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Undomiel9

I take a deep breath as I follow Tralayn across the landing pad towards our transport; she smiles and nods at the pilot as we climb our way up the ramp and into the craft. We make our way to the back of the ship and take seats near the windows as the pilot pulls away

from the landing pad, taking us on our way to the Jedi Temple.

Learn from the masters she says. I think to myself. I'm trying to learn from the masters. Doesn't she see that?

I think of the past 18 years at the Academy; I couldn't deny that I had an uncanny knack for tripping over my own cloak or knocking over statues. It seemed as if every time I finally thought I had managed to learn just how to move and act like a Jedi should, I somehow found myself doing something completely inane . . . and of course,

Tralayn would inevitably be there to see it happen.

O.K. So maybe she doesn't see that. I resolve quietly; I slump back in my seat and lean my elbow on the windowsill, using my hand to prop up my head.

What is that they say . . . the possibility of someone seeing you is directly proportional to the stupidity of your action? I think with a sigh. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Tralayn shift in her seat, her brows furrowed in concentration, her eyes closed;

meditation.

I shake my head and turn back to staring out the window; the last light of the day reaches the tips of the buildings, making them almost look like oversized candles. It still boggles me that every inch of the planet is covered in the metal and wire of a city; I strain my eyes looking for a single patch of barrenness, but see nothing. It was a game I had played since I was little . . . I thought that if I could find an empty spot on Coruscant, then somehow I could find the grace and agility that were supposed to be a part of a Jedi's demeanor. I had yet to find either.

As the Temple comes into view out the starboard window, Tralayn stands and gathers her cloak about her shoulders, pulling her hood into place over her head. I stand and do the same, slinging my bag over my shoulder once more.

"Thank you." Tralayn says as we step on to the Temple grounds. The pilot smiles and heads back into his ship as my Master turns to face me once more. "I must meet with Master Yoda." She tells me, her mouth twisting into a half smile. "May I assume it is safe to leave you to your own devices for the time being?"

"Yes Master." I say, glad that I might finally get some time to myself. "I have some documents to pick up at the Library."

"Very well." Tralayn responds, turning to walk down the hall. I turn in the opposite direction, readjusting my hood as I head off towards the library. The light outside fades to nothing, and the indoor lights flick on as I make my way down the corridor, humming to myself. After a few moments' walking, I feel my bag begin to slip on my shoulders.

"Oh, for the love of . . ." I mutter, giving the straps a fierce tug. Wrong move; both straps snap in half, sending the bag to the floor, and its contents sprawling. I smack my head with a palm as I bend down and begin to stuff the random items back into the canvas.

As I stand up and tuck the pack under my arm, I see Cienanos at the far end of the hallway; she gives a smile and waves, and I can't help but smile and wave back. I reach the library feeling considerably better, and after retrieving the needed documents, I

head to my room and collapse onto the bed, happy that the day is finally over.

Cienanos

I woke up early the next day. After dressing in a clean tunic and pants, I pulled on my boots and pulled my hair back. I examined my reflection in the mirror long enough to see the huge black eye I received from my little experiment with gravity. I sighed and left my quarters to get some breakfast. As I passed the gardens I ran into Masters Nim and Matila, two female Jedi Masters who are good friends with Master Siron. Master Nim is a short, pretty woman with a feisty nature. Master Matila is taller with long blonde hair and a kind, pretty face. Both looked at me with concern when they saw my eye.

"Cienanos, what happened to your eye?" Master Matila asked.

"Oh..nothing. My belt clasp broke yesterday."

They exchanged confused looks and after a brief conversation they excused themselves to finish some work. I continued on my way and soon met Master Windu in the hall.

"Off to breakfast young Padawan?" he asked.

"Yes Master Windu."

"Tell me, Cienanos, what happened to your eye?"

"My belt clasp broke Master."

"I see," he said smiling faintly. "You should be more careful with your belt - they can be dangerous."

"I will." We continued walking until we reached the next hall. He turned left as I continued straight.

"Remember Cienanos, watch that belt."

I smiled as he walked away. I hadn't realized just how hungry I was until I walked into the common room and smelled the food. I quickly filled my plate and look around for a place to sit. I spied Undomiel - the young Padawan from the day before - sitting alone at a small table. She seemed to be engrossed in a data pad. I walked over to her table.

"Would you like some company?" I inquired cheerfully. I apparently startled her because her fork, which had been heading for her mouth, ended up flying out of her hand and landing on the tray of one of the younger students. The poor fellow looked at the fork in frightened amazement.

"OH NO!" she cried. "I think I scared him!"

I looked again in the direction of the runaway fork and shrugged. "Don't worry Undomiel…he's six…he'll get over it."

I chuckled, "Besides, it will give the little ones something to talk about. Uh…why are you staring at me?"

"I was just wondering what happened to your face Cienanos."

"First off…its Nano.."

"OH! That's so pretty!"

"Thank you…It means sucking chest wound in my native tongue. That's a joke Undomiel," I added seeing the horrified expression on her face. "Secondly, they eye is the result of my belt clasp breaking which lead to an unfortunate run-in with gravity."

She looked confused. Such is the nature of Nano…leave em confused is what I always say.

"I fell down some stairs and went boom."

"Oh. I see."

"So, what are you reading on this fine morning?"

She looked down on the data pad in her hand. "This is just some history texts I'm reading for fun. It's really interesting…"

At this point she went into a thirty-minute explanation on the rise and fall of just about every civilization in recorded time. I was just at the point of thinking that this girl could put Master Yoda to shame when she broke off in the middle of her sentence and was looking over my shoulder. I followed her gaze and found she was staring at a well-built young man who had just entered the room.

"Nano…who is that?"

I looked at her shocked. "You're kidding right? You have never heard of Obi-Wan Kenobi? The Perfect Padawan? I know you must read a lot Undomiel…but come on…"

She blushed. "Of course I've heard of him…the analysis he did on the Glosi civilization was wonderful. I had just never seen him. He's always away on missions. I wonder if he would like to join us. I have lots ideas I would like to discuss with him."

I looked down at my plate. "Uh…with your present company…he would probably prefer not to join you."

"What? I don't understand."

I looked up at her…my comfort level dropping like a lead weight. "Well…the two of us don't really get along that well."

"Why? You seem like you must get along with everyone."

"Just one of those misunderstandings that happens…in life…."

I noticed that she was starting to smile. "What happened Nano?"

"There was this misunderstanding a couple of years ago…It appears that a slime devil was let loose in his quarters when he was away with his Master on a mission…for some reason, he seems to think that I was responsible…"

"Did you?"

"Well…yeah…but that's besides the point. Then there was the time I almost impaled him in a training exercise. And don't even ask about his hair! Undomiel! Are you laughing at me!"

"No…not at you near you…" she replied as she whipped away her tears of laughter. "No wonder you don't get along."

"Yeah…well some people are just more sensitive about that kind of stuff," I said, beginning to smile myself. That is until I saw Kenobi walking my way…uh…oh…

As he approached the table I could see he was annoyed. I quickly ran through my index of practical jokes I had pulled since arriving back on planet and heaved a sigh of relief. I hadn't done anything to Kenobi…yet.

He stopped at our table and looked right at me. "Nano…," he stopped talking. Something had gotten his attention. "What happened to your eye?"

"Nothing much Kenobi…just a battle of epic proportions…"

"With a belt clasp," Undomiel added snickering.

"Not helping Domie…not helping."

He looked puzzled for a minute and then continued, "You wouldn't happen to know anything about my environmental controls in my quarters going crazy, would you?"

Ah….I knew I had forgotten something. I looked at him with my best look of total innocence. "No…did you have a problem?"

"Oh…nothing major…It's was just raining in my room for an hour this morning."

You know…it's the little things in life that really make you happy….sunshine…flowers….flooding another persons room…the little things…

"Well, I hope everything is working properly now," I said.

He just narrowed his eyes and walked away. I caught Undomiel's gaze as she snickered.

"You're bad."

I smiled, "I know. But I'm also fun."