'ello, peoples of the earth!
First, I'd like to say thank you to katierosefun, Lux's Sister (guest) CaylithTheGolden, and Panda (guest) for reviewing. And I would also like to guarantee that the chapters in this story will be much longer and the character rants much shorter than they were in Eyes Open. (See chapter below for proof.)
Anyway, I present to you the second chapter of I Know Places! Hope y'all enjoy! :)
Back at the Temple, Kira and Obi-Wan were summoned for a debriefing at the Council chambers almost as soon as they stepped off the ship. Kira was thinking about the nice hot shower she would take to clean up when Obi-Wan's comlink went off.
Sighing, Kira knew her shower and the clean, cozy feeling that came with it would have to wait.
Obi-Wan stepped away for a moment to answer the call, leaving Kira on her own in the hangar. She bobbed up and down on the balls of her feet while she observed the crowd of troopers rushing about, eager to report to their superior officers so they could get some rest.
Obi-Wan returned after a minute or two. Kira spoke up before he could say a word. "Does the Council want to see us?" she asked.
Obi-Wan nodded. "It'll be quick, Kira. It's just a debriefing, that's all."
Kira fought the urge to snort.
The Master and Padawan walked together to the Council chambers and waited in the outer hall until admitted inside. Kira followed Obi-Wan into the open chamber and stood next to him in the middle of the room, facing the circle of Council members. She had to stop herself from squirming under the elder Masters' gazes.
Obi-Wan began to speak about their mission on Geonosis and its completion, and Kira let her mind wander. She was never spoken to in these meetings, so she never really paid much attention. Besides, the quieter she was, the less was spoken, and the faster the meeting could conclude. And right then, Kira really wanted that shower.
Finally, after what seemed like an endless amount of mindless babble - really, who needed to talk about the Senate's opinion of the outcome when everything had already been said and done? - to Kira, she and Obi-Wan were dismissed. She couldn't help letting out a long sigh of relief as they stepped into the turbolift.
Obi-Wan glanced at his Padawan. "What's troubling you, Kira?" he asked, even though he'd figured out over time that she despised Council meetings.
"The fact that I haven't had a chance to clean up since we got here," Kira answered, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
Obi-Wan cracked a smile at that. "Well, you'll get that chance in a moment. Just save some of the hot water for me."
Kira feigned a look of innocence. "Now when have I ever used all the hot water, Master? You wound me!"
Obi-Wan simply raised an eyebrow. Kira hated when he did that. It made her feel like he knew something she didn't. "Fine, you win. I'll save some of the water," she said, if only to get him to drop the smug face of his.
"Thank you."
Kira rolled her eyes as the turbolift opened. She stepped out and made a dash for their quarters, already unhooking her utility belt.
True to her word, Kira did leave some hot water (although she wasn't sure exactly how long that hot water would last) for her Master, who promptly entered the refresher when she was finished. Then she was out the door.
At the moment, Kira was going to a place she knew quite well - the section of the Temple where the Bergruutfa clan resided - to see her friend Cadena. They'd met during Kira's days as a youngling and bonded during a skirmish with General Grievous himself. Kira had been picked to be a Padawan shortly after that, but Cadena was still waiting for someone to choose her. Kira was certain it wouldn't be long.
Another friend of Kira's, a boy named Caleb Dume, was also a member of the Bergruutfa clan. He had arrived at the Temple soon after Kira had, and he'd become a close friend to both Kira and Cadena. Shy at first, Caleb had quickly warmed up to his surroundings and turned out to be quite the conversationalist. He, Cadena and Kira had had some interesting discussions concerning recent Senate debates; they'd also had many rounds of sparring with training sabers. Of course, it was always nice to take a break from politics and practice to play the occasional prank.
Kira smiled to herself as she approached the Bergruutfa sector. She could hear the voices of her former clanmates as they chattered, laughed, or sparred. From the sounds of it, the sparring pair consisted of Suki and Garen.
A lone figure emerged into the hall, and Kira sped up, for it was Cadena that she saw. The two girls embraced, both talking at once until Kira insisted Cadena go first.
"Fine," Cadena said with a huff. "How was Geonosis?"
Kira wrinkled her nose. "Terrible. And that's just the planet itself. Don't even get me started on the bugs' stench." She thought for a moment. "Although, I will admit the sunset was nice."
Cadena nodded. "Ahsoka told me she'd been to Geonosis before, and that if she never goes again it'll be too soon."
Kira laughed. "So how are you? Any Masters got their eye on you yet?"
Cadena shook her head. "None that I can see. Ahsoka did say that she thinks Anakin's almost finished with her training, so he should be ready for a new Padawan soon. Maybe I can fill that hole."
"You never know. Now where's Caleb?"
"He didn't believe me when I told him I sensed you outside. I've been getting better at that, by the way." Cadena had been working on reaching out and sensing others' presences with the Force for a while.
"Good!" Kira grinned. "Should we get him?"
"I guess." Cadena stuck her head inside the training room. "Hey, Caleb! There's someone here to see you!"
"Who?" Caleb stepped out of the room. "Oh, hey, Kiki!"
Kira rolled her eyes at the nickname. Even though Caleb was only a few months older than she was, he still played the role of a big brother, teasing her and calling her nicknames. Kiki was his favorite one.
"I told you," said Cadena with a smirk.
Caleb waved his hand in a shooing motion at Cadena before stepping forward and sweeping Kira into a great big bear hug. "The entire clan was worried when Cadena said you'd been shipped off to Geonosis," Caleb said as he finally let go. "Those bugs are rumored to be formidable opponents."
"Yeah, well, they aim better than droids. They pose more of a challenge."
"It tickles me every time I remember that the Geonosians are the ones that make the battle droids," said Cadena. "I mean, as you said, they're great at aiming. You'd think they'd give the droids better programming."
"Well, thank the Force they don't," Kira said. "Has anything new happened since I've been gone?"
Caleb shrugged. "Well, there's some new debate going down in the Senate, but other than that, no."
"Yeah, but that debate sounds pretty serious, especially since it involves a core world," Cadena put in. "I'm surprised the Order hasn't gotten involved."
"Well, I'm glad they haven't," said Kira. "It's never pretty when the Senate involve themselves in military matters – or when the Jedi get tangled up in political matters."
"Let's forget about politics," Caleb suggested, "and go get some dinner instead. I'm absolutely starving, and I bet Kira is, too."
Kira certainly couldn't argue with that, and neither could her growling stomach.
Later, Kira unintentionally met up with Ahsoka in the Room of a Thousand Fountains, where she was winding down before bed. Ahsoka had grown since the last time Kira had seen her, and Kira supposed she must've grown as well.
The two girls chattered for a while, Ahsoka recounting a recent mission on Miralia - also expressing her surprise that the Council had sent her and Anakin instead of Luminara Unduli and her Padawan, Barriss - and Kira telling her story of Geonosis and comparing the stench to the stench of the trash chutes she and Obi-Wan had once had to crawl through in order to avoid being detected by Separatist scanners.
When Kira asked what Ahsoka was doing the next day in hopes that they could organize a sparring session, she was answered with a snort. "Sorry, Kira, but Skyguy wants to take me to a Senate debate tomorrow. He thinks it'll help me become more diplomatic, never mind that we always end up using aggressive negotiations anyway." She studied Kira for a moment. "You know, you should ask Obi-Wan to accompany you to a Senate session one day. Those things put me to sleep, but you might like them."
Kira tilted her head in thought. "Master Kenobi's been wanting me to study up on galactic politics recently. What better place to start than the Senate?"
Ahsoka's face brightened. "You could ask Senator Amidala to help, too. She's a good teacher."
"I'll consider it," said Kira. "I've heard lots about her, and it'll be nice to finally meet her."
After more discussion, both girls noticed the fading light outside, said their goodbyes, and went their separate ways. Kira headed back to the quarters she shared with Obi-Wan while Ahsoka went in the direction of the training rooms, probably to spar with Anakin.
When Kira arrived at the quarters, she quietly opened the door and went to the refresher to change into her sleeping clothes. She peeked in the kitchenette on her way to find Obi-Wan making tea.
Kira quickly changed and grabbed her holopad before making her way into the kitchenette. Obi-Wan looked up from his kettle when she entered. "Ah, there you are," he said, just as the kettle started to whistle. He took it off the burner and poured the boiling water into two cups.
Kira sat up a little straighter. "Did you need me for something, Master?"
Obi-Wan shook his head. "No, but I did need to tell you that tomorrow we're heading to the Senate. It's about time you observed a debate." He dumped a tea bag in each cup and brought the cups to the table.
"Well, that saves me some breath," Kira said, accepting the cup Obi-Wan handed to her. "Ahsoka suggested that I ask you to take me to see a debate."
"This is Ahsoka we're talking about?" Obi-Wan asked, not without surprise that his former apprentice's Padawan had made such a suggestion.
Kira nodded. "Mm-hm. She also said that Senate meetings put her to sleep."
"Now that sounds more like the Ahsoka we know," Obi-Wan remarked. He took a sip of his tea.
Kira did the same to find that the tea was a little weak for her taste. She put her cup back down. "What's the gist of the debate anyways? Cadena and Caleb mentioned it earlier, but they didn't give me any details."
"It concerns Humbarine," Obi-Wan said.
"A core world."
"Yes. As you know, the Separatists have been attempting to capture that world, particularly because of its renowned shipbuilding yards and oil wells. If the Separatists can capture Humbarine, they will also have a base from which to attack other core worlds," Obi-Wan explained.
Kira nodded to show she understood. She'd read about the resources of Humbarine when she'd been studying the core worlds.
"Humbarine has sustained much damage over time," Obi-Wan continued, "and their situation is getting worse. What the Senate is trying to decide is whether to send more clones to Humbarine or if Humbarine itself is a lost cause."
Kira frowned at that. "Since Humbarine is a core world, it should be protected. Debates are a waste of time if the situation is critical. Shouldn't the Republic send a Jedi to help?" She tried her tea again and drank more than a sip this time.
"You would think so," Obi-Wan said. "However, instead of allowing the Grand Army and the Order to handle military situations, the Senate prefers to involve itself in these matters. So now we must wait and see what the Senate decides."
Kira finished off her tea. "Maybe I'll have a better understanding of it all after the debate," she said.
"Yes, but at the moment, you need to get some sleep." Obi-Wan stood from his chair.
Kira turned to drop her cup in the small sink, then followed her Master to the bedroom. "Is it really necessary for me to go to sleep now, Master? It's not even 2200 yet."
"It is, my young Padawan. I can tell that our mission on Geonosis has drained you quite a bit." Obi-Wan turned out the lights. "And try to sleep in tomorrow, Kira. No getting up before dawn."
"Fine." Kira pulled back the blankets on her bed and looked up to see Obi-Wan heading out the door. "Where are you going?"
Obi-Wan turned around. "I need to speak to Anakin. I'll be back in a few minutes."
"Okay," Kira said. She slid into bed and pulled the blankets to her chin.
"Don't wait up, young one. Good night."
"Good night, Master," Kira replied.
When Kira heard the door close, she turned over and stared out the window at the speeder traffic rushing by. For some reason, watching the night lights and traffic of Coruscant seemed to calm her down.
It suffices to say that a few minutes later when Obi-Wan returned, he found his Padawan fast asleep under her blankets, worn out from battles and bewildered from political discussions.
As I believe in giving credit to those that deserve it, I will be giving the credit of these OCs to those who created them. Thank you for allowing me to use them!
Suki - snips1212
Garen - Venator88
Cadena - katierosefun
By the way, Caleb Dume is not mine, nor does he belong to anyone else on FanFiction. If you Google him, maybe you can find out who he is. *evil smirk*
Kira: Are you done yet?
Me: *giggling* Sure, Kira.
Kira: You are much too excited about this idea of yours.
Me: I don't care! *rolls around on bed laughing*
Obi-Wan: *walks in* Oh dear. Another idea?
Kira: Oh, she got this one a long time ago, Master.
Me: AND MY PLANS ARE COMING TO FRUITION! MWUAHAHA!
Obi-Wan: Amy, you would do well to calm down.
Me: *cackling turns to hiccups* O - hic! - kay, fine. Bring in the others. Hic!
Kira: *looks out* You can come in now!
Ahsoka and Cadena: *walks in*
Me: So, we now have - hic! - Ahsoka and Cadena - hic! - on the show! Wel - hic! - come!
Cadena: Thanks. Um, are you okay?
Kira: She's fine. Just got a case of the hiccups.
Ahsoka: You know, I've seen that look before. Another idea?
Obi-Wan: Unfortunately.
Me: Kira - hic! - do the review notice!
Kira: *sputters* What!? Why me? I did it the last time?
Me: Because if you - hic! - don't, I'll send you to the deep - hic! - dark, creepy places in my brain.
All four: *shudders*
Kira: If you liked it, hated it, or wanted to light it up and watch it burn, please review, or Amy will send you to the deep, dark, creepy places in her brain. And trust me, you don't want to go there.
Me: Nice - hic! - touch. May the Force - hic! - be with you, every - hic! - one!
Ahsoka: It's really hard to take you seriously when you have the hiccups.
Me: -_- Shut - hic! - up.
Ahsoka: *shrugs* Just saying.