Immediately following dinner, Anakin's comlink had activated and the young man had hurried off. Apparently, he was needed back at the Temple. Something about Obi-Wan's datacom system being down.
Padmé helped Dormé clean up the dinner dishes and the kitchen, and wished her friend a good night before retiring to her own room. But instead of going to sleep, she sat down at her computer desk and logged onto "Coruscant Connections."
There were only seventy-five messages this time. She read approximately thirty of them and then began deleting them quickly, especially the ones whose user names had anything to do with the size of stamina of their reproductive organs.
Once her in-box had been cleared, Padmé clicked on an option to 'view new male member profiles.' She snickered at the tasteless and obviously exaggerated descriptions, and was about to lose hope of finding anyone remotely interesting when one user name caught her attention: starsofshimona.
She clicked on the name and read the biography that came up. Innocent and vague enough. Almost too vague.
No more vague than your own, her inner voice reminded her.
No picture, but auburn hair and blue eyes. She had always liked blue eyes. And his user name was intriguing. Could it be she had found someone who liked the same poetry that she did?
Padmé smiled, hesitantly clicked the 'respond' button, and then began typing.
Hello. I'm not really sure what to say. I've never participated in anything like this before. A friend gave me a membership to this service as a gift. At first I didn't want to use it, but here I am.
I noticed your user name and thought I would write and let you know that I too am a poetry fan. Shimona is my favorite. If you wish to write back to me, I would enjoy getting to know you. Perhaps we can share dreams of the shattered night and blue stars glittering in the distance.
Sincerely – ML
Padmé sat back and re-read her response, thinking how lame it sounded. But what did it matter? It wasn't like he knew her or she knew him. They were complete strangers and would probably never even meet.
She promptly clicked on the 'send response' button, and watched as her message disappeared into the vast void of the Holonet.
"Did you try rebooting the thing?" His Master asked as he peered over his padawan's shoulder. His voice almost sounded impatient, and was that eagerness Anakin felt along their training bond?
"Yes, Master. Hang on. I've almost got it." A few adjustments to the internal settings and the Holonet service flickered to life.
"Hop up." Obi-Wan insisted, patting his apprentice's shoulder.
Anakin fought to refrain a grin. His Master was acting like an initiate with a brand new lightsaber.
The computer-generated voice which was low and female spoke. "You have two-hundred and seventy-nine messages."
"Whoa!" Anakin exclaimed, pulling up a chair beside Obi-Wan. "And with a user name like that! Just think how many responses you would have gotten had you entered one of my suggestions instead."
Obi-Wan cast a smirk to his padawan and began wading through the abundance of responses.
"Wizard! Are woman usually this, uhm, forward?" The younger man asked incredulously.
Obi-Wan immediately clicked the window he had been viewing closed.
"Perhaps you shouldn't be reading any of this, padawan." He stated.
"But Master!" The young man moaned. "I'm almost seventeen!"
"Exactly." Obi-Wan's eyebrow shifted up revealing his seriousness. "Go find something else to do."
"Fine!" His apprentice said in mock exasperation. "Just don't come running to me when you hook up with someone who looks like a Gamorrean and has the personality of a Gungan."
Obi-Wan winced at the possibility of that. Surely, the Force wouldn't be that cruel.
He turned his attention back to the messages, the majority of which said the same thing, and had the same goal. Sex. Not that he wasn't interested in sex, but at this time in his life, he was discovering he wanted much more. Would he be able to find it through an online dating service?
He seriously doubted it.
With a disappointed countenance, he chose the option to 'delete all.' His in-box was empty once more, along with his hopes.
He moved his hand to switch off the datacom when the digital voice spoke again. "You have a new message." His eyes swept down to his in-box.
"Melancholy-lady." He said aloud.
What kind of woman would call herself that? It sounded depressing. He wondered what her story could possibly be and decided that if he was to find out, he was going to have to read her message.
As he read the short reply, a smile crept over his face. She liked poetry as well, and they even shared a favorite author.
Maybe this young woman was worth the chance of actually getting to know. She hadn't mentioned getting together for sex. Not once.
Obi-Wan clicked on the 'respond' button and composed his reply.
Thank you for your kind response. I too was offered this membership as a gift, so it appears we already have something in common.
Something else I see that we have in common is a love for poetry. But your user name has me wondering if perhaps you have read a little too much Shimona in your time. His works tend to be melodramatic and tragic.
I should know. I have read plenty of it over the years myself.
I would be interested in sharing with you what we find so intriguing in this author's work if you feel so inclined. Until such time, I will be awaiting your response – sending my voice into the wind to touch your hearing.
Sincerely - SOS