So, ah, just so you know, I'm updating. Yeah. Sheepishly updating.

The only thing about this update is that it's a setup for a fun chapter 21. But it was necessary. So, you know, don't get mad at me. :)

And even though this is about five days later than the deadline Ala gave me, it's done. Okay, Aladailey? I tried. No, really. I did. Yay!

Enough with the pleasantries and apologies. On to chapter 20!

- Lieutenant Skywalker to Harvest Base.

- Harvest Base to Lieutenant Skywalker. What is your status?

- My group is intact and still deployed.

- The original parameters of your command?

- Three weeks ago, Lieutenant Rimmas Stribur, Princess Organa, Captain Solo, and I departed base for Itets-Enuzore to drop off Lieutenant Stribur to her new post as Intel agent at the University and fly the Princess to an important arms deal with GansCorp. During the deployment, Princess Organa was compromised and hid in the university under the alias of Lieutenant Stribur to escape her shadow. She discovered that Lieutenant Stribur's roommate, Ivoen Sorreh, is the daughter of a board member of GansCorp, and has been attempting to negotiate a treaty with GansCorp while maintaining her cover.

- Any new developments since your last report?

- Yes, sir. The Princess discovered the existence of a Hibridium mine on Itets-Enuzore.

- Hibridium? As in cloaking device technology?

- Yes. Lieutenant Stribur was also captured briefly near the mine and is now en route to base. She left yesterday.

- Lieutenant Stribur is off-planet, then.

- Yes, sir. The Princess doesn't know that she is safe.

- Final question, Lieutenant. Has there been any significant change in the status of the relationship between Captain Solo and Princess Organa?

- Shut up, Antilles.

Leia found the new, festive air at the university nauseating. Peering out her window the night she and Ivoen had returned from Rivaucnev City, Leia was baffled to find legions of students outside in the open grasses throwing blue and gold balls in the air in an attempt to hit each other with them. She wasn't sure, but the goal of the game seemed to be to add more and more bodies to the growing heap of the concussed without actually killing them.

Since that night, she'd noticed a plethora of strange activities. Enormous bonfires were set up in the courtyards, the alcohol consumption increased nearly tenfold, and parades ran nightly through the dorm floors, complete with badly played instruments and the near-nudity of the cheerleaders, a race of beings Leia had hoped she'd never have the misfortune to meet.

This was, as she'd been told by Blonde Floormate Number 52, the opening of the university smashball season, which would be, most certainly, the highlight of Rimmas' life and the very reason she had come to Itets-Enuzore.

She also mentioned something about adorable center halfmen, cheap alcohol and the mystifying power of tanned biceps, etc, etc. Leia really wasn't listening.

But the spirit everyone had been so enthusiastically demonstrating wasn'tas easy to ignore as Blonde Floormate Number 52. The entire campus seemed to morph before her eyes. What had before appeared to Leia to be a studious indifference to all things except alcohol became an all-out assault on the school rival, the University of Adumar, and an unimagined, and heretofore unseen, school spirit.

The switch was conflicting with what Leia herself was feeling. With the disappearance of the real Stribur, Leia was finding it difficult to concentrate on anything except her own guilt and responsibility for the girl's absence. Between this guilt and the very cryptic compact Han had mentioned, Leia was sure she couldn't possibly get into the long, drawn-out process of acting the carefree post-adolescent.

Not that she'd ever been particularly keen on doing it. Ever.

Still, the idea of another drinkfest or the claustrophobic feeling of people dancing too close for even a Twi'lek's comfort made her ready to skimp out and join the Dejarik Club's ranks.

"It has come to my attention – " she jerked awake " – that a great many of you will be celebrating the smashball season opener nearly five days before the game actually commences," Professor Lingni was saying. Leia had momentarily forgotten she had been sitting in psychology. "And while normally I would expect an even greater dip in the quality of the crap you all hand in, I've decided not to care. We've got Nemsba as a starting halfman, and I'd rather watch him drink café on the court than read any of – " he waved towards the stack of papers " – that."

"So, like, no homework?"

"Are you in some way mistaking my intentions, Miss Blaudio? I'm informing you to not to expect any grading to occur in the near future. Your papers will serve as my placemat for a few extra weeks, that's all." He gestured to the far wall and gathered his things, the sign to leave before he remembered to punish someone for breathing incorrectly.

At least some people will never change.

"This is the year!" The Devaronian was shouting as Leia walked past him towards the cafeteria. "We will cream the Adumari this year! Murderize! Is everyone with me?"

The answering roar was load enough to force Leia to cover her ears.

While heading towards her sociological survey class, Leia was rather shocked to see a group of about eight beings, of various species, running full hilt through the main quad. Sans clothes.

She vowed, for the billionth time, to get out of the university as soon as possible.

Either that, or begin to understand her own generation.

"Hey. Where's your school spirit, Rims?"

Leia looked down at her own clothes, a mix of red and purple and black lace, and then took in her companion's attire, an energetic display of blue and gold, complete with gold and blue strands entwined in the other's normally brunette hair.

"You know, Kristeh, I think I forgot to buy face paint yesterday."

Every holoset she came across had the face of an overtanned, underbrained idiot on it, with the caption "Arik Nemsba. What won't he do for you?"

Leia just sighed and hurried back to her dorm to avoid the five different mascots that appeared to have been following her all day.

"Are you sure you won't bring him?"

Leia sighed and turned toward her roommate, calmly remembering that barking out a dismissal was not an option here. "He's not coming. It's final."

"Okay, cool, but Rims, everyone will be there."

"And when did I start to care about that?"

Leia had a point and Ivoen knew it. "Yeah." Ivoen grabbed her bag and swung it over a shoulder. "Yeah, I know, but I think I care."

"You think you care?"

Ivoen suddenly seemed to find the floor fascinating.

"Ivoen?"

Ivoen looked up and raised an eyebrow. "Have you taken a look at your boyfriend, lately?"

Leia rolled her eyes. "Sithspit. This wouldn't by any chance involve you becoming, er, cooler by default because of my boyfriend, would it?"

"Only … to the very sharp eye."

Leia shook her head. "You'll have to work harder than that, Ms. Sorreh, to manipulate me."

"You brought him to the frat party. What can this hurt?"

"My already fragile ego."

"Besides that. And no one cares about your already fragile ego."

Leia's comm beeped.

"We'll discuss this later." She glared at Ivoen as she answered. "Hello?"

"Rims."

"Jace." She waved down Ivoen's suddenly wild arm convulsions. "How are you?"

"Just checking in. Haven't heard from you in awhile."

"Good. Hey, I'm cool, according to Ivoen, because of you." Leia turned away from Ivoen's frantic exultations. "Did you know that?"

"She there?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Tell her I love her and will pick her up at nine."

Leia pulled a face. "Hilarious, Jace. Funny."

"Yeah. I know." She started to picture the smile … and let herself enjoy it. "Hey, I do know something about Meme, though."

Leia's ears perked up. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. You know how she left after you guys went to Rivaucnev City? Turns out her speeder broke down just a few kilometers from where she left you. She hitched a ride back home. Kinda shook up about it."

"Great." Thank all the Alderaani gods…

"Yeah." A garbled sound, then: "And my brother says 'hi.'"

"Tell him 'hi."

"Yeah, well, he's driving me crazy with the weather wet and all. I'm tempted to lock him out next time he goes out for groceries or something."

You're so mean to Luke, Han. "I believe it – wait, Ivoen!"

And then Ivoen had Leia's comm in her right hand andLeia began to get a really bad feeling about the situation at hand.

"Hello, Jace. Okay, so, I need you to do me a huge social ladder-climbing favor-thing. Can you be here on game night to take Rims to the kickoff?"

Pause. "Isn't Nemsba starting this season?"

Han! "Jace!"

"I don't know, but I need Rims to be there. With you. So I can be semi-cool. Or whatever."

Ivoen tossed Leia's comm back to her, then stepped out of the room with a smile that was a bitsneakier than Leia ever wanted to see on her roommate's face.

"Sorry about that, Jace. Ivoen's acting … weird." Although, granted, I've seen worse this week.

"What the hell's the matter with her?"

"She just a bit exuberant. About – I don't know. I'll talk to you more about it later."

"Okay, fine. So I'll see you in two days."

What! "No. No, no, no, no. No way."

"Think I'll let Kiel tag along, too, hook him up with some female company."

"No." I am not dragging Luke into this!

"Alright. So game day it is. I'll bring your compact, too."

"I swear, Jace, I'm going to – "

The comm. went dead as his laugh burst through.

Tada! The miraculous reappearance of Pink Nails! Reviews are always, always welcome ... and, ahem, speed up the writing process a bit, just so you know ...