34 BBY
It had been decades since Ky Narec had been inside a palace. Even before his self imposed exile on Rattatak, he'd only seen the inside of a palace once on a diplomatic mission while he was padawan to Jedi Master Mana. And that particular one hadn't been owned by his boss, so he hadn't been nearly as nervous as he was now. Not only was Ky about to enter Dooku's home, but he would also be there at a time when Jedi Grand Master Yoda was going to be there as well.
What would he even say to Yoda? Would eight hundred years of accumulated wisdom see through Ky's flimsy lie about being stranded in the middle of nowhere? Ky's stomach almost felt like it was eating itself, he was so nervous.
Behind him, all the other New Temple Knights were dressed in their good formal robes, washed clean, and faces set in grimly determined lines. They were almost as nervous as he was, maybe some of them even had skeletons in the closet they wanted to hide from the Temple of Coruscant. Of course it wouldn't do for Ky to set a bad example, so he affected a calm, confident demeanor and carefully shielded his feelings in the force.
The only two he wasn't worried about were Padawan Asajj and Knight Prialla. The two of them sat near the front of the ship, chatting to each other like this was no big deal at all. Honestly, for a normal group of people Ky knew this wouldn't be a big deal, but for the kind of Knights that the New Temple tended to attract this whole thing was a cause of tension.
Honestly, it showed how little attention Master Dooku showed his own knights if he thought this group of weirdo misanthropes was ready to meet any kind of big shots.
This wasn't just a Life Day celebration. This was a Life Day celebration organized by the Count's wife, who was nobility in her own right. Ky suspected and warned the others to be on their best behavior, because there was definitely going to be plenty of Very Important Sentients there. Ky was sure he was going to be spending all night rescuing his Knights from conversations they weren't a little bit prepared for.
As the YT-1000 broke atmosphere over Serenno, beginning its descent towards the palace, Ky stood up and turned to face his quailing men. With his hand above his head to hold the cockpit's door frame he spoke to them in a loud, clear voice.
"We're landing in just three minutes! Remember, be on your best behavior! That means eye contact, but not too much eye contact! If someone asks to see your lightsaber, firmly but politely say no!" He paused before adding. "If you're in over your head, or feel like you're in trouble just call out to me in the force. I'll come save you."
His knights all looked at him with mixed responses. Some of them looked grateful, relieved to know he'd be there to help, while others looked vaguely offended by the idea that he would be so worried about them. Prialla just looked confused, while Asajj looked amused.
Fair enough, he supposed.
The loading ramp came down, and they all got their view of Count Dooku's spectacular palace. Ky knew the Count was rich, but the hundreds of meters of sumptuous, well groomed gardens and pebble pathways really made clear just how rich he really was. Just in view Ky could see maybe a dozen water features, and six fin shaped exterior buildings each of which were like a mansion unto themselves that were dwarfed by the segmented central tower.
The landing pad was so big it could probably take multiple cargo haulers! Currently there was a Consular Class light cruiser already parked in the bay, which Ky recognised as Dooku's, and now their own YT-1000.
Nervously, Ky led his force of Jedi up the main path towards the main building proper, hand occasionally fluttering towards his lightsaber but never quite touching it. A good example. He had to set a good example.
Asajj came up to stand by his shoulder and pointed towards one of the entrances. "Through here. The party's just down stairs, in the cliffside wing."
Ky knew she'd been to the Palace before, so he followed her directions. As they came down stairs, Asajj pulled ahead to be first through a large double door.
Following behind her, Ky found himself in a wide hall with two rows of a dozen tables. The air was filled with countless floating artificial lights, and it took him a moment to realize they were actually small hovering droids gently and thoughtlessly puttering about. Over in one corner was what looked like a tiny Wroshyr tree, though he didn't know if it was a genuine sapling or artificially grown for purpose. Wrapped around the barrel of the tree was a soft silk sash in brilliant scarlet, and all along it were hanging boxed presents on small metal hooks waiting to be unwrapped.
In the middle of the room was a fountain of what Ky presumed was a non-alcoholic fruit punch due to there being several children present. The guests were all fancily dressed, and many of them bore the symbol of House Serenno, so he assumed they were the Count's extended family.
"Oh, you're all here!" A woman smiled and gently glided over to them. "I'm so happy you all accepted my invitation."
She was presumably Lady Athemeene, wife of the Count from the way he came over with her. Ky had never met her before, but was shocked at how young she was, at most in her mid twenties. Despite having had three children she looked fantastic in an elegant gown of traditional Life Day red with a gilded fur mantle of some kind draped over her shoulders. Either she was naturally gifted, or motherhood had endowed her because he almost had to tear his eyes away from the shape of her gown as it flowed over her chest. He knew there was an age gap between the Count and his young bride, but he almost couldn't believe how big it was seeing her in person. Dooku looked like he should be her grandfather!
Asajj elbowed him, and he realized he had been staring awkwardly. He didn't mean to, and it occurred to him his gaze had been somewhat inappropriate from the way his boss was now glaring at him.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lady Athemeene." Ky hurried to introduce himself. "I'm Jedi Knight Ky Narec, and you've already met Padawan Asajj."
"I have."
Asajj stepped forward to smile warmly at Athemeene, and touch her upper arm. "How are you feeling? How's Madale?"
"Oh, she's doing very well. A little smaller than usual, but that's to be expected. I'm doing well, too. Having a wet nurse is wonderful for a full night's sleep, but how are you doing? I see you have your lightsaber."
Asajj smiled proudly, shifting to one side the weapon on her hip was visible. "Yeah, I'm not supposed to show it off right now, crowded place and all that."
"I'm so glad to hear it, congratulations. We'll have to make time later for you to demonstrate it for me." Athemeene turned her towards the rest of the Jedi, and they all awkwardly introduced themselves one by one.
Most of them even did a pretty good job of maintaining eye contact, with only a few obvious downward glances. Honestly, Ky was very proud of them right until the last moment when Prialla was introduced. The diminutive Jedi Knight looked like she'd been run over by speeder hauling a dozen carriages of cargo, practically gaping at Athemeene's breasts like she couldn't believe what she was seeing.
After multiple seconds of silence and inaction, Ky stepped between the two of them to rescue Prialla, smiling as charmingly as he could. "And that's our entire Temple. Not many of us yet, but-"
"But a foundation to build on." Dooku finished for him, stepping forward. "All of you, go enjoy this party my wife has prepared. You've all been working hard, and she has seen that."
The New Temple's collection of reprobates calling themselves Jedi Knights received the news that this was supposed to be a fun occasion and not a very difficult and serious duty with poorly disguised skepticism. They all shuffled off, only a few of them remembering to give respectful bows to their Temple's master. Ky was about to leave to supervise them when Dooku called to him.
"Not you, Ky, we have something to discuss."
The Count led them away from the various barons and lesser Counts that were currently attending the party to a small corner of the room with a view of the city below. Apparently even the underground sections of the palace were bored into a cliff face, meaning it almost didn't matter where you were on the grounds the view was always spectacular.
"Master, I didn't mean to be rude, I was just looking-"
"Yes, you were only looking." Dooku agreed, eyes narrowing. "And that is all you will ever do. I must speak with you regarding your time on Rattatak."
Ky's stomach plummeted as he realized that he'd been found out, that his great shame would be revealed. A thousand excuses gathered in the back of his throat, while questions ran through his mind. How? Why now? What do I do now?
"I have had some time with Asajj, and she is an excellent Padawan despite the difficulty of training her in such an environment. She's exactly the caliber of Jedi I want from the New Temple. As her teacher you should be proud."
Relief washed over Ky, driving away his fears and testing his composure even more than a moment before. His mind shield almost quailed for a moment, and Ky realized from the confused look Dooku was giving him some of his internal struggle must have shown on his face.
"I am proud of her." Ky murmured out, hardly able to raise his voice.
"Were you so worried for her?" Dooku's brow quirked for a moment with bemusement. "You should have more confidence in yourself."
"Th-Thank you, Master." Ky bowed his head, and hiding his face for long enough to recompose himself.
"Now, how did you resolve that matter with the Barabels?"
Ky was lost for a moment, not able to keep pace with the change in conversation. "The Barabels, sir?"
"On Lothal, you said they may be criminals."
Ky finally remembered. "Oh, I couldn't find any warrants for their arrest, so I reached out to a contact with the Bounty Hunters Guild, and there was an open bounty on four barabels, two male, two female, who I'm sure were them."
"And? What's the bounty for?"
"Uh, it was issued by a Hutt, they were pit fighters who organized a breakout. I'm not sure how they got the slave chips out, but they must have somehow. I guess they just didn't want to raise a family with that kind of future."
"Which Hutt?"
Ky searched his memory. "Oodruc the Vast, I think."
Dooku frowned, consideringly. "Oodruc holds a large piece of Nal Hutta. He's among the wealthiest and most powerful Hutts."
Ky wasn't sure he followed. "Sir?"
"If word gets out that we sheltered his enemies, we can expect retaliation." Dooku frowned. "Where did you move them to?"
"They're still on Indinor." When Dooku looked at him sharply, Ky rushed to explain. "Well, when Barabels hatch, the nest's mothers feed the newborn young mouth to mouth, and they transfer a variety of digestive bacteria, antibodies and enzymes in their bile that the young need to grow strong. I tried to think of a work-around, maybe refrigerating some of the mother's stomach acid, but even that would need someone to drink it and… vomit it into the kid's mouth, because the newborn would instinctively reject it otherwise."
Dooku grimaced, looking away disgusted. "I see."
"Prialla said she'd be willing, but…"
"But it is beneath the dignity of a Jedi Knight."
"Y-yeah, exactly." In truth, Ky had seen Prialla's obvious reluctance, and hadn't felt comfortable about asking anyone to do something so disgusting that he would never be able to do it himself. "In the end, I gave them one of the unused bunks and added their nutritional needs to the delivery database."
The Count considered for a while before nodding. " As long as they're on Indinor I doubt Oodruc will find out about it anytime soon. There's hardly anyone there to inform him. You've made the right decision."
"Thank you, Master."
"This kind of clear thinking is why I think you should be the one to take over for our new Youngling's classes."
"Oh, uh, yes well of course I'd be happy to." Ky replied quickly. "I'll just need to talk with Master Sifo Dyas about what Tan'ya's learned already and then it'll be very easy to take over. I'm sure-"
"That won't be necessary." Dooku cut across him firmly. "Tan'ya is more advanced in her studies than our incoming students are, and so will remain in classes with Sifo Dyas."
"...Isn't that special treatment?"
"I don't think so." Dooku smiled at him. "If I had another youngling with almost a year of training as well, I think it would be perfectly appropriate for them to join Dyas' classes, but we must make do with what we have."
Ky felt a healthy dose of skepticism, but decided to keep it to himself. "I see, of course that's how it is."
"Yes, that's how it is." Dooku agreed. "On that topic, given your role as the most senior Knight in the New Temple, Dyas and I have talked, and we have agreed that you're surely ready to become a Master yourself."
Ky blinked. "A Master? I'm not nearly ready! Compared to you two my connection to the force and my lightsaber skills are just not-"
"Those can be worked on afterwards. What matters most for now is what's best for the Temple, and it needs more than two Jedi Masters. I have duties to attend to, diplomatic affairs that take me all across the Outer Rim, and Sifo is extremely busy as well. We've coordinated so far to make sure that there is always at least one Master present, but now that we have more students we need more Masters."
Ky paused, unable to make eye contact. His stomach churned and roiled inside him, and he knew in his heart of hearts he wasn't ready. He couldn't be a Jedi master, he didn't have what it took and he couldn't be trusted. He was a liar, a coward, and worse. Unable to answer Dooku, Ky swallowed miserably.
The Count watched him for a long moment, until his face hardened. "I see."
"I-I'm sorry Master, I'm unable. This is just… I-"
"Enough, Ky. The Temple needs a third Master, and whatever you think of yourself you'll have to do." He stepped closer, somehow seeming to loom over the Jedi who was only slightly shorter. "Do you understand me?"
It was all Ky could do to nod his head with a shallow gulp, and look away from those hard, dark eyes.
Abruptly they were interrupted by the familiar voice of Athemeene. "Husband, you've brought work home with you again." She chided. "This is supposed to be a party."
In an instant the frightening, uncompromising gaze of chilled durasteel was gone, and Dooku had the look of a put upon husband who felt he was being unfairly harangued. "Wife, it was a small conversation between colleagues. We can talk about work without it being work, you know."
Athemeene hadn't come alone to rescue Ky from Dooku, she'd brough Asajj with her. Obviously some of the tension of Ky and the Count's previous conversation had been visible to her, because there was an obvious look of concern on her face.
"Were you guys fighting?" Asajj asked.
"Hardly." Dooku scoffed. "In fact, I was telling Ky that he was ready to advance to the rank of Jedi Master."
"Really?" Aajj stood straighter, an excited smile alighting her face. "Is that true, Master Ky?"
When he saw that bright look on his former student's face, Ky knew he really wasn't in a position to refuse any longer. Unable to disappoint his adopted daughter in front of him, and afraid to upset the powerful man behind him, Ky was well and truly trapped. The decision had been made for him, all he could do was try to make it work.
"Yes, Padawan Asajj. It's true." Ky told her with his best warm smile, defeated but determined not to let it show.
A T-6 Shuttle descended through Serenno's upper atmosphere, and parked in the palace's landing area, next to a small YT-1000 and a much larger Consular Class.
Grand Master of the Jedi Order Yoda felt relieved to finally disembark. He was old, and didn't enjoy traveling much anymore. With the help of the Force he could force his old bones and worn joints into graceful leaps and bounds, though he would feel it very badly afterwards, and the force could do nothing to help him with the discomfort of a bad that wasn't his own and a twelve hours hyperspace jump. At least the T-6 was large enough that he could move about the cabin freely.
The tapping of Yoda's cane as he stepped down the exit ramp was accompanied by the clipped stride of two human men in soft heeled boots, and the gentle padding of another member of his species, Yaddle. The three of them, Jedi Master Yaddle, Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and Padawan Obi-wan Kenobi accompanied Yoda for this long journey, all on explicit invitation from their host.
It had been a surprise to all of them, to receive an invitation to a Life Day celebration of all things, a decidedly consumerist holiday that the rest of the Council did not approve of. Well, Yoda decided to go anyway, giving the reason that it was as good of a time as any to check in on Jedi Master Dooku and the New Temple.
Yoda always had a soft spot for Younglings. He knew that they needed to be taught discipline, and obviously rewarding them for nothing would teach bad habits, and that the Jedi had no real truck with an occasion that on Coruscant served no real purpose other than to satisfy the gaping chasm of bottomless corporate greed. The Council knew it, Yoda knew it, the Jedi Order absolutely knew it. There was no need for something as shallow and vapid as Life Day.
It was just that, well, Yoda loved it. He absolutely loved this day to bits. He was of the opinion that a celebration of any occasion was a good idea, and this one in particular happened to be an excellent excuse to spoil a good child. Shopping for gifts for Tanya, Kenth and Madale had been a little tricky, he hadn't met them yet and wasn't sure what kinds of toys they would enjoy, but he was sure that he found something for each of them.
Ahead of him, from the Palace emerged Dooku carrying his son Kenth, and his beautiful young wife Athemeene pushing a hover-pram with little Madale inside. Behind them, wearing a cute lilac evening dress, but with a black cape and silver chain like her father, was Tan'ya. The overly serious expression she wore and the way she carried herself with her back straight, chin tilted up, chest puffed out, and attempting to walk in his confident, unwavering strides made it clear that even at this young age she was looking to her father's example.
"Grand Master Yoda, Master Yaddle and Qui-Gon, it's good to see you all." The Count smiled and radiated confident feelings of welcome in the force. "And it's good to meet you as well, Obi-wan. Qui-Gon mentions you often."
"Thank you, Master." The boy bowed in a formal manner that didn't quite fit the occasion.
"I shall have to introduce you to my own Padawan, I'm sure there'll be time later or in the morning." Dooku turned his torso so the small boy he was carrying faced the newcomers. "This is Kenth, my son, and in the pram there is Madale, my daughter."
Looking slightly left out, Tan'ya stepped forward to stand at her father's side, but her mother grabbed her shoulder and gently tugged her away. "This is Tan'ya." Athemeene said, placing a hand on her daughter's head and smiling.
With their greetings exchanged, the family led them all downstairs to where the party was being held, and Yoda was pleased to see plenty of other youngling's present as well. None of them were from the New Temple, most of the children seemed to be the Count's extended family, nieces, nephews and the like.
"I thought the Temple had been recruiting younglings?" Yaddle asked what Yoda assumed all the Coruscant Jedi had been thinking.
"We have, but almost none of them are at the Temple yet." Dooku explained. "Starting next year we're expecting thirty new students to be staying with us."
"And their age? Your previous reports mentioned that many of them were older than we would usually accept." Yaddle continued to prod.
"The oldest is thirteen by Coruscant years." Dooku assuaged, with what Yoda knew to be manufactured certainty.
"Too old." Yoda declared, tapping his cane more loudly on his next step. "Attached to their parents they are."
"I make do with what I have, Master Yoda." Dooku replied. "The Temple hasn't even completed construction, yet. At least allow us to open our doors before condemning us as radicals."
Yoda harrumphed in disapproval, but knew better than to keep arguing. Dooku was at least as stubborn as any Jedi the Order had ever produced, so pointing out the danger of his students already being attached to their parents would only make him dig his heels in more when his pride was on the line.
"If you wish to see how our students will be taught, speak to Tan'ya. She is our first Youngling."
"I will." Yoda declared. What he didn't say was he wouldn't do so when her Father was there to intervene on her behalf. Yoda could already tell in just the few minutes since meeting her that she was in far too much of a hurry to grow up, but there would be time later that evening to speak on the subject of prophecy, and get a better sense of her.
Before more words could be said, the conversation was interrupted by a droid suddenly arriving and beeped out a short sentence in binary.
Dooku's eyebrow shot up in confusion. "Another guest?" He looked at his wife. "How many more did you invite?"
"Let's go up and find out." Athemeene replied, smiling mischievously. She looked to the Jedi Grandmaster. "If you and your dashing young knights wouldn't mind mingling with the other guests for now, I'm sure it won't be long until everyone's here and dinner can begin."
Yoda couldn't help but notice how much more confidently she carried herself these days. It seemed she'd risen to the occasion of motherhood, or maybe she was just used to running the Palace's day to day affairs, it being her home.
"Very good." Yoda told her, and began to hobble away, leading his few Coruscant Jedi to the rows of tables.
As he walked over, he spotted other Jedi Knights mingling among the crowd. He knew them all by name, Friimun, Kurnee, Jannam Blurts and many more. They had all been his younglings once, and many of them he considered his own failures. That wasn't to say they weren't skilled in the Jedi Arts, just that many of them never grew into an appropriate disposition to be a keeper of the peace. Whether it was growing resentful of the many failures of the Republic, losing their first master early on, or feeling too ideologically connected to the ways of Jedi in the Old Republic, none of them had ever quite found a place in the Order.
There were three real exceptions. Ky Narec, an accomplished Knight whom Yoda had believed dead years ago and had been pleasantly surprised to learn was still alive and well, Prialla who despite a strong connection to the force was simply too admiring of Dooku's very spotty record, and a new face Yoda didn't recognise at all, but had read about.
Asajj Ventress, a powerful and talented force sensitive that Ky had discovered and trained. Yoda watched the young Zabrak dance with her master, laughing happily as they flowed through the steps of a dance together guided by the Force. Even at just a glance, her pale skin and hornless head immediately gave away her Dathomiri heritage as a Night Sister.
Dathomir was an old thorn in the side of the Jedi Order, a small wound that had never quite been dealt with. It was a remote, dark world, not particularly close to any major hyperlanes, and only sparsely populated with primitive villages and communities that were never allowed to grow too large by the planet's true masters. The planet's sole remarkable feature was that it was a powerful nexus of the Dark Side of the Force, and thus ruled over by a dangerous cult of force users called the Witches of Dathomir. The Zabrak ethnicity that lived there were the Night Brothers and Night Sisters, segregated into different villages by sex so their masters could control their population growth, and only brought together to reproduce at times and occasions of the Witches' choosing.
The whole planet was ruled over with an iron fist by a monstrous dark sider named Mother Talzin. Her exact purpose was unknown, but as best as Jedi investigations into the matter could tell she was deliberately trying to breed large numbers of force sensitives. Among the general galactic population, even minor force sensitivity too weak to be a jedi occurred at a rate of around one in several million, with more powerful force sensitives being closer to one in a hundred million. Jedi investigators had been able to prove that among Night Brothers and Night Sisters, weak force users were more like one in ten thousand.
That particular revelation had nearly caused a panic on the Jedi Council, five hundred years ago when Yoda was much younger. If there were that many weak force users, there had to be many more powerful ones. The Dark Side shrouded the entire planet, making finding this veritable army of force users impossible. The best the Jedi could do was fly over the planet's dense swamp and jungle canopies, looking for them on scanners, which had not yielded any useful results. Any Jedi who tried to explore the planet on foot or on speeder would only aimlessly wander through empty swamps, at best discovering the husk of villages destroyed long ago. Worse still, some Jedi who went to explore Dathomir simply never returned.
Eventually, the Jedi Council was forced to admit defeat. All they could do was set up satellites around the planet to watch its surface, and prepare in case this army of dark siders ever did reveal itself.
All information that the Jedi currently had on the Witches came from the cult's sporadic involvement in the underworld. Occasionally, presumably when the Witches needed funds for their plans, they would sell potent spices, or act as mercenaries. Individually, each witch was quite dangerous, and though rarely a match for a jedi, many were more than deadly enough to overpower a band of pirates or even a lone mandalorian. As formidable as these mercenary witches were, their connection to the force was never on the level of a jedi, only ever being minor force sensitives trained in the Dark Side.
The mystery of what happened to the cult's truly powerful force sensitives remained unsolved all these years later. Asajj, who was the most powerful night sister the Order had ever seen, was most likely born of an illicit union between Night Sister and Night Brother, and sold into slavery to an offworld trader to cover up the crime.
It was a fascinating hint at rebellion against the Witches' rule over the planet, but also a frustrating dead end in the investigation.
"I still say we should have just burned the planet from orbit, and be done with it." A voice said from Yoda's right.
"Master Sifo Dyas, unchanged you are." Yoda turned to look at the man. "Such fear is unbecoming of a Jedi Master."
He merely smiled at their disagreement. "If there is another Dark Side Empire out there in unknown space, planet's like Dathomir would be ripe for recruitment."
"A good thing, it is, that no such empire exists." Yoda counted.
"You would not be the first Grand Master to believe that, and they were proved wrong in time." He sighed, sipping at a glass of punch that smelled suspiciously potent. "Such mistakes cost our galaxy dearly."
Yoda harrumphed. "Alcohol. Where the Younglings can see!" He sharply jabbed his cane at the Jedi Master's thigh. "Put it away, now."
Wincing in pain, Sifo quickly finished his glass and set it on an unoccupied table. "Look, Asajj is a good kid, whatever her origins, and very talented. The Coruscant Temple should have taken her in."
"Too attached." Yoda pointed with his cane to where the young lady was smiling widely, as she followed Ky through several steps of the dance. Even without speaking to her, it could not be more obvious that she loved her old master dearly. Much too dearly.
Worse still, Yoda was sure Ky also loved her back. Whichever of the two died first, and inevitably one of them would, the other would struggle not to fall.
Just this small look at the Jedi who had joined the New Temple had reinforced all of Yoda's worries about the New Temple. To a one, they were all rebellious, proud, and bitter. He could only hope they wouldn't pass such an attitude onto the Younglings they were recruiting.
"Eager you are, Dr Difo, to lecture your elders about history." Yoda turned to look at the former council member with a scowl. "But know do you, that the earliest Sith were Jedi first?"
Sifo looked at him, obviously shocked. "You knew? How?"
As if no Jedi had never browsed a digital store before bed. The moment Master Ki Adi had seen a book by 'Dr Difo Syas' the council had figured everything out immediately. "Among the archives, your history would have been welcome." Yoda told him and shook his head. "Never once, the Council stopped you from speaking your mind. Valued your view, we did. Had you only trusted your friends, the University of Teta we could have sent you to. Instead, misappropriate funds you did." After regarding his old friend for a long moment, Yoda simply sighed, feeling all eight hundred of his years in the moment. "Betrayed us one more time, you have. Betrayed me."
The Grandmaster of the Jedi Order left, leaving his former student alone.
Sifo Dyas stood by himself for a long time, truly alone in a crowded room. After standing in silence for several minutes, he reached into his pocket and took out a hip flask. He took a long pull of chilled corellian brandy before rescrewing the lid, hid it, and went to join the people gathering around the table.
"You don't even know the half of it, old friend." He murmured to himself.
AN: Gonna be a slight delay on the next chapter, because of the Easter long weekend. I won't be able to get any writing done, but progress on the next chapter has already begun so it shouldn't be delayed by much. Enjoy the holiday everyone!