Chapter 3

Luke did find he had a fresh perspective on the situation after some time spent catching up on Hutt soap operas and a good night's sleep. After he came out of the refresher, he saw a message waiting for him on his comlink, and he set it playing while he dressed in his school uniform. He wasn't surprised to see it was from Ben.

"Hey, Luke," he said, sounding subdued. "Don't worry about picking me up this morning. I went to the library early to do some study." He paused, fidgeting with his sleeve. "I think it's best if we just don't talk about the shooting contest. Yeah, I know what you're thinking. I was the one who brought it up yesterday. But let's just pretend it isn't happening and … it will all be over soon. Then I'll get my dad back and things will be normal. Right now he's spending all his time researching how to win blaster training simulations and it's driving me crazy. See you at school."

"Sure," Luke said, responding to the message even though Ben couldn't hear him. "We can just not talk about it. Great idea, Ben. Let's see how well that works for you."

As hard as it was to admit, his father had a point. He couldn't control how Ben felt. So maybe he just needed to be patient, difficult as it was, until Ben had got over his initial hurt and was feeling more like talking about it.

Biology was the last class before lunch, and Ms Triseeta had lost none of her enthusiasm for biology project week. Each group was given a topic, and from there, had to design an experiment, gather the data, and then present their results to the class at the end of the week. Their group was handed a topic on the microorganisms involved in fruit decay.

Luke often found himself naturally taking charge of group projects, and the others were happy to let him organise a timeline and tasks. Ophelia was sitting between him and Greein with her arms folded, and steadfastly ignoring Juno, but she agreed to make a start on the research for the project introduction, while Ben designed the experiments with Juno, and Greein calibrated the scanners used for measuring the microorganism levels.

The only problem started when the subject of where they were going to meet outside of class time came up. They did have gaps in their class schedule for study, but none of their timetables aligned, and Ophelia ruled out meeting in the school library after class.

"There are too many annoying thirteen year olds," she said. "You can't even get a study room because they're all in there updating their HoloNet channels."

"So was that an offer to meet at your place, Ophelia?" Greein asked, smirking.

She rolled her eyes. "Only two of you would pass the vetting required to stand on the terrace outside my mansion."

Juno groaned. "Could you be any more of a snob?"

"Okay, okay," Luke said, putting his hands on the table before Ophelia could make a comeback. "Let's meet at the public library."

"There's a public library?" Greein asked. "Where's that?"

"I've heard it's full of homeless people and spice dealers," Juno said, causing Ophelia to look nervous.

Luke sighed. Now would normally be the moment he would share a 'can you believe these people?' look with Ben, but his friend was busy writing up experiment instructions.

"Huh," Greein said. He'd picked up a viewscreen and was attempting to use it to locate the Imperial City public library, but he'd been distracted by a HoloNet news popup. "Sunny Sy Vesta has been kidnapped!"

Instantly, there were five people hovering behind Greein, trying to see the viewscreen over his shoulder. Even Ben had looked up from his notes.

"Are you serious?!" Juno said. "From where?"

"Imperial City," Greein said. "Not far from his hotel."

"Ha!" Luke said. "That's the best news I've heard all week! I hope they keep him."

Greein gave him a confused look, and then his gaze shifted to Ophelia. She pushed aside her chair and ran for the classroom door, dodging past the teacher.

"Oh," Luke said, as Juno raised a furry eyebrow at him. "That was … insensitive."

"Not even I would say something that low, Luke," Juno said. "She's still not over him dumping her."

"He did not dump her," Greein said. "The Enquirer said she ended it."

"Her father's PR agent paid the Enquirer to say that," Juno said.

"I better go check that she's all right," Luke said, feeling even worse. As if recent events didn't already make him feel like a terrible human being.

Ms Triseeta was understanding when he explained what was going on, and Luke soon found Ophelia in an empty classroom nearby. She was pacing up and down while talking to a holo of a Balosar man who was dressed like a bodyguard. The call ended as Luke tapped on the open door, and she didn't yell at him to get out, so he had to assume he was safe to approach.

"Sorry about what I said. I didn't think."

"I just called his head bodyguard," Ophelia said, still pacing. "I still had his frequency. He said he went outside to meet some girl and told all the security staff to stay in the lobby. Then he just vanished. They thought he had gone off on his own, but then ISB received a ransom message."

"They want money?" Luke said, coming further into the classroom.

"He hadn't seen it, but he said he'd heard there were political demands as well." She stopped beside the window, wrapping her arms around her front.

"Well … his parents are really rich, right?" Luke said, carefully. "They'll probably just pay the ransom and get him back quickly. Hopefully."

"Maybe," she admitted. She put her hand on her forehead, cupping her fingers around her eyes.

Luke came closer, hearing the sound of sirens in the distance. Ophelia glanced up, just as Luke pointed towards the sky. "Troop transports. They must be calling in the military to help."

"I can't believe this," Ophelia said, her voice sounding pained. "The week started so normal."

"Who is this boy?" Vader asked, staring at the holo image on the Emperor's desk. He was reasonably certain he had never seen him before.

"Really, Lord Vader," the Emperor said. "You spend too much time on Mustafar. Ask your son."

"The palace comm lines have been overloaded with his legions of adoring fans demanding we recall the entire army to Coruscant and search every level until he is found," Mas Amedda said, from his seat in front of the desk. "Does that answer your question?"

"A holovid actor?" Vader suggested.

Before the Grand Vizier could answer, the doors into the Emperor's office opened, and a woman entered, dressed in the uniform of the senior members of the Imperial Security Bureau. She stopped at attention beside Mas Amedda's seat and bowed to the Emperor.

"Your highness." When she straightened up, she acknowledged Vader and the Grand Vizier as well. "My lord. Your excellency."

"Welcome, Commander Shabe. I appreciate your prompt arrival."

Commander Shabe was the third ranking member of the leadership team at ISB, and her superiors were busy preparing a full analysis of the situation to present to the ruling council. But Commander Shabe had been dispatched with a copy of the ransom demands, under full security escort.

She inserted the data tape into the main projector in the center of the room, and a distorted image of a modified Clone Wars era droid appeared.

"To the tyrants and sorcerers who call themselves the rulers of the galaxy," the droid started, in a largely emotionless tone. "We have taken Sunny Sy Vesta. We will take more of your children if our demands are not met. You will bring the following weapons to our agent in the Icarthi asteroid belt."

The droid then detailed ten specific makes and models of blasters, thermal detonators, and melee weapons.

"We will also require twenty million credits," the droid continued. "When you are ready to agree to our demands, you will communicate your submission by lowering the Empire's imposter flags above the Imperial Palace. Then we will send you another message. If you do not respond in a timely manner, expect more of your children to be taken."

The image flickered once, and then disappeared.

"The Icarthi asteroid belt," Vader repeated. "The home of the rumored Liberator base."

Commander Shabe nodded. "We are not ready to state anything with certainty, my lord, but it does seem to suggest they are behind this."

The Emperor chuckled to himself, and then stood up, facing the window looking out over the city.

"I find myself feeling a certain … admiration for their cunning. Snatching a beloved young celebrity off the streets of Imperial City? Demanding we signal our agreement to their demands by lowering the flags? They show a commendable understanding of politics."

Vader could not agree, but he didn't offer his thoughts out loud. This talk of kidnapping more children made him consider the possibility of Luke being in danger. The very thought of it made him wish he knew exactly where he could find these vile insurgents. This darkening of his mood caused the Emperor to smile in his direction.

"Yes, my friend, I know you would admire them more if they challenged us openly. But what hope would they have of winning such a confrontation? Yet this … this will require some strategy."

Luke was just about to suggest to Ophelia he could call the security team at the palace, to see if they knew anything, when someone walking past the classroom stopped and quickly reversed.

"Luke. Ophelia. Thank the Force—I've been looking for you."

It was Miss Silva, the principal.

"Did you hear about the kidnapping?" Luke said, gesturing out the window.

"Yes, and the ISB education office has requested all children of government leaders return to their place of residence for the time being. This is just a precaution—there is no need for alarm."

"What, right now?" Luke said. "Can't I just go home after school?"

"Yes, now. Ophelia, your chauffeur is already waiting."

Luke could only sigh. The principal walked beside him all the way to the assembly hall, where a collection of students had been gathered, complete with security droids and teachers standing watch. Apparently he wasn't even allowed to fly his own speeder back to the palace.

Fortunately, he didn't have to wait long before Miss Silva came to tell him his ride was here. He expected to see Lev in the reception, or perhaps one of the other palace assistants, but instead it was Commander Julius with two royal guards.

"Hi, Cupcake," she said. "You've managed to get the afternoon off, huh?"

"I think I'd rather stay in school," Luke said, walking quickly towards the elevators. He didn't want the other students seeing the royal guards, and they weren't exactly discrete. "This is an overreaction."

"ISB wouldn't order this unless it was justified," Commander Julius said. "They haven't released all the details yet, so we just have to trust."

Luke grumbled all the way to the landing pad, but Commander Julius ignored him, and kept scanning the area like she expected a kidnapper to jump out of nowhere. Luke sighed louder when they passed his own prized speeder. It was a sixteenth birthday present from his father, and just the thought of it having to spend the night on the school landing pad was too much. Perhaps he could sneak back later and get it.

"One of the troopers can bring it back," Commander Julius said, putting a hand on his back to gently move him on.

"I can't trust anyone with—" Luke broke off as he saw the two stormtroopers standing in front of the armoured Imperial speeder. The one on the right was Robi. Well, considering he'd borrowed his blaster, he supposed he could let him borrow his speeder. He felt in his pocket for the key, and then held it out. "Here, Robi. It's the yellow one parked in the middle. I've done a lot of modifications on the acceleration, so it needs a light touch."

"I'll take good care of her," Robi said, giving him a salute.

Commander Julius smiled as she guided him into the back seat of the speeder. "I won't even ask how you knew his name."

"Probably for the best."

It was only a short flight across the city to the Imperial Palace, and Commander Julius landed the speeder in the underground hangar not far from her office. The palace itself was a buzz of activity, with officers wandering between meeting rooms and extra guards stationed everywhere. Luke's first thought was to locate Lev and find out what he knew, but Commander Julius discouraged him.

"They're fielding endless questions from the media and government employees wanting to know what's going on," she said. "Then someone leaked their comlink frequency to some Sunny Sy Vesta fanclub and the comm channels were overloaded. The techs are trying to add capacity."

"Where's my father?" Luke asked, walking beside her down the corridor. "Would he know more?"

"He's been with the Emperor since the news broke," she said. "I'll send him a message to say you're now safely in the palace."

Luke was just about to ask if Lieutenant Hicks had more Choco Pebbles today, when Captain Jarnet came out of the royal guard wing, dressed in their off duty uniform.

"Oh, Luke," he said. "You had to leave school?"

"Orders from ISB," Commander Julius said.

"I sent Ben a message, and he said only certain students had to go home. I wonder if some specific threats have been made."

Luke felt an odd feeling in his gut at the words. What if whoever had kidnapped Sunny had said they'd come after him too? Or Ophelia?

Commander Julius shook her head. "I just hope they find them soon. What kind of sleemo threatens children?" She rested her hand on Luke's shoulder for a moment, and then turned to enter the security office. As soon as she was gone, Ben's father turned back to Luke and spoke in a conspiratorial tone.

"Do you want to practice? I'm just here on reserve, and my actual shift doesn't start for two hours. The firing range will be empty."

"Sure," Luke said, deciding it would be a good distraction, if nothing else.

It was well into the evening by the time Vader left the upper levels of the palace and went in search of Luke. Two royal guards stood on either side of his son's bedroom door, and he dismissed them as he approached. He didn't normally allow guards in this area, preferring some sense of normality for Luke, but this was not a time for being lax with security.

Luke had his dinner on a tray and was absorbed in some HoloNet entertainment when he opened the door. He switched it off at the sight of him.

"Hi. What's going on? Was it that Liberator group?"

Vader breathed through a couple of cycles, and then gestured to his son to stand up. "Come and join me in the conference room."

Luke brought his food with him, but seemed more interested in learning the details of the ransom message than eating.

"So did they say they'd kidnap me?" Luke asked, taking a seat in front of the tray. "Is that why I had to leave school?"

"They did not threaten any specific individuals. But they did announce their intent to take further hostages if their demands were not met."

"What are their demands?"

"Weapons and credits."

"So … Sunny's parents can just provide all that, right? And then they'll let him go?"

"No. Some of the weapons are not for sale. They are manufactured in secure facilities only for use by the military. And they are clear they consider this ransom deal to be with the Empire, not this boy's parents."

"Did they say they were looking after him?" Luke asked, running his fork through his vegetables.

"They gave no indication." Vader glanced at Luke. "Who is this boy? I have attended hours of meetings today and I still don't understand why he is of any interest to a group of insurgents."

"I don't know why he's famous either," Luke said. "But he has a lot of fans. His father is the lead singer of some ancient pop band. It was probably popular when you were my age. He launched his own fashion line on the weekend."

His son ate a mouthful of food, and then added, "I met him at the mall. He's a sleemo. Reminds me of a Hutt, if Hutts were good-looking and had a lot of people wanting to date them."

"So you would be in favor of creating a holo showing his murder by the Liberator Army, and then assassinating him if he should resurface?"

Luke's eyes widened. "What kind of terrible plan is that?"

"It is one of the ISB proposals the Emperor is considering."

"Don't let him do it!"

"The Liberator Army would lose all public support, which will save lives in the long run."

Luke frowned. "No. Imagine how his family will feel. How would you feel if it was me?"

Vader unconsciously let his fingers clench into a fist at the idea. A datapad on the table began to shake.

"Why don't you just find out where he's being held and then you can go and rescue him with a bunch of troops?" Luke suggested, hastily changing the subject.

"We have been hunting the Liberator Army for weeks now. The galaxy is a large place."

"But you must have clues. Did you analyse the comlink signal from the ransom message? Any security recordings from the area where he was taken? What you need is a detective … like T4 the detective droid from that holovid show."

"ISB has many forensic droids conducting a detailed investigation. It will remain to be seen if they can find anything of use."

"If not … maybe you could lure them out of hiding somehow." Luke suddenly jumped up, pointing at him. "Wait! I've got a brilliant idea!"

Vader stared at him, feeling the Force ripple with his son's excitement. "Before you tell me, think carefully. Is it really a good idea?"

"Yes! You said they'll kidnap more people if you don't give in to their demands, right?"

"Yes."

"So … lay a trap. Get someone really famous to walk around without any bodyguards, just like Sunny did. But have them carry a tracking device. They'll lead you straight to their base."

"A risky plan. What if the kidnappers have enough competence to scan their victim for any sign of a tracking device?"

"Just make sure it will only activate once they're at the base."

"I find it unlikely any person of any fame would risk themselves in such a manner."

"I guess," Luke said, looking down. It wasn't until he saw his own reflection in the shiny table surface that he saw the obvious answer. "What if it was me?"

"Luke—"

"No, I'm serious. I wouldn't even need a tracker. I could just use our bond to tell you where I was."

"No."

"But—"

"Under no circumstances will I use you as bait to lure these criminals. You will not leave the palace until this situation is resolved."

Luke sighed. "Come on. The school has lots of security droids. I'm not wandering around alleyways alone."

"It is too dangerous. You would be a highly valuable prisoner."

"Isn't that true every other day of the year?"

"This is not up for discussion."

Luke frowned, and then picked up his tray. "Well, I better go back to my cell."

"Son—"

Luke was already walking out the door.

There were more meetings between the Imperial ruling council and ISB the following morning, full of eager officers presenting on the progress made during the night. None of it was of any real value, and Vader found himself moving away from the table to stare out the window. The fanclub of this vapid celebrity had taken up residence outside the palace, holding signs and holographic projections, urging the Emperor to save their idol. The palace guard were allowing their presence for now, but stormtroopers stood watch, ready to move them on if there was any sign of trouble.

The Emperor, after a night of meditation, had chosen to hold off on the more drastic solution to their problem. ISB had what they described as a promising lead on a potential location of the Liberator base, and the Devastator was due to be dispatched to investigate the site. Vader would normally have been on board, but he was wary of leaving Luke on Coruscant right now. His son was still in a sulk this morning, and would not respond to the morning greeting he had sent over their link.

If only Luke was mature enough to realize how lenient he was with his personal security. He had never insisted on bodyguards and security escorts, only that he remained within the normally safe confines of Imperial City. Ever since he'd obtained his speeder license, he'd been pushing at that boundary too, resulting in a few pointed discussions about rules. Perhaps he'd been too lax.

The sound of shifting chairs made him turn his head slightly, and he recognized the head of the public relations department entering the room. What followed was a dry series of graphs analysing HoloNet activity and opinion polls since the news of the kidnapping broke. He didn't bother to turn away from the window until he heard the word 'parents'.

"... we are launching a campaign to reassure parents that a kidnapping of this nature is an extremely rare occurrence. Mr Vesta had left his security guards against their advice when this abduction occurred. As long as the young people in Imperial City take sensible precautions for their safety, there is no need for them to change their routines. For this reason, we think it would show leadership if all high-ranking members of the government made a point of letting their children be seen in public."

"Lord Vader," the Emperor said, speaking for the first time in the last twenty minutes. "Where is your son today?"

"He is in the palace, as per current ISB advice," Vader said.

"ISB will update their guidelines this afternoon," an ISB commander said. "In light of the extra security arrangements made by schools and the Imperial City local police."

"Good," the Emperor said. "Let life in Imperial City return to normal as soon as possible. And perhaps these kidnappers might reveal themselves, if targets are readily available."

Vader felt a rush of protectiveness at the words. Luke would not be used as bait. If he must return to school, he would send him with a security escort, regardless of his protests.

Once the meeting was finally over, he went in search of his son, feeling the need to ensure he wasn't attempting to sneak out of the palace. His sense of Luke led him to the library, where he was settled in front of a computer at a study desk. He appeared to be talking to someone, but as Vader approached, he quickly pressed a few buttons and then switched off the screen.

"What are you doing?" he asked, glancing at Artoo. The droid beeped in greeting.

"I was attending my biology class," Luke said. "Our teacher has set up a holo projector because so many of us are at home today."

"Then why did you turn it off?"

"I don't want my classmates catching sight of you!"

"I have no wish to see them, either," Vader said. "But you will be pleased to know you can return to school tomorrow."

"Oh? You've found the Liberator Army?"

"No. But the Emperor wants life to return to normal in the city. However, you will need a security escort." He raised a hand as Luke began to protest. "No arguments."

"But the school already says they have security in every classroom now!"

"What about on the way to and from school?"

"I can fly myself as usual. No one can kidnap me out of midair."

"They can. But they will not, as you will have a security escort."

As Luke opened his mouth again, Vader summoned his best parental tone. The one he used when it was vital to win a battle of wills.

"If you argue one more time, then I will fly you to school myself. I will also get out of the speeder and hand you a packed lunch in front of your classmates. Then I will refer to you by a nickname when saying goodbye."

"Okay, okay!" Luke said, standing up and raising his hands. "Security escort. Fine." He dodged past Vader and moved towards the door, causing Artoo to trail after him.

"Where are you going?" Vader asked. "I thought you were attending classes."

"They're recording them, so I'll catch up later. I'm going to see if Ben's father is here for his afternoon shift. I feel like shooting at something."

Despite being given the 'all clear' from ISB, Luke found his classes were still diminished in size the following day. His math class had at least seven students attending via holo, which resulted in some antics with people purposely waving their hands through the holographic heads of their classmates. Ophelia and Greein didn't show up at all, which made progressing their biology project difficult. Ms Triseeta had allowed an extension due to the current disruptions, but insisted that their experiment and data collection should be completed before tomorrow. Ben was busy refining the experiments due to their newly downsized project team, while Juno was sorting out the equipment.

"I'll message Greein after class," Luke said. "I have his comlink frequency somewhere. Do you have Ophelia's?"

"She's probably blocked me," Juno said.

Luke sighed. "Well, try anyway." He hesitated, looking over all their plans, and then said to Ben, "You've changed it so one person is able to do the experiments."

"Yeah, I can take the equipment home tonight and do it," Ben said, in a neutral tone. He still wasn't entirely back to normal, but had been civil enough.

"No, Ben, you've done a lot of work already, and this will take hours," Luke said. "Maybe you two should just come over to the palace and we'll set up the experiments together. I'll let them run overnight with the scanners on automatic and bring them back in tomorrow."

"The palace?" Juno said, her long, pointed ears pricking up.

"Yes, I might need to arrange a security pass for you if you don't already have one."

She smiled. "No, I don't already have one. I'm not Ophelia. How long does it take to get a security pass?"

"Well … one of the senior officers in the security team is picking me up after school," Luke said. "It's a silly security escort because of the kidnapping. Maybe she can ask you the vetting questions on the way over."

Commander Julius was willing to go along with this plan, and she let Luke and Ben sit in the back with Robi while she went through the temporary pass application on her datapad in the seat in front. The armored transport speeder was long and could fit around ten people all up, although the royal guards and stormtroopers took up extra room with their armor.

They landed in the large hangar bay under the administration floor, and soon found an empty meeting room to commandeer for their project. Juno was suitably impressed with the serving droids who would bring any snacks she requested.

After an hour's work, they had all the experiments setup in a row on a large tray, and Juno had calibrated the scanner to take all the initial readings. Unfortunately, Ophelia had been working on the data presentation part of the project, and they debated whether to wait and see if she'd completed any of it, or start it again from scratch.

"Ophelia's not even replying," Juno said, slamming her comlink down. "I've tried three different frequencies!"

"Well, Greein says he'll be back tomorrow," Luke said, checking his messages. "He says if we can give him all the raw data tomorrow, he can create all the graph holos."

"Great," Juno said. "What's the bet Ophelia comes back at the last minute and just claims all the credit for our work?"

"Maybe Ophelia's really upset about Sunny," Ben mumbled, fidgeting with his lightpen.

"I thought they broke up months ago," Luke said, reaching for a handful of Cosmo Crunchies from the bowl in the center of the table. "I didn't even realize she was that into him. I didn't know Ophelia actually liked anybody."

Juno smiled in a sad way. "No, she was definitely into him. He's why we're no longer friends."

"Oh?" Luke said. "What happened?"

"We've known each other since we were ten, back when my mom was a senior assistant for her father. She used to tell me everything … things she'd never tell her other friends. But everything changed when she met that guy. You know Ophelia … she's normally really picky about who she considers worthy of her notice. But after she met Sunny, she wouldn't talk to any of us. Her weekends were full of his social appearances, and she'd take time off school to be with him. Then it was all over and she came back, expecting me to be a shoulder to cry on after she treated me like I was unworthy for three months. I said, 'You know what, Phee? I'm over this. I'm over you.'." She shrugged. "She had other friends who came flocking back to her side. Armith was just happy to have her back. Good luck to them."

"How do you know he dumped her?" Ben asked.

"Because her father told me. He was worried about her during the weeks after and wanted me to talk to her." She shrugged. "I would have if she just apologised for pretending like I wasn't worth anything."

"To be fair, she does treat everyone like they're unworthy," Luke said.

"I know," Juno said. "But if someone doesn't tell her they won't accept it anymore, then she'll never learn."

"Did you ever meet Sunny?" Luke asked.

Juno shook her head. "She never introduced him to anyone. Refused to let her father or brothers meet him, even."

"I have," Luke said. "It was … weird."

He proceeded to tell Ben and Juno exactly what had happened at the mall, and they both looked horrified when he reached the part about his autograph message.

"Wow, that's … scary," Juno said, frowning.

"The worst thing is, I saw Parayla on the landing pad this morning, and now she's wearing makeup to disguise her natural skin pattern," he said. "And she still has a picture of him sewn into her school pack."

"You should have taken a picture of it and sent it to the Enquirer," Juno said.

"I thought about that … but they'd only go after Parayla and I didn't want to risk that. Or I'd get death threats from Sunny's fans."

"Did you tell Ophelia about that?" Ben asked, speaking for the first time since he'd started the story.

"No. It seems like the wrong time now." Luke paused to look from Ben to Juno. "I mean … the guy could be dead."

The mood had become so somber, Luke was just going to suggest they call it a day on the biology project when the door-comm chimed.

"Someone order more food?" Luke asked, pushing his chair back to stand up.

The other two shook their heads, and Luke walked over to press the door release. Commander Julius was on the other side, accompanied by a girl who looked like a younger version of her, except for the hair. Commander Julius kept her hair braided into a bun below her hat, while the girl's surrounded her head like a big halo of tight black curls. She smiled shyly at Luke.

"Oh, hi," he said, grinning back. He stepped back from the door to allow them through. "You must be the junior cadet three time shooting champion?"

"Aunty!" she said, looking up at Commander Julius with a mortified expression.

"Calm down, Curly-top," she said, putting an arm around her niece as she guided her into the room. "Luke, this is Tesa. She just arrived on Coruscant this afternoon and normally I'd take her out, but with things the way they are, I'm stuck at work for another hour. I've just got to pop upstairs for a bit, and I thought she might find you and your friends better company than Hicks."

"Of course, come on in," Luke said, gesturing to the table. "We have lots of snacks and … uh, a biology project?"

She laughed. "That's fine."

Commander Julius patted her on the shoulder and then left the room, and Luke gestured to the others. "This is Ben and Juno."

They said hello, and soon they were all chatting about the military academy where Tesa went to school, and how long she was on Coruscant for. At some stage, she picked up Ben's datapad and began reading his experiment notes.

"Huh," she said. "I remember doing this project a few months back."

"Did you keep your experiment results?" Juno asked.

"No. But your experiments look better than the ones my group came up with anyway." She glanced at Ben. "Did you design these?"

He looked down in a shy way and nodded.

"Ben's really good at science," Luke noted.

"It's my favorite subject," Tesa said. "I'm thinking about getting into the science corps after I graduate."

"Not the frontline special ops?" Luke suggested.

She smiled. "My aunt's stories put me off that. And I've drifted away from the shooting in the last year." She shrugged. "I don't think the galaxy needs more blasters. I might have good aim, but I'd rather discover things than shoot them."

Ben gave her a look like this was a revelation. Tesa noticed him staring, and smiled at him. "I hear you're in the contest, Ben?"

"Uh ... " He glanced back at the table, and then said, "My father … is still deciding whether to enter or not."

That was still the official story.

"My aunt takes it way too seriously," Tesa said, rolling her eyes. "Some kind of feud between her and the royal guards."

"Yes, I heard the whole story," Luke said. "They all need to calm down, if you ask me."

"Maybe they can't calm down because people keep bringing it up?" Ben said, in a testy tone.

"Okay," Luke said, raising his eyebrows. That wasn't what he had meant at all. "Uh … did you try the Cosmo Crunchies, Tesa?"

He offered her the bowl, and she took a couple, seeming not to have noticed Ben's change in mood.

"So you take physics as well?" she asked Ben, scrolling up on his datapad. "I really like chemistry."

"I have to wait until next semester to take chemistry," Ben said, subdued. "Our school specialises in preparing students for government and business leadership, so you have to take economics and political studies."

"Did you really get 100% in this math test?" she said, smiling at the datapad. "I thought I was the only person nerdy enough to do that."

"Uh, let's just put that back in my bag," Ben said, slipping the datapad away from her.

"Ben is super-smart," Juno said, smirking at Ben's embarrassment. "He's a scholarship student."

Ben quickly swept all his belongings into his bag. "I better go," he said shortly. "See you at school. Nice to meet you, Tesa."

He was already out the door just as she said, "Bye, Ben."

"Stars, I hope he didn't think I was suggesting he was a charity case," Juno said, looking distressed. "I'm not Ophelia. I didn't mean it like that."

"Don't mind him, he's just been … really sensitive lately," Luke said, frowning at the door. "It's nothing to do with you."

"Is he single?" Tesa asked.

"Yes. Why?" Luke asked, confused.

"Luke," Juno sighed.

Tesa shrugged, smiling. "Not every day I meet a cute, smart boy. Does he like girls?"

"Oh," Luke said, feeling dense for not understanding earlier. No wonder Tesa had been asking Ben so many questions. "He does like girls."

"I'll give you my comlink frequency," Tesa said. "Just tell him to call me if he'd like to go out while I'm here."

"Will do," Luke said, feeling a sudden hope. This might be just the thing to tempt Ben out of his sulk.