Undomiel9
After checking out the book, Gabe and I head out of the Library and find a place in the commons area to relax until our next classes; I sit pouring over the new find as Gabe looks over at me and rolls his eyes.
"Listen to this..." I say. "Apparently, the Runik Civilization was one of the earliest civilizations developed in Rho sector. Their king died at a really young age, leaving only his child son to ascend the throne..."
"But I didn't think any of the communities in Rho sector were monarchies." Gabe muses, laying down on the grass and putting his hands behind his head. I swat at his stomach with the book and chuckle.
"They aren't now." I explain. "But back in ancient times, monarchies were really common." Just then, out of the corner of my eye, I see Nano walk by with Master Siron, looking none too pleased; tucking the copy of Empire Lost under one arm and grabbing Gabe with the other, I stand up and head off in pursuit.
At the landing pad, we see Master Siron stop Nano and make her empty her bag.
"Wow, has she got the bag of tricks." I hear Gabe mutter. "And she wonders why Kenobi doesn't like her. If I used that fake vom..." I clap a hand over Gabe's mouth to quiet him.
"Gabe...too much information." I say simply, just as I see Obi-Wan and Master Qui-gon board the ship. "Oh, this is too perfect. Nano's on a mission with Kenobi? This is going to be fun. Come on!" I add as I grab Gabe once again and dash across the landing pad back to the dormitories.
A few hours later and a few credits poorer, Gabe and I find ourselves crawling through the ventilation systems of the dormitories, slime devils in tow.
"Eww. This is not what I had in mind when I came up with this idea." I mutter as I push one of the little green buggers out of my way.
"Well, you should have thought about that before you gave the vendor fifteen credits each for them." Gabe retorts, crawling behind me, trying to wipe newly deposited slime off of his face.
"I don't want to hear it." I say, shaking my head and falling down onto my stomach. "Let's just find Kenobi's room, and get this done."
Gabe crawls up next to me and points at the grate directly below me. "This one is Kenobi's." he says, pulling out a metal rod and placing it under the grate. Tugging frantically, he tries to get the grate open while I make sure that none of the slime devils wander off. I scurry away after one just as I hear a small squeak and a thud issue from Gabe's position. Turning around, I see him sitting on his haunches holding his head with the grate open. "Done." He says.
"Good." I respond, grabbing one of the slime devils by the leg and tossing him into the room; Gabe does the same with his charge and closes the gate securely. We watch for a few minutes as the slime devils begin their work of destroying Kenobi's room.
"Ooh. He's not going to be happy about that." I hear Gabe mutter as I start back down the ventilation shaft; now on to Nano. After a few more minutes of crawling and cussing, we reach the grate to Nano's room. Gabe opens it and I slip down into the room, landing in a pile of laundry. The rest of the room is similarly adorned; the bed sits unmade, and there is a pile of papers around and in the garbage can.
"Wow." I say as I head over to the temperature controls; I select Monsoon from the dial and dart back over to the open grate. Gabe reaches down to pull me up through just as the rain starts. I grin as I think of what mayhem this will cause when the two Padawans return.
cienanos
I headed to the rear or the ship. I didn't think I need to be around either Jedi Master or the perfect Padawan right now. In the very back of the ship is a small lounge with sleep couches and communications equipment. I walked through the doorway and plopped down in a chair near one of the communications stations. I leaned back in the chair and let out a deep breath. Okay…just a few days…a few long…long days…and it will be over. I sighed as I pulled out my lightsaber and started to clean it and double check the circuitry.
All I would need now is for my lightsaber to go on the fritz. I begun pulling more tools out of my bag and I set to work. After examining the crystal and the power source to make sure they are still in excellent condition I set to work on the circuits. I could feel the tension leave my body as I work. After what seemed like just a few minutes, I looked at the chronometer on the wall. An hour had passed and I couldn't believe it. I started to reassemble my lightsaber when I heard someone walking towards the lounge.
I looked up and see Obi-wan Kenobi standing in the doorway. He paused a moment as if trying to decide something. Finally, he decided to speak.
"Cienanos, could I speak to you for a moment?" he asked.
I shrugged. "Sure, what do you need?" I ask, returning to my work.
"I just wanted to let you know that I never told your Master about the flood in my quarters. I don't know how he found out but I never intended for you to get in trouble."
"Kenobi, I never thought that you did inform him and I'm pretty sure I never said anything to infer that."
I glanced up at Kenobi and notice for the first time that he looks very uncomfortable talking to me. A deep blush had begun to rise in his cheeks.
"Well…I just wanted to let you know."
"Anything else?" I asked.
"Master Siron wanted me to give you these datapads to go over and Master Qui-gon wanted me to let you know that we will be arriving on planet in about 4 hours."
He set the datapads on the nearby couch and started out the door. I watched Kenobi head out of the door and realize that I should have been nicer. Oh well…maybe next time. I walked over to the couch and picked up the datapads that would outline our training mission. It was sometime the practice of the Council to sometimes outline what activities the Masters and their Apprentices would focus on during the exercise. As I read my eyes bulged out. We were supposed to split up. One team trying to track the other. However, instead of having a master and an apprentice against another master and another apprentice…it was going to be Padawans versus the Masters. I was going to have to work with Kenobi. That is what Master Siron had meant. There was only one way I could deal with this….
Thud…thud….thud….thud…
"Cienanos…. why are you banging your head against the bulkhead?"
I turned to see Master Qui-gon standing in the doorway. Why do Jedi Masters walk so quietly? I mean really…why can't they go banging around a ship like normal people?
"Just preparing myself for the mission…"
"Ah…I see. I often need to knock some sense into myself before a mission as well." The tall graceful man walked over to one of the sleep couches and sat down. "However, you will find in time that on missions there will be more than enough people who will be willing to help you with that. Why just a few days ago I ran into an individual who tried to knock quite a bit of sense into me…. several times."
I had to smile despite my mood. Master Qui-gon had a way of putting humor into any situation.
"I can only hope that I get to meet such nice people someday," I replied.
"Well…only if you're lucky. Now about the mission, I know that you aren't really happy about it and judging by my Padawan's current mood I don't think he is very happy about it either. However, I just wanted to stress the importance of it before we begin. The council assigns training missions for a reason. I know why Obi-wan and I have been assigned to this mission and I would suggest that you focus on why you might have been assigned to this mission."
"But I already know why I have been assigned to this mission."
Master Qui-gon raised an eyebrow. "Really?" he said clearly surprised.
"I think it has something to do with the time I accidentally tripped over Master Yoda and knocked Master Windu into the lake…but that might just be a guess."
Master Qui-gon chuckled softly. "That could be…that could be. Well, I have to prepare for the mission. I suggest you do the same…without the bulkhead this time."
I smiled as he left the lounge. He was right…whatever lay ahead…whatever he and Master Siron had in store for us…I needed to prepare for it.
Undomiel9
Gabe pulls me up through the ventilation grate and into the shaft as I hear the sweet sounds of water falling and wind rushing about Nano's quarters; I give myself a mental pat on the back as we head back down the small tunnel to my quarters, making sure to keep as quiet as possible. Suddenly, my conscience flares as I realize that in the past few minutes, I have managed to nearly completely destroy two of my fellow Padawan's sleeping quarters.
"You know ... Nano and Kenobi might not be terribly pleased when they return to find what we've left them." I whisper, trailing along after Gabe; he snorts and turns his head just enough to see me in his peripheral vision.
"Oh, come on Domie." he says. "You've known them for what, three days, and they've already managed to wreak havoc in your life ... or did you forget the gift that Nano left for you?"
I groan at the reminder of the changes Nano had made to my datapad; not only had she managed to move most of my files from their original homes, but she had also somehow renamed every single one of them in an attempt to get me "noticed" on the network, or so she said.
Nano! "Kenobi stinks" and "Go Green, vote Yoda for Jedi Council" are not what I had in mind!" the memory of the subsequent discussion flashes through my mind.
"I guess you're right." I muse, still feeling just the slightest bit guilty.
"You still feel guilty, don't you?" Gabe admonishes; he always did have a canny knack for knowing what I was feeling, but I guess that just came with spending nearly every minute of free time that I had with him. Still, I can't help but grumble as I duck to avoid a low-hanging beam.
"Quiet you!" I retort, mentally kicking myself.
"Oh, don't worry about it." Mr. I Have No Conscience quips. "You know they'll just think it was each other. And just think of the looks on their faces when they get home." He adds, chuckling in spite of himself.
I can't help but smile as a vision of Nano, standing drenched flashes into my mind, along with a similar one of Obi-Wan chasing after the slime devils. "I suppose you're right." I concede as we finally arrive to the grate to my room. "See you tonight at dinner then?" I ask as I pry the metal bars up and out of their place.
"Sure." Gabe tells me, flashing his infamous smile. "But you might want to clean up first." he says, shooting a look at my hair; I reach up and feel the sticky residue that only a slime devil could bring and groan.
"Right." I say, moving into position to return to my quarters; nodding at Gabe's head, I smile. "You might be able to use a shower too." I add, as I swing my feet into the hole and let myself drop into my room; my boots hit the floor and I land steadily on my feet, rolling my shoulders and smiling.
I gather my things and head to the shower, humming to myself and thinking about what the rest of the day holds. If I'm lucky, I might just get some free time to read more of that book. I think to myself optimistically; my hopes are soon dashed with the recollection that I have another training exercise before dinner: Master Nim had decided she wanted to see me again sooner than the others. I guess it will have to wait. I muse.
Back in my room, I pull on my tunic and rebraid my hair, making sure that everything is in proper order. Lacing up my boots and strapping on my lightsaber, I make my way to the exercise room, wondering why Master Nim called this extra session; I have to fight my first instinct to turn tail and run when I see Aeryn standing in the room as well.
"Oh, don't even tell me ..." I mutter underneath my breath.
"Yes, Padawan." I hear Master Nim say from behind me. I roll my eyes and follow her into the room dutifully, praying that this will be short.
"Now, I've called you two here because of something I saw yesterday afternoon." Master Nim begins to explain. "And suffice it to say, I am slightly unnerved and worried."
Aeryn rolls her eyes as I look down and toe the ground nervously; I had never been one to enjoy conflict, especially with an authority figure. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I know Gabe is sitting in his quarters, thinking I need to lighten up, but I still cannot get past the fact that Master Nim and the rest of the Jedi Council will be deciding whether or not I live out the rest of my days serving the Jedi order, or back on Coruscant, dusting crops.
"Undomiel ..." the Jedi Master continues. "I have never seen such blade work from you. It was astounding! And yet, I have the feeling that your reaction was provoked by something other than the Force ... that you let your emotions take over ... "
I continue toeing the ground as I nod my head in affirmation of Master Nim's suspicions. "Yes. I wasn't entirely calm, Master." I admit, feeling about three feet tall.
"You know you must learn to control your feelings, Padawan." Master Nim says, sounding concerned, but not angry; I look up and see her eyes expressing worry, not fury, and I let out a small sigh of relief. "That is the path to the Dark Side, and you must not start down that road ..." Aeryn snickers as she listens to what she thinks to be a declaration of my own failure; she is quickly put in her place when Master Nim turns to her, her face hardening somewhat.
"And yet to be the one provoking the other ... " she says, looking stern. "That is far worse. To thrive on the misfortune of others, and relish their anger ... that is something to be feared, young one."
Aeryn stands in shock for a moment, taking in what the Jedi Master has said; her confusion quickly turns to bitterness as she huffs and crosses her arms in front of her.
"I have brought you here now to warn you against continuing in this manner." Master Nim says, turning us towards the doorway. "Now, let these words be remembered."
I nod and thank my teacher as we pass out into the hall; my stomach grumbles in a reminder of the time and Master Nim smiles, nodding in the direction of the cafeteria. "Now, go. And make sure you don't have too much hot chocolate." she adds, giving me a wink; knowledge of my frequent stops at the Cafe must be widespread. I smile back as she closes the door to the exercise room behind us, staying back for solitary training.
"Don't think that this is going to change anything." Aeryn snips, passing by me, knocking me into the wall as she does so.
"I wouldn't dream of it." I quip quietly as I head off towards the cafeteria to meet Gabe; he's going to love this one!
Cienanos
Three hours later we were all seated in the lounge. Master Qui-gon handed both Kenobi and I data pads. He exchanged a quick look with Master Siron. Was that a smile? Oh great! I glanced down at my data pad and began to call up the information about the planet. As the Team 1, the masters would receive an hour head start and they received the geographic information about the planet at the beginning of the trip. We as the team that was to try and find them would receive our information later. I guess to give us something to read as we sit in the ship. I glanced through the information about the planet. Lohen…a planet filled with dense tropical vegetation, abundant wildlife and no present civilization. The data pad stated that it was once an outpost but that it had been deserted for years. The only people who came here now were the Jedi for training missions such as this. I looked up as Master Siron began to speak.
"The mission is to last three days. Qui-gon and I will leave the ship first. After an hour, the two of you will follow and attempt to catch us. There are no rules that we have to stay together. You may have to hunt one of us and then the other. At all times you are to work at as a team…" He stopped as he saw the scowls on both of our faces. He continued with a twinkle in his eye, "or as close to one as you can get. If after three days you have not found us, which you won't, you are to report back to the ship and we will return to the
Temple."
He glanced over to Qui-gon. "Have I forgotten anything?"
Master Qui-gon simply smiled and shook his head.
Master Siron continued. "Since Qui-gon and I have both prepared our packs, we will leave immediately. Best of luck and I hope to see you in three days."
With that, the two Jedi Masters left the lounge and it was just Kenobi and I. Only one thing to do. Thud. Thud. Thud.
"Nano, why are you banging you head against the table?"