Making
50. Something Precious
3rd day, 2nd month, , standard year 24937
Today we were in the crehe. Me and Tahl, I mean. I don't know why. We were bored, I imagine. No-one else seemed to be around, and my Master was with Yoda, probably getting lectured, no doubt.
Kezi was in the crehe, of course. We sat and talked with her for a while.
"Kezi," Tahl asked her. "Did you take care of us when we were babies?"
"You weren't a baby when you came here, love...you were two at least, if I remember rightly. But oh yes, I remember you. I remember them all." She sighed. "From when they speak their first word to when they leave to be trained."
"What was my first word?" I asked, grinning.
"Ah, something defiant. 'Shan't' or 'Can't' or 'No'. Quite the stubborn little mister..."
Tahl giggled. I glanced around the room. Kezi decorates it with holographs. Some she takes herself, some she gets permission to take from the Archives. Every square inch of the room seems to be covered in them, and she rotates them every so often. I spotted one of Savus, and then looked away. On the door, underneath the poem written on it, was a new one. Two men, laughing, having a mock sabre duel. But the picture looked old and faded. Many of the others did too, now I looked.
I love the crehe. It's so....home-ish. Warm and nice. But I love the stap-map room as well, because of the adventures it promises.
"You've got some new holographs," I said.
"Yes, I have. I took them from the Archives, they would have deleted them otherwise."
"Hey, can you take our picture?" Tahl asked suddenly.
"Why not?"
Kezi picked up her holocam, Tahl grabbed me, and she took our picture. Then she set it to it's largest size, printed it and hung it on the wall.
"There," she said. "When the babies wake up, it'll be the first thing they see."
*****
4th day, 2nd month, standard year 24937
After that, we trained. Me and Tahl. We did katas, then a long and truly brilliant lightsabre duel. Me vs her. She's getting good. Really good. Clee and her Master and all the others in the room gathered around to watch. I was winning. I was smiling at the thought of winning a duel in front of all these people (I suppose that was my undoing) and I blocked Tahl's moves one after another....and suddenly in the blink of an eye, she had two lightsabres in her hands. Her usual yellow and a blue one too. I was caught off guard. She had no trouble finishing me off.
-----
After that, and after we'd both gone back to our quarters and changed, we decided to go to Nert's Cafe. I'd told her what had happened there. She found it rather amusing.
We were about to leave when Amiri and Vulna jumped out at us. I mean literally jumped out at us. They had been hiding around a corner. They do random things like that smetimes. They seem to act not like Master and Padawan but like friends. Or like brother and sister. Or...something
"Why'd you jump out at us?" Tahl asked, sounding oddly irritated. "It wasn't necessary."
"You should've been able to sense us there, you weren't paying much attention to your surroundings." Vulna sai with a grin.
"Of course we knew you were around here somewhere, we just didn't know you'd jump out at us," Tahl said. "That's all."
"Where are you going anyway?" Amiri asked. "Outside the Temple?"
"To Nert's Cafe," I said. They'd already heard the story. "He did say I could some anytime, and bring friends. Why don't you both come?"
So they did.
-----
Nert was delighted to see so many of us.
"Sit down, sit down, fine Jedi!" he annouced loudly, making several other customers look up from their food. I couldn't help but blush a little. "Down here," he said, leading us tto a table near the window and swiping at it hurriedly with the wet piece of cloth he was carrying. "Now," he said once we'd all sat down. "What will you have?"
We each picked up a menu and examined it.
"I'll have the tim'af fruit and a drink of Tolinop." Tahl said eventually.
"I'm not hungry," Vulna said.
"I am," said Amiri. "I'll have...what Tahl's having. And some chocos, too," She looked around. "Lots of those, please."
"Just soup for me, please," I said.
"Coming right up," Nert practically shouted, and retreated to the kitchen. I half expected him to let out a whoop of joy.
"Nice guy," Amiri said.
"Yes, he is."
It was quiet at our table for a few moments, nothing but the noise of the traffic outside and of people talking and fighting elsewhere in the cafe. Tahl drummed her fingers on the table. I looked around for Didi. I wanted him to meet the others. I spotted him on the other side of the cafe...and was surprised at how connected to him through the force I felt already, despite the fact I'd only known him for a few days.
He saw us too, and came running over.
"Qui-Gon! Hi!" He ran up and sat on the table, like he'd done before. "Are these your friends?"
I introduced them all. "Tahl Wildstar, Vulna Rolab, Amiri Chet,"
"Didi Oddo," he said, and shook hands with each of them in turn. I realised just then that I hadn't known his last name previously.
Neet had returned with the food. "And where's your fine and noble Master?"
"I don't know." I told him. "I left without him."
"Well, if he wants you, he'll be able to contact you," Amiri said. I wondered how. Through means of the comlink I carried around, or through our bond? It was there, it was definately there, we can sense each other's thoughts a lot now...but it doesn't seem to...well, work all the time. I know that's me making something so precious sound like a piece of machinery, but it's the only way I can think of to describe it. I tried reaching out at that point, I felt him, could smell him and hear his breathing just like he was next to me...and tried speaking.
Master!
I didn't know if he heard. I tried again.
He answered.
Padawan? What's the matter? Are you alright?
I grinned. No. I'm just seeing if I can talk to you telepathically. I mean properly.
Yes....well, good. Very good. Where exactly are you,by the way.
The cafe.
Then I suppose I'd better join you.
Then he...well, stopped talking. It's a strange thing to describe. It was like he hung up the comlink, or walked out of the room, except...not like that at all.
Tahl was watching me. "What on Earth were you just doing?"
"Talking to my Master. I finally managed to."
"I thought you could already,"
"Not like that....not hold proper conversations. I mean. Sometimes I sort of hear him, but that's about it."
"Oh." She stirred her drink with her straw. "Me and Thea can't do that."
"You can't?"
"No. I can't sense where she is either. I can sense you far better than her."
I felt an odd flash of pride at that.
Didi had still been sitting on the table, looking somewhat awkward, through all of that.
"It must be cool to be a Jedi," he finally said. "What sort of things happen?"
I opened my mouth to tell him, but wasn't sure about where to start. And there were things I'd rather not mention. Luckily Vulna came to my rescue.
"I'll tell you everything," he said. "If you get off the table. It's annoying."
"Sorry," he said, and slid off. He snatched a chair from another table, and pulled it over to ours.
Vulna started talking. Most of the stories mentioned him. I noticed that neither Dilan nor Savus got a mention. I did, but only in passing. Amiri filled in details at various points. He'd just gotten to the point where he saved a whole planet from a vicious mutated duck when my Master walked in. Didi hastily offered him his seat.
"Thank you, Didi."
"I need to go cook stuff anyway," he said, and hurried off. Master leaned across the table to me.
"I've been thinking about what you said the other day," he said. At my puzzled look he added. "When I told you we were to look for someone and you said Dilan,"
"Oh."
"I've been wondering if you're right. In fact, I thought it likely ever since you said it. I mentioned it to Yoda...he disagreed."
"Why?" Amiri asked, at the exact same time Vulna said. "Dilan wouldn't kill, would he?"
"Yoda believes he's dead or left the planet," Master gave a sigh. "It's infuriating."
"But what about Stayan...doesn't his Master deserve to know who murdered him?"
"We haven't gotten permission to view the security tapes. And if we can't comb the planet for Dilan...and apparently we can't...then there's nothing more we can do."
Amiri finished her food. Tahl and me had finished ages ago. We got up to leave. I sought out Didi and Nert and said goodbye to them.
"Come back some other time!" Nert called.
"If you want to!" Didi added. We left and stood outside, waiting for an airtaxi. I suddenly realized exactly what I'd achived that day.
Master?
Oh! Yes?
Why has it taken us so long to get the hang of this?
I'm not sure, to be honest, but I'm glad we can now. It will be useful.
I guess it will.
The airtaxi came. We headed back to the Temple...Tahl to Thea, Amiri and Vulna to their quarters, and my Master and me to our fears.
*****