Alright! Sorry for the delay, guys! I made this chapter extra long to make it up, and the next chapter just needs some revisions. Enjoy! You know how to contact me for comment and criticism. :-)
Disclaimer: Not mine, never mine. I do thank the people behind SWTOR and George Lucas. My characters are my own.
/You look like you had a rough night./ Luminara's message rang clear through their bond. Despite using the time of her early awakening to warm her muscles, energize her mind, and prepare for the day ahead, the lack of sleep had aggravated the edges of her mind. The breakfast they were just served did little to settle her mind, but the caf helped clear any residual fog.
/Remember the 'new development'? There's something else I have to show you./ She saw her Master say something quietly to Marana Kiln before coming to meet her by the entryway.
"What's up?" her Master asked calmly. Trying to emulate that calm, Ani highlighted the section of wording that she had thoroughly studied last night before wordlessly handing the datapad to the other woman. She studied her Master's face for any cluesto her thinking as Luminara read through the section, occasionally scrolling up and down. Upon finishing, she looked up to meet her gaze. Though her face showed no emotion, appropriate given their situation, just lightly touching their bond contradicted the calm exterior. "Is this all?"
"Besides the other documents after that one expounding on her claim and providing reasonable support? Yes." She looked pleadingly at her master. "Please tell me the Jedi Order has something to counteract this!"
"We have a clause of our own, actually an entire section, but that could barely be expected to apply to this. Given her request is based on lineage and adherence to tradition, both things Alderaanians and their legal system are known for, and the additional effect of Alderaan being one of the Inner Core planets will make her claim on you stronger than the Jedi's. Also, the last time that was used was shortly after the end of the Sith Wars, which was when the Senate was more likely to side with the Jedi. Any disputes afterwards have usually been able to be fixed quietly without dispute or undue conflict." Her master's gaze held hers, blue mirroring blue. "Given the state of current affairs with the Senate, the Republic, and the war as a whole, the Jedi Order as a whole may not be able to fight this."
Ani almost choked at hearing those words. That meant that her stepmother would win the case without a fight, and she would have to remain here. Did the Jedi not want her? Did Luminara not want her? Wait, she stopped that thought before it could go too far and get too dark. She still had to suggest her idea to her master. Hopefully that would solve this problem.
"I was thinking that, since the demand for Jedi to lead in this war has grown, maybe I can avoid it by claiming compulsory conscription by both the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic for the war?" She saw Luminara mull her words over, and her heartlightened. There could be hope for her remaining a Jedi after all.
"It could work," Luminara said carefully. "Keep in mind, Padawan, that if it did succeed, it would only last as long as the war did. Once the war would finish, her claim would still have a hold on you, something that you may either be encouraged to yield to or hash out through the Senate." Ani's heart sank, and she looked to the floor.
"Dammit," she whispered with some heat. She noticed Luminara taking one of her hands with her own, and felt a slight squeeze.
"It was a good idea, Padawan." She looked up to see her master smile slightly at her. "It's good to know you've been paying attention to the lectures I've given on laws and legal structure of the Republic."
"If only because I've spent so much time shadowing you at the Senate building," Ani replied with a smirk. Politicians, politics, and law bored her to death, but since that was her master's designated calling, it was her duty to follow her. She had learned many things while in the Senate, all of which were helping her out now.
"True. Nevertheless, Padawan, your attention and devotion to your duties are serving you well in this case. I hope this will be proof to you to never doubt your abilities."
"My devotion is to you, Master. To the Jedi Order." She heard Luminara sigh. "As I am to you, Padawan. And believe me when I say I hope we can settle it without a legal battle. If it did come to a legal battle, I'm not sure the Jedi would win." Ani snorted.
"Well, if my claim does work, our best hope would be either that the war would be extended, or that I get killed while fighting," Ani said lightly, voice lilting in an attempt at a joking manner.
"Don't say that!" Luminara spit out suddenly, her grip on Ani's hand tightening painfully. Startled, Ani almost fought back instinctively, until she looked into her current Master's now tense face.
"Master, I meant it as a joke." She had, honestly.
"I know. Please, don't joke about such things." Ani, almost unconsciously, tapped into their bond to feel shields blocking access. Frustrating, to experience the other end of that. She vowed to never block her master out again.
"Master," she said softly. "I care about you too. I don't want to see you fall either." She put her other hand over their joined hands. "Don't block me out. Not now. Please?" she pleaded. Luminara remained tense for a second longer before relaxing her shoulders slightly.
"I apologize for overreacting like that, Padawan." She placed her other hand over her padawan's. "I know this is hard for you. Understand, this is hard for me too. From our bond beginning, to our joining as a Master-Padawan team, to now, we are connected strongly. Padawan, I don't want to lose that, to lose you."
"But…" Ani began, her eyes searching her master's. How to explain that the exact same fear existed inside her, that someone or something would take away the one person she looked up to as a child would to his or her parent? Even now, after this period of time, a part of her feared that her master would see her as a burden and cast her off. With the war going on, many Knights and Masters simply refused to consider taking on an apprentice on the grounds that it was recklessly endangering another life, a life under their protection. She didn't blame them for that, not after what she had seen and experienced. She yet feared that her master would see her soon as "baggage" and leave her behind at the Temple permanently. An unreasonable fear, maybe, but it still lingered, especially due to her first master. Not thinking of her, Ani thought firmly, pushing all residual memories and baggage to the back of her mind, albeit temporarily. It wouldn't help her now. Given all that Luminara and she had gone through together, the bonds that were holding them together were strong. Enough that she could allow herself to continue to believe in her current master.
"There's always the possibility that the war finishes and Madam Kiln will have forgotten all about me," she said, careful to keep her face composed. She felt a slight squeeze from Luminara within their joined hands, and squeezed firmly back.
"I highly doubt it, but it would work wonders with litigation," Luminara replied, and Ani hoped that was humor she heard in her voice. "Now," they simultaneously released the other's hands, "I will be continuing my discussion with Madam Kiln. I suggest you check up on Commander Skee and determine his progress."
"Consider it done." Ani nodded deferentially to her master, and their host who was now coming up behind her, before moving purposefully towards the stairs./Make sure you show me your answer tonight, before you inform our host. I want to make sure we write and word it the right way./
/Will do, Master./ Maybe eventually she would feel a little resentment about her master wanting to double check her work; someday probably, but considering how much she wanted to leave this place and never return, she'd gladly take what help she could in speeding up the process.
Skee rubbed at his eyes, listening to the technicians' report. Between his guys and Kiln's team, they were almost done with the decryption, now moving on to the final stages. All in all, it had been a pretty boring process, one that he had not bothered to sleep through, mainly due to his command over them. Fortunately, caf had been readily supplied throughout the night. Except for the youngest, the other members of Kiln's team all had taken tea instead. How beings could stand that tasteless substance, he didn't understand. As Skee turned back to his console, he noticed the padawan approaching the door. Slightly cheered up, he waved at her to join him. She brushed past two of their men who currently arguing over Force-knew-what of their project to stand before him, hands on her hips. Frak."I forgot something, didn't I, sir?" She sighed and waved her datapad at him.
"Updates, Skee? The whole reason why we got the upgrades, remember?" It dawned on him, as well as confirmed that niggling thought in the back of his skull that he had, indeed, forgotten something.
"I was tired," he offered. "It has been a long night." She still stared at him, raising one eyebrow in the process. She was mimicking more and more of General Unduli's movements, except somehow with some kind of flair only she could do that made him feel like he was back on Kamino, doing something wrong (again). "I promise to remember next time," he swore.
"You better." She sat down next to him, looking at the screens. "How's the process going?"
"We're almost done," he assured her. "A few things left, but they shouldn't give us any trouble. Compared to other decryptions we've done, this has been boring in comparison." She nodded in response. "And yes, I'm sending the updates to you right now as we speak." His fingers danced across the screen of the device, tapping out a weird pattern as he hit various commands, data, preparing to send it all before finalizing his objective into two light hits. "There. You should have it now. " She took out her datapad and nodded in agreement. He sighed, glad that that had been done. "Found any better leads on the break-in?"
"None." The padawan sighed. "I was hoping maybe you were able to access security footage of the place and find something?" He shook his head.
"All feeds were protected by layers of encryption, the tough kind. Whoever programmed the entire system knew what they were doing. It would have taken too long, and possibly alerted the residents here that we weren't respecting their privacy."
"Figures." Ani was staring at the screens, but he gathered by how her eyes remained focused on one spot that she wasn't really interested in what he had found. Something was bothering her. "Are you all right, Commander?" She took a quick glance around, and he understood. "I would like to speak to you outside, Commander," he stated, modulating his voice so it was loud enough to be heard, but not loud enough where the others would see it as broadcasting and potentially be suspicious. He saw her nod in response, more for the others' sake than his. They both arose and walked towards the doorway, avoiding various equipment, containers, and personnel that seemed to get in the way whenever possible. Once they had both exited the room, and moved a few paces to the left did he turn to face her and ask, direct and straightforward, "What's wrong, Commander?" Despite her body facing him, her eyes were focused on the wall besidethe two of them.
"It's… complicated," she said at last. They were close enough where Skee would be able to hear her, but no one else if they passed on by. "The entire mission just became that much more complicated."
"I got time." He leaned against the wall, supporting his weight against his right arm. The Padawan mirrored his movements, still refusing to look at him directly. He gazed at the sunlight streaming through the elegant windows, bathing the entire hallway ina radiant yet muted yellow.
"An official request has been made for me to remain behind and serve under Lady Kiln, head of the noble house of Kiln." He frowned at that, at her choice of words. Under, she had said, not for, or at the wishes of said political figure.
"I do not follow. When would you be rejoining us? And what of your current instruction under Master Luminara?" That's when her eyes met his, and her expression of frustration and hurt hit him full force. Now he knew he wasn't going to like this.
"No, Skee. The request was made for me to serve under Lady Kiln in order for me to take her place one day. As in, permanently."
"Are you sure?"
"It was worded as such. To serve under Lady Kiln, Countess Kiln of the noble house of Kiln, due to the birthright by my blood that necessitates immediate adherence to the duty of leading my house," she paraphrased. His stomach dropped, even as he steadily held her gaze. To have his Commander leave, now, from the battlefield while the war still tore across the galaxy would be a grave mistake, as would be separating her from her master, General Luminara. He saw how close they were, and while not knowing all the details behind that, he later discovered it was to her initial benefit, later to both. Seeing the two cut apart would not do either good.
He personally appreciated her friendship, offered when his squad and he were assigned to her first master. She hadn't accompanied them a lot at that point, but shehad been friendly to all of them to get them to relax and comfortable being around a Jedi, especially one so young. The Kaminoans had programmed them to respect and be in awe of the Jedi, and yet neglected to inform them that the Jedi had ranks somewhat similar to their own. Her help had been much appreciated as well as amusing, given their lack of knowledge in that area.
"You can't leave," he said, keeping his tone even as he warred for control of his tone. "You can't. You're one of our generals, a desperately needed leader at this time of war, and you're also padawan to General Luminara. Surely she can see that those twoclaims on you outweigh any claim she may make on you."
"Either she doesn't, or she does and she doesn't care," Ani stated, a grim look on her face and heat in her voice. "I agree the request is ill-timed and ridiculous to say the least. However, she has made the claim on the value of bloodline to tradition, something the Alderaanians all hold to with an iron will and it cannot be easily overcome. I discussed this with my master." He didn't like the sound of that.
"What happened?"
"I might be able to claim that my current duty to the Jedi and the Galactic Republic inwartime supersedes any duty to my house, even if it is by bloodline. Thing is, even if I do succeed, it will only cover the immediate war. Once it's over, unless I can prove my current duty as a Jedi proves more pressing than my duty by birthright here, which will ensure I will not have to take on the duties of my house, I will likely have to leave the Order."
"I don't believe it." His words sounded flat to him, devoid of any feeling. He wondered if that was preferable to sounding angry. Would she care? She already sounded depressed enough.
"Believe it," she said. "My master said that the negative perception of the Jedi gained during the war might be enough to make sure they don't fight this."
"What? So, she's just going to give you up?" He barked out angrily.
"I didn't say that."
"No. It was implied. And if not her, then it'd be the Jedi. With the Senate forcing their hand, no doubt." He studied her. Now it made sense to him. Even with the apparent choice before her, she didn't seem fond of the temporary reprieve. He couldn't blame her. Who wanted to extend the war, where your friends and the men under your command were getting killed off sooner or later, where injuries never ceased, and the smells were enough to keep one from eating for days in order to prevent taking on an unwanted political position as designated by birthright? Part of him was relieved that his Jedi Commander realized the war trumped political office, and he knew her enough to hazard a guess that she was more than fine with that decision. Something still seemed to bother her though.
"Well, there you go," he said. "Seems like you made your decision and put a lot of thought into it. Why do you still seem troubled though?"
"Because my memories of Marana, while hazy at times, are clear enough to remind me how much she loathed the Jedi. She hated us." She cut herself off; one of Marana'stechnicians passed them by a couple seconds later before disappearing further in the hall. Skee watched her carefully as she continued.
"One memory stands out the clearest to me. It was after my mother had been killed. My father was letting the Jedi conduct the investigation, because the circumstances of my mother's death were suspicious. I remember being awake late at night becausemy father was arguing with Marana Kiln, then not married. She was saying the Jedi snooping was making everyone in the Houses nervous, something he should put a stop to. He said he'd had full compliance from his subjects as well as House Organa and their subjects, and he wanted to know as much as possible about her death. She then asked him about me. He refused to comment. She then ranted at him about howterrible he was for giving the Jedi an inch, for they'd take a mile, and if they found meto be Force-sensitive he wouldn't have anything left. She continued with a lot of horrible insults before he told her she wasn't welcome if she would be so discourteous as to insult his guests under his roof and under his protection. She left without another word, but…"
"But what?"
"It was after that when things got weird. My father acted really strange, almost like he didn't know I existed," which he guessed had really hurt her, judging by her tone, "the Jedi's investigation of my mother's death was cut short as a result, and I was taken to the Temple. Shortly after I settled in at the Temple, I received news that my father had died, and Marana Kiln had become the new house head."
"So he remarried in your absence? That's not strange in of itself," Skee said lowly.
"Not in of itself, but considering the circumstances: the fact that she was designed bypolitical forces to initially marry my father instead of him marrying my mother, the remarks about Force-sensitives, and that she had been under important, high-ranking political and scientific service to the House Organa, have made her suspicious both then and now." Ani kept eye contact as she explained her reasoning.
"First of all, we didn't know there was a problem here until the Republic, and by extension the Jedi Order, was contacted by Marana Kiln. We don't find out until we get here that it regards her alleged activities to help war refugees as well as find information for our use against the Separatists. Then we are asked to stay with her, keep our visit low profile, and work with her technicians on the project. Finally, she makes this request to me, a member of the Jedi Order and part of the war campaign against the Separatists with my Master, in a place that reminds me constantly of the tragedy I faced as a child. I feel as if this whole thing was set up, with me at the center of it all, just to manipulate me. I sense that I'm in danger, and time is running out before I am affected. Then again, I could just be paranoid."
"Have you tried taking a step back from it and looking without the influences of what you went through?" Skee asked. "Also, what have you not told me about… that?" The padawan was silent, looking down to avoid eye contact.
"I don't know." He scoffed; her head shot up and her eyes flashed. "It's the truth. I don't know all of the details. It's not like I haven't tried to access them, especially on my own. It's like part of my brain is blocking it, keeping me from accessing that section of memories. Another concern, but that can be considered later, once we're away from here. That's why I'm telling you this, asking for your help. I want your input on this matter. First, though I want you to run a background check on all the workers here, especially the technicians and Finara. I also want you to check into anyand all history of every inhabitant of this estate as well as Marana's family through her maiden name, Roeble. No detail should be overlooked. Keep in constant communication with me, especially with updates." Skee nodded, before asking the important question.
"What about your master?" The padawan was silent before him, glancing back and forth between him and the windows facing the gardens outside, the look on her face almost sheepish. Idly, he thought the gardens looked amazing in their varied colors and patterns, making a mental note to take a walk around them later on once things quieted down.
"I don't want her to know, at least not yet," she explained. "I told her about what I sensed, and she knows what happened to me. She thinks my emotions are clouding my judgment, and yet she was unsure of whether what I sensed is correct, especially after receiving that legal notice from our host. She also seems to be preoccupied with something else; what it is, I don't know." He detected frustration in her voice, and he could sympathize. "If she does ask to know, though, give her everything. Just in case something does happen to me, my master will be the best person to go to with the information to finish connecting the pieces of this interesting puzzle."
"I will." Her eyes seemed to bore into his. She was dead serious about her theories and request, which in turn forced him to be more serious.
"Promise me."
"I swear I will hold nothing back from your master, unless you state otherwise." Only then did she relax slightly, still maintaining her position against the wall.
"Better." A muted buzz signaled a comm needing to be answered. They both simultaneously searched for theirs and checked; it was the padawan's wrist comm whose was going off. She pressed the button and spoke."Padawan Ani." She had shortened it for simplicity's sake; a war meant speak volumes in a short amount of time.
"Master Luminara." Her master's voice replied through the channel. "Padawan, Madam Kiln has informed me that you have not given an answer to her request about the ball this evening. She had requested me to call you as to inquire to your answer." Captain Skee gathered through her formal tone that the woman in question was likely standing next to her. He heard the padawan breathe in, out, and press the button on her comm.
"Tell Madam Kiln to expect my company this evening. I shall be pleased to accompany her to the ball as both a guest and a guard." The politeness in her voice, accompanied by a forced smile, struck Skee as being out of character for the normally blunt, forward-speaking padawan.
"Excellent, Padawan. I shall inform her immediately. In the meantime, I would like for you to meet me at our designated rooms after lunch to prepare for the ball tonight."
"Consider it done, Master. How long until lunch?"
"Lunch will be served in about an hour."
"Thank you, Master. I will see you then. Padawan Ani over and out." She tapped the button on her comlink, thus ending the conversation. She met Skee's gaze again, and he could almost feel the character change revert back. "Sorry if I sounded… political."A smile crossed her face; that did more to make Captain Skee feel at ease. "My master had taken it upon herself to educate me more in the political arena. That's her calling as a Jedi. For me, though…" She shrugged. "I prefer the straightforwardness of the front. Without the war, I don't know what else I'd do, where else I'd fit in." Being bred for war, he could appreciate the sentiment.
"Same here." He smiled at her. "That's where you belong too; you're a Jedi, not a frakking politician, and if the lady can't take your rejection of her offer, then by all means send her my way." He put a fist into his other hand, and cracked all his knuckles meaningfully. "I'm sure I could get her to see reason." It had the desired effect; the padawan's eyes lit up with mirth even as she attempted to keep a straight face.
"I – heeheehee – ahem, appreciate the thought, Skee, even if the action would land us in hot water with all politicians here plus my master."
"Yeah, think of how irritated they'd be with both of us."
"So much so, that we'd be sent back to the front for the rest of the war." They locked eyes, smiled simultaneously, and said, "On second thought –"
"I like that idea after all," Ani said, swallowing her laughter. "Well, I shall begin drafting my statement of refusal. It won't be an easy process."
"You're doing the right thing, Commander," Skee said, trying to sound reassuring. Having done paperwork enough times, especially when things had gone wrong, made him appreciate her upcoming headache.
"I know. It doesn't make crafting refusals any easier though. I've no doubt that I will be grilled and probably cajoled into rethinking my position, but that is so much easier to bear than finding the politically acceptable words for the statement in the first place. Oh, before I forget." She took out one of her holorecording sticks and a separate pad. "Here is what I have so far: data, the suspicious tracks, etcetera. Look itover once you've completed the decryption. Remember: don't share with anyone unless it's my master."
"I've got it." Skee gingerly put the items into his pockets, one in either inside pocket of the jacket. "Now, stop stalling."
"Who, me?" She put on an innocent look. "I would never procrastinate on something this important."
"I'm not saying anything." Skee shook his head, keeping a grin from covering his face."As long as it doesn't go the way of the reports you were to fill out, it will all go well.""Don't be so pessimistic." Her face lost its smile. "A lot more rides on this than any report I ever filled out."
"Go get 'em, kid." She nodded, did a customary salute, and turned to walk back down the hall. He watched her go, wishing her all the luck he could. Once they had what they needed, they could get off this planet and back to where they belonged: on the frontlines of the war.
Ani sighed and leaned back in her chair. The statement had finally been crafted. She had wracked her brain and written and rewritten drafts before finally settling on one finished product, but now it was done and just needed the final approval of her master. Before this mission, she had thought she had finally become independent, having improved greatly with training, finishing her classes with (generally) flying colors, and getting top marks on projects and tasks assigned by her master and others.
However, this mission seemed to be focused on showing her how much she hadn't learned, how much she really depended on certain people and how far she was away from achieving desired independence. Will I ever get to that point? Am I able to? Maybe I just need to be done with this mission, she thought. Finish, go back, face Master Yoda for either the terrible or decent job I did, and back to the war. Then things will be back to normal again, the normal I know how to deal with. She stood up, stretched, and glanced at the chrono. Well, missing lunch wasn't that bad. It wasn't like she was hungry, not even now. Anxiety had burned it all away.
A knock sounded at her door. She reached out with the Force, sensing her master standing on the other side waiting for a response. Using the Force, she opened the door, letting Master Luminara entrance into her, albeit temporary, quarters."I thought I had taught you by now to respond when someone knocks on the door," Luminara said, raising an eyebrow.
"Reaching out with the Force and granting entrance is easier," Ani said. A delicious smell captured her nose. "What's that?" Luminara lifted a small box before her eyes and revealed the contents.
"Two hot buns with creamy filling, a meat pastry and I brought some tea." Ani rolled her eyes.
"Tea? You know I like stimcaf, Master."
"I know, Padawan." Luminara took the other chair so she was sitting across from her padawan, behind the desk. "That is for me. You missed lunch."
"Oops." She knew then why she should feel guilty. Political gatherings made everything a big deal, whether or not she liked it. That's why I have a Master; she helps me figure this stuff out, she thought.
"Yes. Fortunately I was able to smooth it over. As for the way you opened the door, remember the time you nearly scared the Senator from Jabiim senseless? You let the person know someone is in there so freak-outs like that one do not occur again."
"Yes, Master," Ani said. "However, I do feel inclined to point out that he was much easier to convince after he freaked out." And his freak-out was extremely amusing, she thought. Her master wouldn't be so receptive to that thought, though."So, what have you completed in my absence?"
"Just the entire document." Ani gestured at the end result lying on the desk. "All ready for you to glance over and make corrections to."
"Thank you." Ani felt her master place a hand on her shoulder, meant to be comforting. She quelled the impulse to flinch, reminding herself that her master was there for her. That was the positive light she could focus on through her inner turmoil. She tuned back in to catch her master's comments on her work. Together, they would put a cap on this, and then she could return to life as normal – for a Jedi, obviously.
Skee followed the map displayed on his datapad in order to find the Jedi. His work was done, which meant they could leave tomorrow. That also meant going back to the front lines, which he wouldn't mind. This was his first taste of what it meant living as a civilian, with the servants and help around to serve his brothers and him, especially with the decryption. However, he was a clone, bred for war, for fighting, and he would not be neglectful of his duty while millions of his brethren died out on the battlefield protecting the Republic. The sooner he returned, the better off he'd be, for both the Republic's and his sakes. He reached the Master's door and knocked. No response. He repeated the gesture, and again heard nothing. Next was the Padawan's room. He moved back down the hallway and hovered in front of the door. His hand was poised, ready to knock, when suddenly the door opened and his hand was close to clocking the padawan upside the head. He quickly pulled back, retreating a couple steps, before making another realization.
"Whoa! Commander, you look like a girl!" Despite her glare in his direction, he continued to stay where he was, taking her in. She was in a blue dress, the color of the sky now in twilight before the dark would come, and that brought out the color of her eyes. A section of the front had been colored a light brown, not quite tan, where the black etchings of the house insignia were etched just above her breast. Below her breast were, what he assumed, the designs from her Mirialan heritage, although to the average person they could – and would – be mistaken for etchings of Alderaan's landscape, its vegetation or wildlife. The dress was sleeveless, with the top enclosing both shoulders and bottom part of her neck, and the bottom stretched down to just below her knees. Dark brown boots, with heels two inches higher than she normally wore them, clad her feet. Her blond hair, still loose, had been combed and straightened to fall in perfect sections down her head and around her face. If he squinted, he swore he saw make-up on her eyes and mouth.
"Quit staring, Skee!" He saw the padawan's mouth turn down in a frown, tone just barely commanding over whining, and also saw her master behind her (who looked like she was trying to hide a smile). He let them enough room to both come out into the hallway, trying now to curb his impulse to stare. The Jedi were not to wear outward adornments or anything else that would cause them to appear vain (certainexceptions were made in cases of cultural heritage, obviously), but that didn't mean that their job didn't occasionally require dressing up. With the padawan – Ani – he had never seen her willingly dress up, even with her master's urging (forcing, if he was honest). To see her this dolled up, he was tempted to ask her, "Who are you, and what have you done with my Commander?" With her master present, though, that definitely helped to keep a check on him.
"I'm guessing that you're about to go down to accompany Madam Kiln to the ball, as she requested?" he asked instead.
"Yes." The padawan lifted her right hand to brush her hair behind her ear, but stopped and lowered her hand when her master cleared her throat. "I wish you weregoing with me, Master."
"If only to be sure you'd behave," the General said wryly. "Don't worry. I'll keep my end of the link open, as I'm sure you will yours."
"Only because I'm still working on behaving when I'm bored out of my mind," Ani said, shifting from one foot to another. Her hands dropped to her waist, where her lightsabers would normally rest. However, tonight there was no belt, no lightsabers, and she let her hands fall down to her sides with a sigh.
"Yes." The older woman gave a small cough. "I'm sure you will do your very best to behave tonight, for obvious reasons."
"Yes, Master." She straightened her shoulders with a small smile. "It's back to the front with me, not the political arena."
"There's hope for you yet." The Jedi Master turned to face Skee, who was now stiff as a board. "I assume you have finished?"
"Yes, General," he said. "If I may be so bold to ask, where are the padawan's lightsabers?" Said person tapped her thigh with one hand. "Here, and left boot," she said. "For obvious reasons, they cannot show. Yet, protection for her might be needed, and so I have both."
"Good. Just as long as its protection from actual life-threatening danger, not the politicians." He flushed after he said it, expecting to be reprimanded, but instead heard chuckles from both females present.
"Another reason I spent the past few hours with her. Last thing we need to have happen is a planetary incident." Ani sent a withering glance to her master, who raised an eyebrow in response.
"Touché, Master," Ani sighed. "Did you give the packet to Finara when she came up to check on me – us?"
"Yes. She has it, and don't forget the possible grilling you might get on the way to the ball."
"I won't. You have definitely helped with that." An awkward silence fell between all three, with Skee feeling as though they knew that the conversation had to be done with but were not willing to end the moment. Force knew that these moments came rarely enough.
"Know I have confidence in you, Padawan," Luminara said, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. "You can do this. Once tonight is over with, things will get back to normal."
"The sooner the better," the girl responded with a smile.
"Yes. Now, let us go. I will walk with you up to the middle of the staircase, where we will part. Don't forget to keep in touch every once in a while."
"Yes, Master." They were walking now at a steady pace, down the hall, past the ornatehall furnishings that continued to make Skee feel awkward and out of place. He let the two go on ahead of him, sensing in some way that they needed some private space to talk before they parted.
All too soon, they came to the small balcony above the stairs, and below, at the foot of the staircase, was Marana Kiln with her personal servant, Finara. He heard their tones raise slightly so as to be heard, but all that could be heard was:
"Enjoy yourself, my padawan. May the Force be with you."
"May the Force be with you, Master." He stepped up beside the General to watch her padawan slowly yet gracefully walk down the carpeted steps, her outward demeanor a polished mask yet prepared so as to be seen as natural. The Jedi definitely were suited to the role assigned to them, even as young as the kid was. Now she was at the bottom, bowing and talking to the lady, who responded likewise and gestured to the door, a seeming relieved smile on her face. He preferred to switch his gaze to his General's face, which was calm outwardly.
Once the beings exited, Luminara turned to him and said, "I know my padawan will do well, and make me proud." What she did not say, he heard as well. I hope all goes well with her too.
"Come. Let us go look over your completed research," she said, gesturing for him to lead the way.
"Yes, General." The walk upon renewal was done in absolute silence.