I'm really sorry for updating so late. I've just been really busy during the past weeks.
Okay, enough talk, here's chapter 15 at last.

For disclaimer see previous chapter please.

BTW, thank you very much to all who have reviewed and to those who have put me on their favourites/alerts. Thank you very much. May the Force be with you.

CHAPTER 15
Another Visitor

He knew that glaring at the wall was not going to make it melt or vaporize or make Arianne stop nagging him or make it do whatever he might want it to do, but he did so anyway. After all, stuff happens…

Besides, it made him feel better. Glaring at a wall was certainly a much safer way to cool one's temper than by throwing a tantrum, or yelling or hitting someone, or Force forbid, turn to the dark side.

But still, if looks were blaster bolts…well, the Council would not be amused. Not at all.

He glared at the wall and the wall stared back, its blank surface unchanging. You're crazy, he caught himself thinking. What are you expecting it to do? Grow a mouth and offer a few words of comfort and sympathy?

You don't need sympathy, said a reasonable part of him. Why are you expecting it? It's not like Arianne is forcing you to do something stupid. She's right. Taking a Padawan would do you good. And Maia too, it hinted slyly.

Shut up.

You're just a coward. Too afraid to shoulder the responsibility. I thought Jeran Vàner loved challenges.

Shut up and go away.

Coward, the voice sang. Coward, coward, coward–

I said, shut up!

Coward, coward, coward, coward, coward–

"Shut up!"

Jeran leaped to his feet. Even before the words left his mouth he felt silly. There was no one here. Just him, the wall and the voices in his head. He took a few steps forward and leaned his forehead against the cool wall; the one he had just glowered at moments before.

I must be going mad.

The door hissed open behind him and he whirled around. It was just Salis, a concerned look on his tan, handsome face.

"I was wondering if you were in and stood outside ringing the bell for about five minutes and I was just about to leave when I heard you yell at…," his words trailed off as he looked around the apartment, which apart from him and Jeran, was empty.

"…someone," the Zabrak finished, after a lengthy pause. He looked at his human friend. "You okay?"

Jeran ran a hand over his face and through his hair. "I guess," he answered absently. "It's nothing." Turning away he sat down on the edge of the sleep couch before sliding down to sit on the floor.

"Why are you here? You don't usually bother visiting friends unless they're dying."

"You have such a sense of humour, my friend," the Zabrak remarked as he sat down beside him.

Jeran looked his friend in the eyes. "Did Arianne send you?"

"Uh, em…"

"Did Arianne send you?"

"We-el, she might have dropped a hint."

Jeran gave an exasperated sigh.

"Look, I know that you don't want to hear about it anymore but–"

"–but you think she's right," Jeran finished through gritted teeth.

"Uh, yeah."

Another sigh, followed by a long silence ensued.

Finally Jeran broke it, asking, "How's Aras? Are you two still in touch?"

A pained expression briefly crossed Salis' face at the mention of his former apprentice, before giving way to an exasperated look. "His wife is expecting. Again."

Jeran was not sure of what to say so he just said, "That's nice."

Salis' exasperated look grew. "No it's not. The fools can hardly feed themselves or their first child. How are they going to feed a second?"

"Just because he was my Padawan that doesn't mean that he's entitled to free handouts every month. I'm not made of credits or something."

Jeran looked at his hands. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought that up."

There was a rather long pause, then the Zabrak nudged Jeran and asked, "So what about you?"

"What about me?"

"That Maia girl seemed a nice enough kid," said Salis.

"You're just saying that because she said she liked your hair."

"You're just jealous of me, Jeran, don't deny that."

"I will keep on denying that statement until I die."

Salis sniffed. There was another heavy silence, and then he broke it, asking, "So when are you going to ask her?"

"I don't know if I should."

"Why not? She's a nice kid. She'll be a good Padawan, I'm sure."

"I'm not worried about her, I'm worrying about myself." Jeran looked his friend squarely in the eyes. "Be honest now, I don't look like Master material, do I?"

To his utmost surprise, Salis threw back his head and laughed. Of all the reactions he had been expecting, this had not been one of them.

"What is it? What's so funny?" he asked, more than a little miffed.

"I never knew you were one to wallow in self-pity, Jeran," the Zabrak said when his laughter subsided.

"What self-pity!? This is for her good and for the Order's!"

"Sure. You're just so emotionally insecure that you keep–"

"I am not insecure!"

"Okay, okay, you're not insecure. Calm down. The thing is Jeran, no-one's ever ready to be a Master. It's like being a parent I suppose. There's only so much we can prepare for. It's a learning process for both Master and Padawan. Believe me, I know."

His mood darkened. "I've learned a lot from the few years when Aras was still my Padawan. Like the fact that I'm a lousy teacher and that I should never trust small human boys with innocent eyes, golden hair and too good manners."

"Now look who's wallowing in self-pity."

The Zabrak sighed and absently twirled a tendril of dark hair as he stared unseeingly at a scuff mark on the wall.

"So, who were you yelling at?"

"None of your business," Jeran mumbled.

"Sorry," said Salis, a teasing smile replacing his gloomy look. "I didn't catch that."

"Who should I be talking to? There's no-one here."

"Do you need to see a mind Healer, Jeran?"

"Ha, ha, very funny. No I do not."

"Very well, but if you have started hearing voices in your head–"

"Salis," Jeran interrupted. "Please."

"Okay. You're really no fun you know. Can't you take a bit of teasing?"

"No."

"You're dull. So what do you want to talk about?"

"Dunno."

"Fine." Salis rolled his eyes. "I'm temporarily teaching chemistry to Master Udon's class."

"And you blew up the lab, I suppose?"

Salis laughed. "That would have been far more interesting than demonstrating how to electroplate metals."

"Hmm."

"How's your head?"

"It's fine, thank you."

"Been hearing voices lately?"

"Sa-lis."

"Jeran, Jeran." Salis put an arm around his friend's shoulders. "How clumsy you can be sometimes."

Jeran elbowed the Zabrak. "Me? I'm not the one who slid down the banister last year and somehow managed to break his leg. Nor do I walk into walls on a bimonthly basis."

Salis stroked his chin. "True."

"You shouldn't drink so much, Sal."

"Only once in a while."

"Think of your poor liver cells."

"You sound like Arianne."

"Why?"

His friend pulled a mock sad face. "I'm depressed."

"Because of Aras?"

"Maybe."

"You should consider taking a Padawan again."

"Hah!" Salis suddenly yelled so loudly that Jeran flinched. "Hypocrite! What about you, my stubborn friend?" He nudged the human with his elbow, hard. "What about you?"

Jeran elbowed him back, just as hard. "I'm considering." He massaged his ribs. "That hurt."

"Yeah, you jabbed me real hard too. Take that."

"Why you lousy alien scum–"

"Hey, quit it!"

"Only when you do."

"OW! Now that really hurt!"

Jeran tried to twist away but he was too late. Salis' arm snaked around his neck and tightened in a choke hold. He dug his nails into his friend's arm but the Zabrak only tightened his grip.

"Lemme go. Please."

"Apologise."

"Apologise?" Jeran sputtered. "You started it."

"You almost broke a rib."

"Yeah, right." And he jabbed his elbow into his captor's ribs again, hard.

Salis gasped and his grip slackened. Jeran quickly twisted away and leaped to his feet and froze. Salis had not been gasping because of the pain. What had surprised him were the small white flakes that were being blown out through the grating of the room's air cooling unit.

It was snowing in his room.

By the Force.

Salis was the first to speak. "What the blazes did you do with the cooling unit?"

His words started Jeran, who had been gaping slack-mouthed at the frozen water crystals that drifted down from the ceiling. He looked at his friend and shrugged. "I didn't do anything."

"Snow," the Zabrak murmured. "Snow. I didn't know that the air cooling units could generate snow."

Jeran shrugged again. "Could be a malfunction. It's always breaking down."

With a wave of his hand, Salis brought a chair from the kitchenette sailing in to plonk down right below the grating. He lightly leaped atop the stool. The argument was forgotten.

"You should use a hydrospanner," Jeran said as the watched his friend unscrew the grating using the Force.

"Well, I don't have one and neither do you. Catch." He tossed the grating at Jeran who caught it and set it aside.

The Zabrak studied the tangle of wires and filters in front of him. "You said that this unit malfunctions a lot."

"Yeah."

"Have you ever tried repairing it?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Okay, that means you probably caused this."

"I didn't do anything."

Salis pulled out a wire and it immediately stopped snowing. "Jeran," he said patiently, turning to look at his friend. "Everyone knows that you're about the lousiest mechanic in the Order. Even you have admitted that. The only things you know how to repair is your 'saber and that hand of yours. That's it. I really don't know how you manage to keep that ship of yours up in the air."

"Spit, prayers and a lot of credits," Jeran muttered under his breath. Louder he said, "I didn't do anything."

"Yes, you did. You poked around, messed around with the wires, got fried and decided to close it up and pray that it works again when you switch it on."

"Uh…"

"You see?"

The unit suddenly coughed loudly. A loud, harsh grating sound came from within and Salis hurriedly jumped off the table.

Both males watched the opening in the wall warily.

There was a loud clunk and the unit shuddered before releasing a gust of air.

Thick, damp mist filled the room.

"And you must be the greatest mechanic the Order has ever seen," Jeran spoke through the fog.

"Look on the bright side," Salis said cheerily and Jeran heard the entrance door whoosh open. "If you take Maia as your Padawan you get to move to bigger quarters. I'm sure the air cooling units are in excellent condition there."

The door whooshed close.

I hope their conversation didn't sound too, uh, gay. (My apologies if I have just offended anyone.)
Please read and review.

May the Force be with you.