Three days ago, on Hesperidium.
"Force, this place is, is …" Teeko started, only to pause and take in the classy room they had been assigned. Teeko was one of three junior padawans whose ability with fire had seen him selected for this three-day workshop in, well… "Paradise!" he finally finished.
Flynt looked at the Zabrak boy, eyes twinkling. "Sure is. My master's gonna be pissed he missed out on all this luxury." He stretched long on his bunk, noticing that, despite this being a single, his feet did not hang over the end!
"They have left chocolate on our bunks!" Sha Temm, the Kel Dor girl who made the third in the padawan trio, said excitedly.
Flynt rolled to one side, pulled the small square that he had accidentally sat on and tossed it onto her bed before it melted all over his rather opulent quilt cover. He didn't have much of a sweet tooth and the fuss Sha was making over it told him that she'd appreciate it far more.
The padawans had their own room, each with a bunk. Teeko entered their refresher, picking up each item and turning it over in his hand. "Bath salt? That means–" He turned and was met with the sight of a huge square bathtub that would easily fit all three of them at once. "We have a pool in here," he announced.
While the padawans explored their room, the initiates were busy doing the same. They were in the master suite with Knight Phara where they would be under constant supervision. Both rooms were joined by a common room area that was, as Flynt pointed out upon entering, bigger than four of their Temple quarters put together. To say the Jedi children were impressed would be an understatement, and if this wasn't enough to have them on a high, they hadn't even needed to travel far to get here. Hesperidium was a moon that orbited Coruscant; it was barely more than an hour of travel from the Temple. They were here because the moon's habitable surfaces were for the most part controlled, thus fireproof; they would be able to work on advanced fire techniques here without risk of setting fire to everything. Hesperidium also needed the Jedi Order's help with their crop terrariums, so in exchange, everything the Jedi needed would be provided at zero cost. They would spend the mornings working on their fire skills and the afternoons assisting the AgriCorps workers.
Like most kids were prone to doing, everyone started off on their best behaviour. Then slowly, one at a time, they began to test the boundaries. It was late afternoon on the first day when the youngest initiate went too far. She had stubbornly refused to obey, finding the task of growing plants not to her liking. She found herself facing a wall for that. When her attitude still continued to sour through the rest of their tasks and culminated in one too many bouts of backtalk, Phara decided It was time to draw the line. She tipped the initiate over her knee and delivered six solid swats, each eliciting a cry from the girl. It wasn't at all harsh but it was a fast way to get her attention and change her behaviour. And the fact that they were in a public lobby at the time, well, that made the lesson all the more effective and set a precedent of expectations for the other Jedi children. And so they behaved themselves. For a while.
It was the beginning of their final lesson on their second day. Flynt, Teeko and Sha were practising creating huge fireballs, first one, then two, three and so on. The trick was to control them all. This was how they began each lesson. Control was the key to advancing their abilities with fire, Knight Phara had told them. Their focus was interrupted by a huge – and huge meant it was the size of their hotel! – starcruiser that flew overhead. It drew gasps of admiration from the six Jedi. Even Knight Phara stopped to smile up at the ship that cast them into darkness as it slowly passed overhead. They watched in awe as it docked on a platform. That platform had been specifically designed for this particular ship as it was far too large for any normal hangar, Knight Phara explained.
Flynt had always been fascinated by spaceships. His eyes were not leaving the sleek, golden exterior until it docked and the engines could be heard powering down. "Knight Phara, you gotta take us to look at that," he stated emphatically, his mouth still slightly agape.
"Yes, yes, pleeeeeease!" The three initiates were jumping up and down and tugging on her tunic, while three padawans stood motionless, but with expressions of barely concealed excitement on their faces.
"Oh, alright. Settle down, you three," said Phara.
The three initiates did so immediately, attempting to mirror their far calmer peers.
"Here is the deal," said the knight. "Keep your focus on the rest of our lesson and give your best effort with our task this afternoon and we will go this evening." She held up a finger to silence the squeals coming from the initiates. "But until you have finished all of today's assignments to my satisfaction, no complaining, please. Do we have a deal?" She gave their youngest a pointed look, but did not single her out.
"YESSS!" and "Yes, Knight Phara," came the collective responses from all six.
They all held their end of the bargain, and so did Phara. They skipped a formal evening meal in lieu of chips and burgers delivered by room service, and they reduced the time spent on their evening meditation. This gave them sufficient extra time to visit the starship without interfering too much with their bedtimes. Besides, a few minor hiccups notwithstanding, they were a great bunch of kids and had worked hard, thought Phara; they deserved the treat.
To say this craft was impressive was akin to calling the paintings by Mun'Durno, which adorned the Senate building, mere scribbles. Even Phara had to admit it was the first time she had seen this particular design 'in the flesh,' so to speak. She was able to gain them entry and a guided tour as most of the passengers were either eating dinner or had disembarked to shop and eat on the moon. They started with the various gyms and pools which were nothing short of spectacular, although quite unlike the equipment used to train Jedi. After this, the galley had calmed down enough to grant them access, where they were promptly spoiled by the chefs. Each of the Jedi children accepted a treat of their choice humbly and with obvious gratitude. Finally, and this was the best part, the bridge and engine rooms, of which there were nine, all up! Flynt was in his personal idea of the hereafter. He paid close attention, hanging on the chief engineer's every word. They were the model image of perfect Jedi children: controlled, quiet, polite and asking intelligent questions that would have been expected from adults in the civilian world.
"Could we come and watch you take off?" Flynt asked. "Because I, for one, want to see that coupling system working for real."
"Sorry, kid. We depart at zero one hundred. I'd wager Knight Phara might have problems fitting that into your schedules." The chief engineer was a soft-hearted father of two, and he didn't like seeing the sad faces that followed when their teacher agreed with him.
They settled for an explanation and a viewing of the 3D schematics, then moved on to one of the family lounges where they sat and talked with the staff. Phara thought this was quite educational for the youngsters, so she allowed their visit to last longer than she might have otherwise.
Long after lights out that evening, the padawans were still whispering about the ship. They were speculating how much a fare would cost per person; none of them had wanted to inquire about the wealth of their hosts' clientele, after all. Then they started talking about how cool it would be to travel on a giant, moving version of their hotel.
Phara tolerated their whispering for quite some time, considering it a given that they would be excited. In fact, it was half the reason she had sent them to bed at nine-thirty. When it was eleven, however, she felt that enough was enough. She put on a stern expression and opened their door. "Lights out means mouths and eyes closed, does it not?"
Loud fake snoring, an equally fake cough, and, "Was I talking in my sleep again? Sorry," came from Teeko, Sha and Flynt respectively.
Phara was glad her face was not visible in the dim light as she was working hard to suppress a smile. "See that your bouts of somniloquy cease, you all need to rest for tomorrow." She turned to close the door but paused. "And none of you snore, so put a lid on it, Teeko." With that, she slid their door shut, shaking her head when she heard muffled giggling, and returned to the master suite where she and the three initiates slept. The three younger children were all sound asleep. It was late, after all, and their day had been fuller than expected. Force, she was tired herself!
The three padawans, too, fell asleep after that. At least for a while…
It was around 12:30am when Flynt's wrist chrono vibrated against his chest. He threw his arm aside groggily, quickly shutting it off. He was tired and just about to say to hell with his plans to sneak out and watch the take-off when Teeko sat up, too. Neither padawan spoke as to do so would certainly bring attention to the fact that they were awake, if the buzzing watch had not already. They both looked at the door, waiting for the knight to open it and ask if they were alright, but she did not. By now, Flynt was more awake. He walked silently to Teeko's bed. "The take-off; gonna tell?"
Teeko shook his head. Both padawans used as little verbal communication as possible to convey their intentions, yet each understood the other.
Little did they know Sha was now awake, too. She sat up as they crept towards the window. Not knowing what they were doing, she grabbed her cloak and boots as the others had done and followed. It took some time to scale down the safety ladder that ran the length of the outside wall, but they all managed. Once safely on the ground, Flynt looked to the others and explained.
"I'm going to see the ship take off. You two don't need to come." He paused and gave them a serious look. "If we get caught, we're going to be in a lot of trouble."
"Then let us remain 'uncaught'," said Teeko. He was curious about the take-off, too, and wanted in.
They both looked at Sha, who was adjusting her mask; the Kel Dor would be the only one to survive outside the domes, yet inside she needed help to breathe. "Agreed. We'll have to keep a low profile, everyone here knows who we are."
"I have an idea about that. Pull your cloaks around you and follow behind me." When Flynt received blank expressions he elaborated. "I was planning on going this alone, but since you two want in, I have to change my strategy slightly. I'm not much shorter than Knight Phara. If I keep my hood up, at first glance I might just pass off as her. If you two behave like I'm Phara, people will assume I am and that I'm taking you two somewhere."
"There aren't too many people around at this time of night, anyway. We'll attract little attention," added Teeko.
It wasn't the best plan, but given that nobody came up with a better idea, they agreed. It wouldn't hurt to be extra cautious, because heck, they were in for a world of trouble should they be caught wandering around the domes at one in the morning, unsupervised, and AWOL!
Flynt really was quite a good bullshit artist, and so the three made their way through the dome without attracting more than a sideways glance. He led them to a section that was both deserted and offered a perfect vantage point. When the ship started its take-off, he finally let his guard down. "Whoa…." Yep, it was everything Flynt could have hoped for and more. As the huge ship lifted, the coupling system accommodated. It was nothing like his introductory flight lessons, nothing! All three padawans watched in awe as several thousand tonnes of metal lifted effortlessly into the sky. They all had smiles on their faces, not to mention cricks in their necks by the time the ship was out of range.
"That was worth sacrificing a bit of sleep over any day," Flynt said quietly as they headed back to the ladder that would allow each to sneak back in undetected. It was the perfect crime.
"I doubt your teacher will agree with that."
The familiar voice had them stop and turn. The woman who had uttered these words was one of the security offices better known to the padawans. Conversely, they were known to her also. Before any of them could concoct a plausible reason for their location at this time of the night, she had pulled out a comlink and started talking to Phara in clipped tones.
The knight had woken when one of the initiates needed to use the refresher. Out of instinct, she reached out her senses to check out the rest of the group, only to discover that they were three short. Given that the padawans' cloaks and boots were gone, but their comlinks remained on their side tables, Phara easily put two and two together. Still, foul play could not be eliminated and she wasn't taking any chances with her charges' safety. Barely a minute after she had discovered them missing, Phara had every security officer, police officer and staff member on duty looking for them. She worked quietly, shielding her concern from the sleeping younglings. If she received no reports within half an hour, she would organise someone to come watch over the initiates while she went to find the padawans herself. Thankfully that turned out not to be necessary. Her sigh of relief was audible to the three padawans, as was her curt tone when she ordered them to follow the officer back to their room, immediately.
They were met in the hallway outside their room by a stern-looking, albeit relieved Jedi knight. Teeko started to offer an explanation but he was silenced with a curt command to be "Quiet," which he obeyed.
The gratitude in Phara's tone as she thanked the officer, and a moment later the staff via comlink, was heartfelt and genuine, which made the padawans feel even worse.
Great, apparently the entire hotel had been out looking for them…
With the calls taken care of, Phara turned to face the three padawans, treating each to a glare that was worthy of any displeased Jedi master. "Is anyone injured?" She had scanned them briefly upon sight, but it was always better to be certain.
"No, Knight Phara," they chorused.
At this her expression softened; she was relieved but did not want to convey how much their unauthorised outing had actually scared her. "Alright. Just so there are no misunderstandings here, you're all in trouble, regardless of the explanation. You disobeyed my orders and left your room without permission, leaving me with no idea where you were. That is unacceptable on so many levels I don't know where to begin." She paused for a moment. When no protests were forthcoming, she continued. "The three of you are going to march yourselves back to bed, quickly and quietly, and stay there until I come for you in the morning. Understand?"
Again they replied collectively, "Yes, Knight Phara," and given that none of them were willing to risk causing anyone's further displeasure, they did as told.
Flynt and Teeko fell asleep almost as soon as their heads hit the pillow. Sha was having a far harder time of it. She tried to quiet her mind as her master had taught her, to release her anxiety into the Force and to sleep. It wasn't happening. The Kel Dor tossed and turned, put one leg outside the covers and was just about to try sleeping up the other end of her bed when the door slid open and Phara entered quietly. "I'm sorry, Knight Phara, I'm trying to sleep, I promise," Sha whispered, not wanting to wake the others.
Phara smiled, put a finger to her lips and gestured that she lay back down. "I'm not angry with you," she said, her voice so quiet that Sha barely heard it. She tucked the covers around her and stroked the girl's head softly. "Do you want help sleeping?" she offered. Upon receiving a grateful nod, she placed her hand on Sha's forehead. The padawan was soon out like a light, but Phara remained there for half an hour more. She was simply relieved to feel that all six of her wards were safe and sleeping peacefully.
The next morning, Flynt, Teeko and Sha woke to the sound of curtains being flung open, with purpose and on purpose! "Good morning to you, too," said Phara, a brow on the rise at the groans her entrance had drawn.
"Morning," "Gah-no-way," and "Good Morning," Sha, Flynt and Teeko managed to articulate respectively.
"Yes, way. I want you all showered, dressed and ready for breakfast in forty-five minutes. Chop, chop!" Phara clapped her hands for emphasis, causing all three to jump to attention and obey. They weren't aware of it yet, but she had allowed them to sleep for an extra hour. The initiates were already organised and working on activities in their bedroom by the time the padawans arrived for breakfast. "Sit," she commanded when they seemed to just stand there and fidget, and they obeyed. Only when it looked as if they had eaten enough to sate their first appetite, she asked them to explain, in detail, why exactly she had had the entire hotel out looking for them when they ought to have been in their beds sleeping.
Flynt opened his mouth to explain, but closed it again when Teeko spoke; Teeko was the oldest and would be expected to take responsibility.
After having heard his honest account, with both Flynt and Sha adding in a detail here and there, Phara had the full story, and she was not pleased. She gave them all a scolding that left each of them looking at their plates. Then she folded her arms. "Does anyone have anything else to add before I decide on punishment?"
They shook their heads. "No, Knight Phara," Sha looked like she was about to cry, Teeko managed to lift his chin with an effort and Flynt popped some more toast in his mouth in an effort to hide his nervousness.
"Duty comes first, I'm afraid," said Phara, "so I am going to postpone punishment until we are on the ship back to the Temple."
This edict garnered a groan from Teeko. He just wanted this over with, and having to wait all day for whatever horror the knight bestowed on them was going to be horrible. Sha agreed with Teeko, but said nothing. Flynt, for his part, was relieved as he wasn't one to dwell on future things. In fact, he was happy to put off their punishment for as long as Phara wanted.
"I'm sorry, Teeko, I realise it is somewhat cruel to make you wait, but life as a Jedi is not always easy," said Phara. When the boy nodded, she continued, "I will be including your antics in the report that I hand to your masters. Given that it wasn't so long ago since I was a padawan myself, I haven't forgotten what is likely to come of that. Nevertheless, when we are settled in the ship, you will all be getting a belting from me, after which you will spend the rest of the trip writing apology letters to the hotel staff for causing problems. Is that clear?"
Each of the padawans wore a different expression, yet they were all equally unenthusiastic. "Yes, Knight Phara," they chorused, knowing better than to protest her verdict.
Placated, she allowed them to finish breakfast and then took them all to begin lessons.
By the time Phara had their ship on autopilot late that afternoon and made her way back to the seating area, the three apprentices were looking anywhere but at her, and she couldn't blame them. She drew a breath and glanced around for a suitable place. The ship wasn't exactly large, but it was big enough to contain a row of seats with tables, some basic food prep units and a couple of bunk beds at the back. Pulling back the privacy screen that shielded the two bunks, she sat and took a moment to collect herself. Phara had rarely meted out corporal punishment. A spanking here and there during classes, sure, but so far that had been the extent of it. It was because of this lack of experience that she did not plan to go hard on the padawans, but telling them that would have detracted from the lesson. Besides, Phara did not doubt that their masters would have a thing or two to say to them as well. Steeling herself the woman looked up and called Sha to her. The girl looked as if she were about to cry and Phara thought it best to put her out of her misery. "Give me your belt and take down your trousers, please," she said. When a teary-eyed Sha complied, Phara doubled the small belt over, tucked the girl under her right arm and landed six swats that would make sitting for the rest of this trip decidedly uncomfortable.
Teeko was called next. He had not failed to hear the sharp snap of a belt connecting with a cotton-clad backside, and Sha's watery expression as she passed him was not comforting either. He was treated to the same punishment as Sha, offered comfort, and, like Sha, sent out as Flynt was called in.
Flynt provided her with a new challenge. The boy was too tall to tuck under her arm. She had him lie over the bunk and meted out another half dozen swats methodically and without pause.
It wasn't the worst punishment Flynt had endured, but nor was it comfortable, not by a long shot. His peers seemed to share his thoughts as they all wriggled in their seats trying to write apology letters. The burn had eased off a bit by the time they touched down at the Temple, but it was still uncomfortable enough to be felt.
"And that's when I saw you standing in the hangar waiting," Flynt concluded the account he was giving Lakhri on their way back to their quarters. "I didn't expect you to come and pick me up." He wasn't sure how pissed Lakhri was going to be over this, and he didn't look down to find out. He just kept walking at his side, his pace deliberately slow to accommodate Lakhri's shorter strides.
Lakhri was not exactly angry. Flynt's desire to watch the ship take off was understandable, and in a thirteen-year-old, such desires would sometimes win out over the necessity to obey orders. That said, Flynt's actions had caused Knight Phara considerable worry, and a lot of people had been out looking for him in the middle of the night. That, and he had been disobedient. Lakhri knew he could not let this slide, and he assumed Flynt knew it as well.
"What do you think about this now?" he asked Flynt as he palmed open the door to their quarters. "Do you still think it was a good idea?"
The boy dropped his bag, carded a hand through shaggy hair and shoved both hands into his pockets. "No, I guess not." He risked a look at Lakhri's expression, relieved to find that he did not appear fit to be tied. That said Flynt was well aware that just because his master didn't look livid, didn't mean he wasn't in deep shit. "I'm not making excuses. I know you're probably not thrilled that I caused problems and disobeyed orders, but seriously, this baby was like a classy version of an Eclipse. They spared no expense. You should have seen the schematics on her, the detail, the engineering; incredible." Flynt was starting to get carried away. He knew he was in trouble but that ship – she was the new love of his life!
"Yes, well," said Lakhri, fighting to hide his amusement as he pulled off his boots, "despite all that, orders are orders. And disobedience aside, it sounds as if you seriously inconvenienced Knight Phara, plus a number of other people. This is simply unacceptable. When you're told no, you don't sneak off to do it anyway. And I will make that quite clear to you."
"I wrote an apology letter to the hotel staff and security," said Flynt. "Besides, Knight Phara already beat my ass once. That's double jeopardy. Isn't there some sort of law against that?" It wasn't a serious question, yet Flynt was trying it on because the last thing he wanted was to cop it again. Lakhri might be small, yet the padawan knew that if his master went through with this, it would hurt a lot more than his run-in with Phara.
"Hmm," Lakhri said, unimpressed. "Six strokes, you said. Do you really think this is all you will get for disobeying explicit orders and sneaking off in the middle of the night? If you do, you're in for a rude awakening. Anyway, I think Knight Phara would have expected me and the other masters to add to what you received. She knows how these things work, after all."
"So you're going to dish out round two on speculation? Couldn't we wait and ask her?" Flynt was grasping at straws here, but when it came to having his ass handed to him, he would try just about anything to get out of it. Deserved or not.
Lakhri snorted. "We could, but we won't," he said firmly. "It's not as if I need Knight Phara's go-ahead in order to punish you, is it?"
That was not what Flynt wanted to hear. He wasn't sure if Lakhri expected an answer, but he didn't give him one. Instead, he wore an uncharacteristically sombre expression and looked away from Lakhri's gaze. He didn't want this, nor did he handle it well.
Flynt's reluctance to accept punishment, even when he knew in theory that it was well-deserved, was an ongoing issue. Lakhri did not intend to indulge it, though.
"Padawan, you made a decision that has earned you punishment," he said sternly. "You knew in advance that this was going to happen if you were caught. You have no reason whatsoever to complain."
"I have every reason to complain," Flynt cut in. "You're gonna beat my ass, who wouldn't complain about that?" It came out whinier than he had wanted. Flynt was not typically the whiney sort, well, except for when it came to accepting physical correction because then he could whine with the best of them.
"If you don't want me to punish you, obey your orders and stay where you're supposed to stay," Lakhri snapped. He had not been particularly upset with Flynt's misbehavior, but he was becoming annoyed with his attitude. "You made no effort to avoid behavior that you knew would get you punished, so, no, you don't have any right to complain. Now you have fifteen minutes to unpack your bag. Then you're going to present yourself back here in the common room, bare your bottom, bend over the arm of the couch and take what's coming to you."
There wasn't anything Flynt could say to that. Besides, he could tell by the tone that he had pushed Lakhri's tolerance for excuses about as far as it went. Not that he was trying to push him, of course; he just didn't want his ass handed to him.
Fifteen minutes later, Flynt appeared in the common room dressed in clean workout clothes and looking none too pleased. He hadn't spent the fifteen minutes brooding, but now that his demise was imminent, the sullen expression was fixed on his face. This expression morphed into one of dread, however, when he caught sight of Lakhri seated in an armchair waiting, switch in hand. Fuck. He froze and unfroze as the man got to his feet and quickly moved to the couch where he started fumbling with the drawstring on his pants. "Really? You're going postal on me over this? I didn't kill anyone." His voice unintentionally pitched a higher register half way through that statement. It had been happening a lot lately but the timing was generally the worst. Now was no exception.
"I didn't say you had," Lakhri said, unmoved. "But you know how important obedience is for the career you have chosen. If you don't act on that knowledge, this is what happens. Think about it when you next feel tempted to have your fun, regardless of what your superiors tell you."
That comment went over like a fart in a turbolift with Flynt. Still, after a year and a half as the man's apprentice he knew what would happen if he didn't bend over and stay there. He did so, if entirely unwillingly, and was rewarded by a line of stingy fire seconds later.
Lakhri raised the switch and brought it down onto his padawan's bottom again without a second's pause; and again, and again. It was a long and sturdy switch; it was meant to teach a serious lesson. Lakhri knew that Flynt had engaged in his nightly excursion knowing full well what the consequences were going to be. If he had still gone along with it, maybe he needed a more effective deterrent than Lakhri had provided him with so far.
Any efforts Flynt made at stoicism flew out the window around the sixth swipe. He let out a wail and tried to angle away from the next line of fire only to find that he couldn't. Lakhri was using the Force to restrain him, for good reason: He dealt out a full dozen strokes, with the last two crossing all the horizontal welts that were forming across Flynt's bottom down to the backs of his thighs. And despite Flynt's tears, he made no move to let him up once he was done.
"Master no more I swear on the living Force that I'll never disobey orders again e-even if someone says jump off a cliff I'll obey first I swear please you gotta stop!" All that came out in one breath and damn if Flynt didn't sound like Raven right then! He'd heard her jam half a novel into one breath when it came to talking her way out of something. Well, he was pulling out all the stops, he didn't want any more.
"I'm afraid," said Lakhri implacably, "we still have some ground to cover. This was for your disobedience. Now comes your punishment for leaving your quarters at night, giving Knight Phara a fright and having half the hotel staff out to search for you. That was extremely thoughtless and inconsiderate, to say the least."
"You've got to be kidding me?" Flynt's voice broke again. It was very unmanly, although such things were the least of his worries when felt what could only be Lakhri's sandal light the twelve stripes on fire all at one. Flynt almost jumped off the couch, and the supporting wail was no less impressive.
Unperturbed, Lakhri dealt out a second and third swat with the well-worn leather sandal that had been lying on his armchair, invisible to Flynt. He had been at the receiving end of excruciatingly painful punishments more often than he cared to remember, courtesy of having the strictest master in the Temple, and therefore, he knew what he was doing. He also knew that Flynt was not actually going to die from this, despite sounding as if he would.
Each whack was met with a howl and a brief, panicked struggle to stand. It took another six before Flynt ceased resisting, but this had no effect on his lung capacity, which was impressive; he was yelling like he was being roasted alive. It stung enough to almost have him apart before settling into a deep muscular burn just in time for the next. He hated this damned shoe, almost as much as he hated being stupid enough to get himself caught and the subsequent clusterfuck that ensued, courtesy of his inability to toe the line. Why did he have to go through with that stupid plan? Was he completely insane? Nothing was worth this…. not even that sleek, 5T600 Engine, 67TZ V- "OWwwwahhhhh!" Nope, ESPECIALLY NOT THAT!
This was, of course, exactly the effect Lakhri wanted to achieve. He dealt out a dozen whacks with the sandal. Then he dropped it beside the switch and released the restraint on Flynt. There was no point in talking right now. Flynt was howling too loudly.
Still crying, Flynt found his trousers and blew his nose on a random section of leg. He wasn't able to talk coherently yet, so when he turned and faced Lakhri, he dropped to his knees, cupped his disfigured arm in the good one and sniffled. Flynt hoped that he had earned forgiveness because he really wanted some comfort.
Lakhri fumbled a tissue out of his pocket, handed it to Flynt and engulfed him in a hug. He knew his padawan had difficulties with taking corporal punishment, and he was more than ready to provide comfort – after the punishment was over, that was.
Flynt leant forward, arms still crossed about his chest, and rested his head on Lakhri's shoulder. Some might have deemed this unmanly, but he didn't care. He wanted comfort, wanted to know he was forgiven even if he had disappointed his master. Lakhri knew he was sorry, so he didn't say it, he just focused on getting himself under control.
It took a couple of minutes before he finally straightened up. He winced because, Force, did his ass hurt! The tissue was now a soggy, white, fragmented mess but it was good for another blow or two at least. "We square?" he managed to sniffle.
Lakhri nodded. "Yes, we are," he said. "After you've meditated on this, that is. I'll find us something to eat in the meanwhile."
He didn't have the heart to ground Flynt. Given the full schedule he had this term, he was going to have little enough free time as it was. When Flynt nodded and limped off to his bedroom, Lakhri ordered some food from the dining hall. Once it arrived, he released Flynt from his meditation.
During dinner, which Flynt was eating while seated on two thick cushions, they exchanged stories of their weekend. In Lakhri's case, this had mainly consisted of having coached Raven for her exam.
"I really hope she doesn't flunk it," he said. "If she has to take another remedial class due to lack of effort, Eeth is going to go ballistic."
Wednesday rolled around faster than expected; dreading something tends to have that effect on the time. Raven was unusually quiet during dinner that afternoon because a lot was riding on the results of the exam she had taken that morning. When their comm unit announced a message, Raven jumped up. "That will be it," she said urgently, just in case Eeth missed it.
"Padawan, where are your manners?" Eeth asked. "Sit down and finish your food. The exam results will not run away."
Raven was about to protest, but the expression on his face convinced her to do otherwise, and she sat to do as told.
It was another ten minutes before Raven had finished her dinner, and she shot out of the chair like greased lightning only to pause, finger poised over the button. What if she failed?! The words: 'ATTN: Master Eeth Koth. SUB: Results level five astrophysics,' scrolled across the screen as if they were taunting her. Sure, she wanted to read the result and get it over with, but at the same time, if it were a fail, Eeth would enrol her in the remedial class. Remedial ASTROPHYSICS! It had happened once with math when she had been twelve, and the experience had been terrible. Raven jabbed at the screen with a fingernail, and as if shielding herself from a sonic blast, she covered her face with a hand, only daring to peek through splayed fingers. "I got a B!" Raven whooped, bouncing around the room singing: "No. More. Astro. Physics. For. ME!"
Without waiting for her colour to return to normal, or her excitement to ebb, she made to com Lakhri only to be stopped by Eeth.
"That is an acceptable result," he said, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Your work paid off." 'Or rather, the work Lakhri and I made you do,' he thought privately. "Whom are you calling?"
"Lakhri?" It was half statement, half question. Raven was on a high from the results and Eeth's praise.
"Alright, go ahead," said Eeth. "I will clear the table if you do the dishes afterwards."
"Deal!" Raven hit the button and commed Lakhri. She was still bouncing when Flynt answered. "Is Lakhri in?"
"Yeah. What's got you worked up?" Flynt asked upon spotting the tiny, albeit decidedly springy, holographic figure of his aunt.
Her smile broadened at this. "Good grades. How was Hesperidium?" The two hadn't caught up since Flynt had returned, given that Raven had been studying for her exams.
Flynt didn't need to study as much, especially as this cycle, he wasn't taking subjects that challenged him. He looked over his shoulder to make sure Lakhri was busy. "Outstanding! I got to tour that new Eclipse look-alike. She was a true beauty, sleek design, and the coupling system was out of this universe. Force! it was almost worth the ass-k…."
A cough interrupted his comment, and a much smaller figure stepped into the projection.
"Uh- the a-Asskots." The Asskots, a team of pod racers that Flynt favoured, had of course absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with this conversation. Flynt was glad when his master just waved him off. "See ya," he said and disappeared in a flash.
For a split-second, Raven looked puzzled but was fast to recover; whatever Flynt was trying to cover up for, she wasn't going to draw attention to it. "Lakhri! I passed. I got a B in astrophysics! Thank you so much for helping me study. You were right about which units they focused on."
"Yeah, well, the units they tend to focus on are the things you will actually need in later life," Lakhri replied with a grin. "Much as you might wish that astrophysics will disappear from your life altogether. Anyway, congrats. I would love to ask you to celebrate this weekend, but it will have to wait. As I was just about to tell Flynt, we are leaving on a mission. We'll moderate a part of the negotiations about a small Outer Rim planet's bid for membership in the Republic. There are a lot of subcommittees and the planet has requested Jedi supervision for some of them. The whole thing will take place on Borleias. We won't be gone for more than four or five days, but we still won't be back before the weekend is over. I could take both of you to tree world the weekend after next though, if we're back by then and Eeth allows it. What do you think?"
Knowing that Eeth had probably overheard this, given the size and layout of their quarters, Raven glanced over her shoulder. "That I hope he allows it," she said in a stage whisper.
"I will, unless you fail your biology exam," said Eeth. "Which I consider unlikely, given your track record in the subject. If I am free the weekend after next, I might join you. Unless you would rather go without me." He meant it, too. He had been called a spoilsport more than once, after all, and he did not want to impose if his presence was unwanted.
Raven had indeed put a lot of time and energy into her biology project in which she crossbred pink-eyed and vestigial wing mutant bantha flies. The report she compiled on the genetic variations was possibly the best she had written, and Raven was expecting to score an A on that alone.
"Of course I want you to come, it will be fun! Why would I rather go without you?" Raven asked, baffled.
"Well," said Eeth and paused. Lakhri chuckled. "Believe it or not, that's your master's insecurities speaking," he informed Raven. "Of course we want you to come, Eeth. We all enjoy your company, unless anyone has reason not to enjoy it. And I trust that this time around, none of the padawans will give you reason to." He winked at Raven, knowing that she would still vividly remember the major trouble Flynt had gotten into on a previous excursion to Tree World.
Raven shook her head in agreement with Lakhri; there was no way she was going to go down that path.
"Lakhri, when are you leaving?" asked Eeth.
"Tomorrow evening," said Lakhri. "So our last chance to meet would be for lunch tomorrow. We need to pack after that."
"Alright, we will meet in the dining hall tomorrow for lunch, then," Eeth said, ending the call.
"I'll go start some revision," Raven said, wanting to prove that she was serious about upholding her end of the bargain, and flitted off to find her datapad.
"That is an excellent idea," said Eeth. "One week from now, and the worst will be over. And then Lakhri will take us to Tree World. Incidentally, what would you like us to do this Sunday?"
"Rodian Rhythms?" Raven suggested, flopping onto the floor with her datapad. "Also, if you're okay with it, I'd like to go down a few levels and play th- Uh, I mean, enhance my ability to track persons using the Force," she added.
"Of course I can help you practice your tracking skills," said Eeth. "After that, we can go to Rodian Rhythms if that is your preference. Now do some more work. You should get ready for bed in about an hour."
He did not let on, but he was feeling slightly guilty for not having taken his padawan out in quite a while. Consequently, he was entirely willing to indulge her. Hopefully, their outing on Sunday would alleviate some of her frustration.