Yavin 4 was usually a place of peace. A place where one could lose himself in the endless near-silence. A place that gravitated more toward meditation than even Master Yoda's solitary hut.
But, then, dining halls are an exception to nearly every rule.
Tenel Ka surveyed the dining hall calmly, watching as two younger students chased each other between the tables.
One of the young boys turned his head to taunt the other, laughing as the other boy stopped to catch his breath.
The first boy kept running.
Straight into Master Skywalker.
Tenel Ka watched with covert interest as the boy's eyes widened.
Master Skywalker only smiled and asked him a question.
The boy nodded sheepishly, squirming a little.
Master Skywalker cocked his head and smiled in reproach. It took only a moment before the boy began to smile, too.
Master Skywalker said something and nodded toward the other boy, who had been standing quite still, watching the conversation carefully.
The boy nodded and ran back to his friend.
Master Skywalker smiled as they walked off arm in arm.
His face changed then, and he turned scanning the room as if he was searching for something.
When he saw Tenel Ka, he stopped, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise.
"Tenel Ka." He walked toward her, smiling. "I didn't know you were here."
Tenel Ka nodded respectfully. "Master. I returned for a short visit."
Luke nodded in understanding. "I'm sure it must be hard to get away from Hapes."
"It is difficult." Tenel Ka agreed.
"Why don't you come and sit with Mara and me?" Luke gestured at the table behind him where his wife sat, trying to get Ben to eat with his spoon instead of his fingers.
"I will do this." She nodded again, following Luke to the table.
Mara looked when they approached. "Luke, did you- oh, hi, Tenel Ka." She smiled welcomingly.
"Master Skywalker." She tipped her head.
Mara made a face. "That's his name." She jerked her thumb at her husband. "Last time I checked, I was just Mara."
Tenel Ka nodded her assent. "This is so. I forget sometimes."
Luke sat down. "Hi, Ben."
The three-year-old's face lit up. "Hi, Daddy."
Luke took one glance at the jumbled mass of breakfast foods and knew what was going on.
"Have you been giving Mommy trouble?" he asked sternly.
Ben grinned impishly, shaking his head in a way that said that was exactly what he had been doing.
Luke looked at Mara with one eyebrow raised.
"He's your kid, Skywalker; what do you think?" Mara asked dryly.
Luke just shook his head with a smile. He pointedly ignored Mara's rolling eyes and turned to Ben.
"Ben, use your spoon." He demonstrated carefully.
Ben watched his father for a few moments, obviously skeptical about the entire matter.
"There you go. See, it's – Ow!" his head jerked up with a scowl. "What was that for?" he demanded, rubbing his shin.
Mara caught his gaze and nodded toward their guest.
Tenel Ka was staring across the room, her eyes following something.
Luke looked back at Mara, puzzled.
"T'iri!" Ben suddenly exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air.
Luke turned his head slightly and saw Tahiri Veila walking toward them, smiling brightly and waving to Ben.
Jacen followed close behind, bearing a heavy-laden tray and a rueful smile.
"Hey, Ben." Tahiri sat down beside the little boy, listening wide-eyed to his excited chattering.
Luke watched them a moment before turning his gaze to his nephew.
"Good morning, Jacen." He smiled knowingly at the expression the younger man was wearing.
Jacen plunked the tray down on the table and sighed heavily. He looked up his uncle. "Remind me never to get in line behind her again." He rubbed his arms like he was sore. "I mean, really, Jaina was bad, but this-" he swept his arm out, gesturing at the plates and bowls crammed onto the large tray. "This is insanity. Do you wanna know how much of this is mine?" he demanded, the exasperation peaking on his face. "This." He held up one small bowl. "Just this!" he sat down heavily, shaking his head at the mass of dishes still on the tray.
Luke's shoulders shook with silent laughter as his nephew sullenly dug into his one, minute bowl of cereal.
Jacen glared. "It is hardly funny."
Luke tried desperately to stop laughing. "I'm sorry, Jacen, but it is."
"Yeah, well, you weren't the one carrying forty standard pounds on one dinky tray." Jacen grumbled in reply.
Peals of laughter from the other end of the table turned both men's heads.
Mara and Tahiri were laughing about something, and even Tenel Ka had a smile tugging at her lips
As if on cue, all three women turned their heads to look at them and started laughing again.
"Why is it a part of me thinks this is not good?" Jacen mused, watching the women with a half-worried expression.
"Because it isn't." Luke answered in kind.
Jacen finished his cereal, eyeing the bowl of fruit still on the tray as he set his dish down.
"I need to talk to you later." Luke was suddenly solemn.
Jacen's head came up, mild alarm written across his face. "What?" he asked quickly.
Luke shook his head slightly, almost imperceptivity to someone who wasn't watching. "Later.
Jacen nodded and went back to the fruit.
From the end of the table, one of the women watched the exchange silently.
.
"No! I told you once already! You can't wipe his memory!" he glanced from the maintenance droid to the astromech. "Yet."
The astromech jerked backwards on his wheels with an indignant blat.
"That's right." He turned towards the squat little silver droid, putting his hands on his hips. "You'd better behave, or I'll let him have you."
The little astromech tweedled sadly.
"No, I don‚t like you." He said shortly. "You irritated me to absolute insanity. If you weren't a gift, I would have erased your kriffin' annoying personality the first day I had you. It's my pure generosity that has kept me from-""Kyp!"
Kyp turned away from Zero-One to see Jaina hurrying toward him.
"Yes, oh Great One?" he made a saucy half-bow.
Jaina chose to ignore it. "So, now you're taking to droids for company."
Kyp sniffed. "I find droids more enjoyable than some human company." Jaina's irritation rose, but she didn't let it show. "Yes, well," she patted Zero-One's metal dome and waved at him in dismissal, "you're going to have to endure this dull human's companionship for a few moments."
Something about the way she said it made Kyp groan inwardly. She only took that tone when she'd come either to gloat, or to hand out orders.
"Forgive me, Great One," he feigned an apologetic smile, " but being a mere mortal, I have only a short life, and therefore a small amount of time to give you, so please be quick." He wiped his greasy hands on an equally greasy rag. "If you'll step this way into my humble, non-existent office." He swept his hand mockingly toward the empty space beside his x-wing, walking in that general direction, half-hoping she wouldn't follow.
"Now," he turned and saw, little to his surprise, that she had, "what can I do for the great Yun-Harla?"
"You can knock it off, first of all." Jaina said irritable.
"Oh, that's right." Kyp slapped his forehead. "The war's over, so you're back to plain old Jaina Solo."
"Oh, honestly, Durron." Jaina growled, rubbing her creased forehead as if in pain.
"Well, you know what they say," Kyp quipped, "you can take the Goddess from the state of deity, but you can't take the deity out of the Goddess."
"Kyp!" Jaina screeched, covering her ears.
"Oh, I'm sorry, am I bothering you?" he effected a persona of innocence.
Jaina glared at him as she rubbed her ears, mumbling something about being owed big time.
"In all my life, Kyp Durron, I have never met anyone else with your uncanny ability to drive away my sanity." She muttered darkly.
Kyp bowed deeply. "At your service." He grinned.
Jaina fought it hard, but found herself smiling anyway.
A loud electronic squeal from the other side of the bay made the two turn.
"You brought Cappie with you?" Kyp asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, and it would appear our droids have a mutual, respective feeling toward each other, like we do." She smirked.
"Fine." Kyp shook his head. "As long as you're gonna be the one to disentangle and repair both parties when this is over."
Jaina grinned as she looked back at him. "What, now you're afraid of a couple of droids?" she snickered.
Kyp narrowed his eyes. "Not hardly." He looked back at the arguing astromechs. "But when this comes to blows, they're going to be making full use of their welding arms, and personally, I'd prefer not to be the one melted to the deck floor."
"Right." Jaina winced. "Cappie, leave Zero-One alone."
"Lest we digress any further," Kyp resisted the urge to throw her earlier comment back at her. "What was it you wanted anyway?"
"Oh." Jaina jerked, scrambling to remember why she had come. She hesitated, not sure she wanted to be anywhere near him when she told him. "I got a message from Master Skywalker."
Not Uncle Luke. Kyp noted.
Jaina frowned thoughtfully. "He wants us to come home."
"He what?" Kyp echoed, his eyebrows shooting up.
Jaina nodded. "Yeah." Her frown deepened. "And somehow, I doubt this is just a happy family reunion."
"No kidding." Kyp tossed the wrench in his hand at the toolbox and winced when it missed the mark badly. "Especially if it involves me."
"He stopped just short of a Force command." Jaina grimaced.
"Great." Kyp was sarcastic. "When do we leave?"
"Tomorrow." Jaina sighed.
"Ok." His smile was too bright. "You know, nothing says I can‚t have a good time anyway. I'm going to enjoy this vacation." He made a face. "Even if it's just making this visit as miserable for him as it is for me." He added under his breath.
Jaina silently agreed with him. "Fine, departure is at 0600 tomorrow. By the way, have you seen Colonel Fel?"
Kyp shook his head. "It pleases me to say that I have not." He suddenly became suspicious. "Why?"
Jaina made another face. "He's coming with us."
Kyp groaned loudly. "I knew there was a catch."