So, here's the next installment of The Padawan Mission. Thank you again my single reviewer!
Have another Chapter Dedication! Mmm, I decided we were hearing too much about Corrie, and not enough of my other OCs, so here's a Crawen POV chapter.
Crawen pulled his boots on, stamping them onto his feet. He quickly and calmly ran through the sequence of events coming up, as he walked out to greet his master: Master Arrolin in the hall, ready to walk to the Archives for some early research on a mission they had coming up.
"Come, Crawen, we have much to do." the aged human prompted, still slightly suspicious of his Apprentice, despite the early wake up call. He knew that Cra was very good with technology, and if any Padawan could have pulled off as big a technical stunt as that, it would have been him. Seeing him wake up with a jump and a yell, resulting in him grumbling for the rest of the morning, had, however, effectively erased most of that suspicion.
"Yes, Master." Cra replied automatically, speeding up slightly, but otherwise not really paying much attention to the man in front of him as they wove through the corridors and hallways of the Temple. Crawen was focussing on the datapad in his pocket. When his Master had still seemed a little suspicious, Cra had set up his datapad so he could simply press one button when Lolee activated it, and the song, 'Coruscant Clappers', would start to play. He only awaited the buzz from his datapad that would tell him to start. He was also focussing on bubble expanding in his chest as they walked into the corridors. Crawen shook his head sightly, exasperated with himself. His body got nervous. His mind didn't. In his head, he wasn't the least bit apprehensive of the stunt he was about to help pull, but his body seemed convinced to persuade him otherwise.
"Padawan, where are you, you must meet Master Su Bella. He just came back from a mission in the Outer Rim, how are you my friend?" Master Arrolin cheerfully said. Obviously the pair were friends from a while back.
Crawen's heart rate increased and he held back a curse at the unexpected interruption of his thoughts and concentration. He would never forgive himself if he missed his cue. More to the point, the others wouldn't forgive him. Centring himself in the force, Cra took ahold of his runaway nerves, and refrained from shaking his head again. He wished his body was separate from his mind so he could punch it. He wasn't nervous!
He smiled at the Rodian who was facing him.
"I am delighted to meet you, Master Su Bella." he greeted politely.
His Master seemed happy with the pleasantry. "Relak, this is my Padawan: Crawen Tu Darchi."
Crawen bowed slightly, and Master Su Bella smiled at him. "It's my pleasure, Padawan Tu Darchi."
he replied, and he sounded sincere.
Deciding he rather liked this fellow, Crawen folded his hands into his sleeves as the two Jedi chatted amiably. He held the datapad tightly, hidden in the folds of his voluminous Jedi robes as he tried to counter the sweat that was filming his palms. Bloody nerves…He thought venomously. Maybe, at another, less tense time, Crawen could actually hold a proper conversation with Master Su Bella without his body making it very difficult to focus on anything but his body.
Buzz.
The mounting nerves Crawen felt peaked and he was sure his Master must have felt it. He waited a moment, checking his shields were still firmly in place, before stamping down the butterflies in his stomach and calmly pressing the button.
Sound exploded through the hallways.
Crawen looked around, pretending to be shocked, letting his datapad fall into his sleeve, as if he had never been holding it in the first place, his still very nervous body pouring adrenaline through his veins. Pointedly ignoring the offending chemicals, he concentrated on looking surprised. He knew the nerves wouldn't show; his sensible mind made sure of that. He sensed Master Arrolin look over at him, checking the truth of his earlier plea of innocence, and seemed satisfied. Crawen held in a grin. Perfect.
Through the babble of noise in the crowd, he heard two boys break out into song, mimicking the too high voices of the singers of the 'Coruscant Clappers'. They knew every word.
Crawen rolled his eyes. Lolee and Coronarcher. How Lolee had made it from the cupboard to the Hallway in time to sing was a mystery. Crawen blamed the freaky Rakata's speed and physical prowess.
He looked over towards the voices, seeing the expected pair of boys, being stared at by three disgruntled Masters: Master Obi-Wan and Master Mundi; the Masters of the boys, and Master Qui-Gon, who must have just dropped in.
None of them looked overly impressed.
"Crawen, do you happen to know who has this song on their datapad?" Master Arrolin asked, one eyebrow smoothly raised. Master Su Bella seemed to be fascinated by the song. Cra doubted he'd have had much exposure to the popular music of Coruscant in the Outer Rim.
Crawen shook his head. "Master, every sixteen year old on Coruscant has this song."
Master Arrolin sighed and Master Su Bella laughed. "You've got to give it to whoever's done this. Force, they're good."
Crawen hoped his laughter was lost in the song and the chatter. With a smug grin, he gave his body the finger when he knew the Masters were watching. See, nerves, you're superfluous!
He gave his stomach a little punch for good measure, followed by a grimace as his brain caught up with what he'd just done. I've been spending way too much time hanging out with Corrie and Lolee.