed through yet more grand halls and corridors until eventually they arrived at a pair of white doors.
"Here we are master Jedi. My wife and sons are just through here." With that, he opened the double doors, both of them at the same time even, his arms opening wide. The room beyond was another kind of nursery, which though designed for less children seemed just as spacious as the rooms at the temple, and certainly more extravagantly decorated. In the room were three women. Two of them were dressed as nannies, whereas the third was dressed in clothes just as grand as Relfis' was. She was the one who approached them as they entered.
"Setra, darling, these are the Jedi." Relfis said to the lady. She smiled at them, before making an aside to Relfis.
"I heard shouting, was Feridin giving you trouble again?"
"He was. But I have rebuked him, he won't bother us further today." Setra gave him a nod, before moving to speak to Laeus.
"Pleased to meet you. I must apologise for my brother's behaviour, but he does not speak for the rest of the house. I'm sure my husband has already gone on about how much of an honour this is," behind her, Relfis chuckled, "but he's right. We're very glad to have you here." As she said this, Dhoril ducked under the door and into the room proper, at which point Setra took notice of him. "And is this your assistant?"
"No," Laeus corrected her, "this is Master Dhoril."
"I am here as a representative of the Jedi archives," he explained.
"Ah, my deepest apologies. May I ask though, what species are you Master Dhoril?"
"Why is that important?" Dhoril replied slowly again.
"Ah, never mind. Well, if we don't wish to waste any time, my sons are just over here." The four of them walked to the middle of the room, where two large cots lay, with their position and the room's decoration clearly made to put them as the centre of importance. The two nannies retreated to the edge of the room so as to not interfere. Reaching into one of the cots, Setra lifted a boy out of it. She carried him slowly over to Laeus. "This is my son, Gerisarum." Laeus took the boy just as gently. Now, Relfis went over to the other cot and lifted another boy out. He carried this one over to Dhoril.
"And this is his twin brother, my other son, Tigellus." Dhoril reached out his claws to hold the boy. Relfis was a bit hesitant to hand his son over to the unknown alien, but a reassuring nod from Laeus gave him the confidence. Dhoril took him with just as much care as Laeus, and Relfis relaxed on seeing his son safely held. With their sons securely handed over to the Jedi, the heads of the Barrolay family stepped back.
"I don't want to repeat myself or my husband, but I do want you to know how much this means to us." Setra said once again.
"I am very aware Lady Barrolay. Know that your children will be well looked after in the temple."
"I have no doubts, Master Laeus. And please, I wouldn't ask you to call me Lady."
"Having Jedi in the family is a great privilege." Now Relfis spoke. "This is not the first time the Barrolays have been blessed as such and hopefully it shall not be the last. I don't have a drink with me, but I'll raise a glass anyway. To the Jedi!"
"Agreed. To the Jedi." Setra said along with her husband.
"You're too kind," was all Laeus replied. "But we must be going."
"Of course, of course, don't let us keep you." Relfis smiled, and so did his wife. With just a further nod, the Jedi turned to go.
Landing back on Coruscant, Laeus and Dhoril took the twin boys down to the nursery to be placed in the same room as before. Entering it, they carefully put them down in the cots and let the droids and the same young fosterer take over. As they were going to leave though, Laeus remembered her mental note about one of the younglings. She turned back and spoke to the other Jedi girl.
"Oh, I almost forgot. Where is Master Juvhal?"
"Uh, he's in the central study I think."
"Thank you."
Exiting the room, Dhoril met her quizzically.
"Is there something wrong?"
"In a way. I just need to speak to Master Juvhal."
"I will head off then. I shall meet you back at the ship tonight."
At that, Dhoril went to exit the nursery while Laeus turned and went the other way, going further into the subsection of the temple. Master Juvhal was the head of the Jedi nursery. He didn't do much of the care work himself, but he oversaw the smooth operations of the place. His job was to ensure the younglings were well looked after as a priority, as well as organising missions like the one Laeus was on to bring the younglings in, setting up the initiate clans when they reached the right age, and all sorts of other administration.
Right now, Laeus needed to speak to him about the arrangements for a couple of the new younglings. She walked through a few more corridors, all of them carpeted and softly decorated, until she found the central study where Juvhal and the volunteers from the city worked. Entering it, she saw the Jedi Master at his desk and went over to speak to him.
"Master Juvhal." The man looked up from his work and smiled at the familiar face that he saw.
"Janeir, good to see you." He stood up and the two bowed to each other. He remained standing as they talked. "Aren't you on a collection mission right now?"
"I am, and that's what I wanted to speak to you about briefly."
"What is it?"
"Well, all the cribs that have been set up are the basic ones for humanoids, but, as you can see…" At this, Laeus took out and activated the holocron again, pointing out one of the names in particular. "…one of them will have to be changed." Juvhal peered at the information displayed, it took him a second to remember what the species was.
"Oh, right. Yes, I see the problem. Well, this comes up every now and then, I'll get it changed to something more suitable."
"Thank you. And there's another one as well, though not so drastic." Laeus then pointed out another of the younglings on the list, which Juvhal inspected.
"Oh right, them. Cold-blooded, aren't they?"
"Precisely."
"Well, I'll have a heat lamp installed and the other bed changed. Perhaps just give us some time to do so, eh?" Juvhal sat back down and began making a note of the tasks. "Is that all?"
"Yes."
"Well then, I'll get to it. Thanks for bringing this to me."
"You're welcome, Master Juvhal." Laeus turned and began to leave.
"Oh, and how many times Janeir, you don't have to call me that. How many years have you worked here now?" Laeus stopped briefly, turned her head a bit and smiled, before leaving without another word.