Last time: Lana turned one and used the Force for the first time!

Now: The Zeb's go on vacation!

Chapter 8- Off to Naboo

The Forerunner pulled out of hyperspace above the planet of Naboo after two days of travel from Artemis. It had been a week since the family suggested that Sasha, Viran, and Lana actually go through with taking this little vacation. During that week leading up to it, Sasha and Viran did some planning on things they could do during their stay in the capital city of Theed. They had decided on doing some tours around the capital, going to the Lake Country and spending a day or two at the lake, and potentially looking into Sasha's family.

Admittedly that made Sasha a little nervous as she wasn't sure what she might find when it came to her family. She was afraid that they may all be long gone, at least any who might know of her and her parents. But she was also anxious that there might be a whole bunch of them still around and would welcome Viran, Lana and her into the family. Either way, Sasha wasn't quite sure what to expect when it came to that, but she was willing to at least find out.

"We're here," Viran called from the front of the ship as Sasha sat in the back with Lana.

"Okay, be right there," Sasha called back.

She strapped Lana into her booster seat for their landing before heading to the cockpit to join Viran. She took a seat in the co-pilot's chair as Viran brought them into the atmosphere. She stared out the viewport with wonder as the lush green valleys and forests of Naboo filled the window.

"Wow, it's so beautiful here," Sasha commented as she continued to look out.

"I guess it makes sense that you are from here then," Viran said with a smirk. "Cause you know, you're so beautiful."

Sasha shot him a look with a raised brow, "Smooth."

Viran flashed her a grin before returning his attention to flying them down to the surface.

"Is Lana doing okay?" He asked her after a moment.

"Yeah, she's currently strapped into her seat and she has been handling this trip like a champ," Sasha said.

"Excellent," Viran said with a smile. He then glanced at Sasha. "Are you doing okay? You seem nervous."

"Can you blame me?" Sasha asked simply as she kept her gaze forward. "I'm visiting my home planet for the first time since I was Lana's age and there is a likely chance I could run into my family while we are here. So I'm a little nervous."

"Hey, it'll be okay," Viran assured her. "I'm sure your family will be glad to see you."

Sasha nodded, but didn't say anything. She swallowed nervously as she rubbed at her scarred hand. Something she hadn't done in a long time and only when she was nervous.

"What is it?" Viran asked after a moment.

Sasha hesitated for a moment. "It's… I'm just afraid," she said.

"Of what?" He asked.

"Of leaving Lana alone," she answered.

"Okay, whoa. Where did this come from? Does this have to do with our conversation a few weeks ago?" He asked her, surprised by this.

"Kind of, but no," Sasha said then explained. "My parents took me on a trip to Coruscant when I was one. They died on that trip, Viran. They never made it back here to Naboo. And I was left alone to join the Jedi Order as a toddler." She looked away. "I don't want the same thing to happen to Lana."

"Sasha," Viran said, frowning. "That's not going to happen." He assured her. "From what you told me about what happened to your parents is that they died in a fire that was caused by a group of spice smugglers who were intoxicated and stupid. The likelihood of something similar happening here is very unlikely. Plus we are Jedi. We can easily handle ourselves if conflict arises. Okay?"

Sasha sighed and looked at him with a smile. "You're right," she agreed. "I'm just overthinking it. We are going to have so much fun on this trip."

"That's my girl," Viran said with a smile as they approached the spaceport.

He brought the Forerunner in for a landing at the public spaceport in Theed. The place was definitely bustling with people as several other ships docked at the port. Once the ship touched down, Viran started shutting off the ship as Sasha got up and went to grab Lana. When she reached the back, she unbuckled Lana from her seat and placed her in the hover stroller she had ready for her. Viran joined them in the back compartment once Lana was all strapped in and ready to go. Sasha shouldered the backpack that held all of the things they needed for a day out with Lana and joined Viran at the ramp.

"Welcome to Theed," Viran said as they walked down the ramp together.

"It's so exciting to be here finally," Sasha said eagerly, her nerves from before washing away. "Shall we go check out the city and then grab something to eat?"

"Sounds good to me," Viran said as he walked alongside Sasha and the hover stroller, hitting the switch on the remote in his jacket pocket to close up and lock the ship.

For the next hour or two, they walked around the city checking out various shops and even an art gallery that was being put on by the students of the local academy. After a while of walking around, they finally decided to stop at a cafe that was recommended to them several times that day by passersby or workers of the many of the shops. When they arrived at the cafe, a server led them through the restaurant and to the balcony where there was some open seating as the cafe was quite busy at this time in the day. Sasha and Viran gaped at the sight the balcony gave off the open valley as lights hung above them and were wrapped around the trees that were evenly placed along the balcony. They sat at their table next to the railing that overlooked everything with Lana's stroller parked next to them.

"This view is incredible," Sasha said. "No wonder this place is so popular."

"I was just surprised we were able to get a seat," Viran said with a shrug as he looked from the view to the menu. "The way people have been talking about this place all day made me think we would be dealing with a line stretching halfway down the road."

"Well, let's just be glad we got here when we did," Sasha said as she turned her attention to the menu. "And hey, if this place is as good as they say it is then maybe we can come back again sometime before we return home."

"I like that idea," Viran agreed.

"You, sir, are cheating." Kyr declared, looking at the scoreboard for their blaster match.

"I am not." Oppie said, rolling his eyes. "I keep telling you I know how to shoot just fine. The Force doesn't really help with something like this."

"Oh yeah?" Kyr asked.

"It just makes my reflexes faster. So, yeah, if someone was shooting at me I'd be able to snap the sights up quicker, but it doesn't really help with accuracy or something like that." Oppie said, annoyed.

"I still think you're cheating somehow." Kyr insisted.

"Am not." Oppie replied, annoyed.

"Are too." Kyr replied back.

"Am not."

"Are too."

They both looked at eachother. Oppie finally spoke. "Want to make a bet, then?"

"On what?" Kyr asked suspiciously. He had a vague sense of deja vu but he dismissed it.

"On my honor as a Jedi Knight, I won't use the Force. And I can meet or exceed this score." He replied, looking up at the display on his aisle.

Kyr glanced at it. "Okay, fine what's the wager?"

An hour or so later, Cien was sitting in the living room, enjoying having a little quiet time to herself while Kyr and Op were off doing other things. This was the first time she could remember that Sasha had been out of the house, and it was an interesting experience being here with just the twins since Kitsu and Illara had left before Sasha and Viran for their own trip. The three of them had spent time together and separate over the last day or so, but it had been relatively quiet. Right now, she figured they were down in the shooting range or something. She heard bootsteps and felt Kyr's presence enter the room, but she didn't look up from her datapad where she was busy reading through an archeological board she had been invited to join some weeks prior. There was a temple excavation of an old Jedi ruin that she had vaguely remembered from her time. One of the prisoners she had interrogated in her past life had actually been an attempt at trying to find this very site, given the sector it was in. It was interesting to read up on the excavation of the temple, and read the details of its actual existence since the Republic courier then had not actually known about it.

The bootsteps continued walking back and forth until she finally looked up. And she looked at Kyr, dumbfounded.

"Hi Cien, I was going to cook a -" He started.

"Why are you wearing Op's Jedi clothes?" She asked incredulously.

"What?" He asked, "I am Op. Why wouldn't I be wearing my clothes?" He asked defensively.

She just stared at him. "Kyr, I know the difference between my husband and his brother." She said flatly.

"No, I'm Op." He insisted, but she saw cracks in his facade as he tried to keep from laughing. "See, look I'm a Jedi." He said, unclipping the saber at his belt and igniting it and swinging it around.

She just buried her face in her hands and wondered, deeply, about her life choices. Then she heard the saber cut through something, a small bowl that displayed some pinecones on the table behind the couch. She opened her fingers and glared at him between them.

"Kyr." She said flatly.

"Yeah, I know." He said sheepishly as he disappeared back towards the bedrooms.

Oppie was standing there sullenly around the corner in the hallway. "You done? Can I get out of this flight suit now since I don't have to parade around as you?"

"Yeah. Worth it, though." He said.

"I told you she'd know immediately." Oppie said, as he turned back to his room to change out of Kyr's flight suit.

"I wonder how?" He mused.

"You aged seven years beyond me, remember? It's probably the grey." Oppie said over his shoulder.

Kyr stared at his back as he walked away, "what grey?" Kyr said loudly as he hurried to catch up.

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