Before - Legends Swings and Roundabouts (JA - RR) *Final post *

Wow! I'm not able to get on for a couple of days and there's a posting frenzy. Not that I'm upset about that or anything!

Jem - Yee-hee! That explains a lot about An-paj and Simeon's relationship. I love it! Simmy's pretty quick to pick up on some things. Then again Jemmy would probab,y have gotten away with rolling over his head if he hadn't agreed about the wheelchair!

Kit - Wonderful to see you back posting! Talk about covering your bases! LOL!! Things to not bode well for Tara.

Leona - Hmmmm... There was something I really needed to tell you... Now what was it... Oh! That's it! I told you so! Yay for the return of Raquel Paris!

Jem - I think An-Paj thinks that Jemmy may make the eeeeeek! on the wheelchair even louder if she's allowed to take that one out.
"Don't worry," she promised him breathlessly, "I'll take good care if it?the chair will be as precious to me as if it were Obi-Wan himself!"

"Oh, dear." An-Paj closed his eyes.

Exactly!!!

Ty-gon Jinn - ?And he wanted to go order littler ones from the place with the cartoon Jawa.? And what's wrong with that? Sometimes it's the atmosphere that makes it better.

Sabe126 - ?Injured?!!!? What kind of amusement park was it?

Simeon laughed. ?I hope I won?t be needed.?

Oh no! Why did you two go and say that?!?! Now you're jinxed!

Ish - Better watch out. I've heard Yoda's got a mean swing with that stick of his. "All right," she sighed. "As long as the list doesn't have the 'casualty' heading to it." Uh oh! Mopre foreshadowing!

Jem - That's my boy! There's always some way to get around Qui-Gon's rules and regulations! Then again it's not like it's something he's never done!

 

yeah, it's a lot easier to be catty behind a back.

 

Here's my humble contubutio. Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~


?C?mon people! Nothing to see here!?

A small redhead pushed her way through the crowd doing her best to herd them wither back in the bar or on their way. It was slow going, but the presence of Security as well as the covered body of a deceased Rodian didn?t seem to be helping matters much.

?Are you the one in charge here?? a uniformed officer asked her.

Looking around she noticed that everyone?s attention suddenly seemed to be on their feet or lower extremities.

?I guess so,? she answered him with a shrug hoping this would all be over quick. You?d think they?d get a clue. It wasn?t like security hadn?t ever been here before.

?Your name please.?
?Could we leave names out of this one?? she asked. What was it about her name? Rela Quinn couldn?t be that hard of a name to remember! Then again if he actually took the time to look at some of the previous reports he would know! Sighing to herself Rela decided to get everything over with so he would go away.

?Listen, I don?t know anything. I was in the back when it all went down, and by the looks of the crowd no one else knows anything either.?
?Thanks for your time miss. I?ll let you get back to work now.?

Rela blinked as she watched the officer pocket his datapad and walk away to his speeder. She couldn?t believe it. He?d bought it! Now to get her customers back to doing what they do best.

?Two for one drinks for the next ten minutes!? she shouted.

Loiterers scrambled their way back inside. Too bad they didn?t know the drinks would be served in the smallest possible container as well as mixed weak. Either that or they didn?t care.

She hadn?t been back inside five minutes serving drinks when Security walked his way inside. This did not bode well.

?I thought you said you didn?t want to come back here tonight,? Rela joked.
?I never left,? he deadpanned.
?Ah.? She was screwed.

She watched as he puffed himself up trying to look as important as he possibly could.

?I?m going to have to shut you down for the night. Time to close up.?
?Why? For that little fight? Hell?s Chance loses at least two or three customers a week!?
?Just be thankful that it?s not tomorrow too.?

Rela gave herself some credit that she at least waited until his back was turned before sticking her tongue out at him. She quickly jumped up on the bar and began shouting.

?They?re closing us up. You don?t have to go home, but you can?t stay here!?

It was thirty minutes later that Rela and the wookiee bouncer Mus finally had the bar cleared out. They sat down at the bar together and Rela fixed herself a cup of caff while trying to avoid Mus? gaze.

?What?? she finally asked exasperated.
{See where your temper gets you. You?ll get more profits if you stay nice.}
?Nice ends at midnight! I warned him three times to stop slapping my bottom. Besides it?s not my fault his ?buddy? hit him over the head with a chair! He shouldn?t have been cheating his crew out on their profits.?

Mus wuffed in laughter. Somehow this tiny human always made him rethink things as well as laugh at others.

{Drinking that caff will stunt your growth. Why don?t you go home and get some rest?}

Rela gave him an evil look that told him to stop meddling.

?I think your warning is a bit late. I? too wired right now, but I guess I can try and squeeze a couple of hours sleep in before tomorrow.?
{What?s to- that?s right the amusement park is tomorrow. Why would you want to go there? I wouldn?t think they would let you on the rides.}
?Ha ha. Very funny, but I plan on riding the Screaming Snake of Death or die trying.?

Mus stood up and began to walk to the door to head home.

{You are clinically insane you know that?}
?Who told??

 

?Ha ha. Very funny, but I plan on riding the Screaming Snake of Death or die trying.?

LOL. How telling of a personality.

Niiice post, mouse2. Rela's... interesting, to say the least.

 

Loved that last line. So Rela, who is quickly becoming one of my favorites. Loved "Nice ends at midnight." It explains my reasons for kneeing a guy in the below-the-belt when he groped me at 4 a.m. in paris.

 

Hehehe!! Loved the post, Mouse!!

 

LOL! Am looking forward to Rela trying that ride!

 

Mouse:

?Why? For that little fight? Hell?s Chance loses at least two or three customers a week!?

ROFLOL! How true! Rela is so good with the flip answers!

?Nice ends at midnight!

Another one to add to the delicious quotes that have been springing up in abundance!

"Drinking that caff will stunt your growth"

Stable doors and bolting spring to mind!

Screaming snake of death! I like this! Great post Mouse!

********

"SIX!" Berlingside yelped delightedly, punching the air in triumph! "A six!"

Mace watched as Dex retrieved the dice from underneath the sofa in his living room, shaking his head as the fair haired master got down on his hands and knees to squint underneath the gap between the couch and the floor. The man would never change. No matter how trivial or how important things might be, Dex Berlingside would treat them with equal eagerness. Infact over the years Mace had come to the conclusion that the more trivial matters were the more Dex threw his heart into it.

"Got it!" The master crooked his index and middle fingers together, tweaking them from their hiding place with a force-twitch so slight as to be almost unnoticeable. He straightened up, golden blonde hair plastered against a forehead pink from bending over. "Sorry about that!" Dex apologised. "Got a bit carried away?"

"You said that the last time." Mace pointed out reasonably. "And the time before that. And the time before that?"

"I know." Dex nodded with childish glee, eyes wild and alive. "Its called enthusiasm. You should try it sometime."

He blew on the dice as if to clear any remaining trace of fluff that might be lingering on the cube before handing it over to a clearly disgruntled Mace, dropping it into the councilman's open palm. There was really nothing to beat a late night game of chance with a friend, but as most of Dex's friends had long since gone to bed he'd had to make do with Mace instead. Still, even the bald-headed one could be good company when the mood took him. And there were so many things a person could learn from a high-ranking member of the jedi council when sharing a convivial evening and a jar of Coruscant's finest ale?

"I confess I find it a little difficult to summon up the same boundless energy for a game of chance the way that you seem to." Mace made a point of inspecting the dice, holding it between his thumb and forefinger so that he might make certain it hadn't been tampered with.

"That's because you lose all the time." Replied Dex, leaning back in his seat, the picture of perfect relaxation and contentment.

"It's because I have more important things to think about." Mace retorted with a frown, his brow collapsing with sustained concentration. His right eye narrowed fractionally as he slowly shook the dice in his hand, casting it upon the table and watching it spin towards the end. It teetered for a split second before resting on one side, showing three white dots on its uppermost surface.

"Three!" Dex whooped.

"Thank you. I can count." deadpanned Mace, cursing his luck. It was always the same whenever he played against Dex: no matter how hard he tried or how much he attempted to explain Berlingside's luck away by his genetic Corellian ability to cheat - he always ended up losing. So why did he put himself through the taunting? Because he wanted to go one better than his friend? Or simply to prove that there was more to himself than the stuffy, lifeless councilman with the bypassed sense of humour that everybody took him for? Or maybe, oddly enough, he was genuinely enjoying himself?

"It's my turn." Dex rubbed his hands together.

"I haven't moved yet." Mace countered, his voice brimming with steely determination.

Berlingside blinked in astonishment. "What's the point in waiting? It's not like you have a choice?"

"You're spoiling my concentration." Warned Mace.

"Oh, give me that?there! One, two, three!" His hand moved the counter forward, tapping on the board thrice with such weight that it threatened to topple the counters. "Now it's my turn."

"I

 

LMAO!! Yay! Sexy-Dexy!!

Playing Snakes and Ladders.. LOL!

Why do I have the feeling that Dexy is going to go anyways?

 

LOL! Great if slightly forlorn post. Humour mixed with pragmatism.

 

Jemmiah - There was really nothing to beat a late night game of chance with a friend, but as most of Dex's friends had long since gone to bed he'd had to make do with Mace instead

implement a new law instructing every jedi to carry one instead of a lightsabre."

ROTFL! But what happened at the amusement park all those years ago? Please say that we are going to find out at some point!

 

Mace in upcoming instalments.

I have a plea to make. In my next instalment (which takes place the morning of the trip) I have Mia and Rem visiting the Coruscant museum on the way to the amusement park and bumping into Master Windu there.

Since Mace has mentioned that a trip to the museum would be preferable to the amusement park it will fit in rather well. (Thanks Jemmiah! ) So, if any of you have plans for Mace at the amusement park, could he stop off at the museum for an hour in the morning first, please?

Thanks!

 

By all means, Sabe. Go ahead.

 

I'm glad everyone seems to like Dex so much, lol! I'm sure he'll be on hand to help out when everything starts to go wrong...

This is one of my evenings off from writing, but things will begin to pick up shortly. Tomorrow's post will be the start of the next day so we can all begin to prepare for departure to the amusement park pretty soon.

 

Great! Had too much to do this evening to write anything but hope to get the next one written either tomorrow or Thursday.

 

Hope y'all have a decent Thanksgiving...

Oh, and Jem? Just when ARE we going to learn what Simeon's toe trick is?!

 

Miana, I'm not sure that's something that Simeon would let me reveal... Although it does have something to do with being double jointed - or in Simeon's case 'no jointed!'

*******


Simeon yawned, hand pressed against the side of his head. The arm on which he was leaning so heavily threatened to slide sideways at a moments notice but the padawan didn't much care if his face ended up in the bowl of cereal he was so fastidiously picking at with the aid of a spoon. Carelessly he stirred in the Yannats milk, watching the brick-like nest of wheat soak up the moisture, absorbing it like a sponge. There was something about breakfast that Simeon found inherently difficult to cope with. He knew as a healer how important the first meal of the day could be in terms of receiving sufficient food to fuel his brain until it was afternoon?but Simeon wasn't a morning person. Working up the enthusiasm to tackle the unappetising food always seemed like such a chore.

"If the brain depends on food resources to power it," Simeon was heard to mutter into his bowl of cereal, "What size of grey matter must Obi-Wan have? You'd be able to run a space station off him?"

"One of life's great mysteries, Simeon." An-Paj replied, tapping the young man lightly upon the shoulder. "But one would have to point out that if there were a connection between brain power first thing in the morning and nutrition, it would in your case certainly explain a thing or two!" He eyed his padawan, looking him surreptitiously up and down. "Look at you!"

"What's wrong with me?" Simeon gave up swirling the milk in his bowl and put the spoon down.

"You resemble a used handkerchief! All crushed up as if you've been in somebody's pocket for two or three months! There are," he peered closely into Simeon's tired black eyes, "dark circles beginning to form beneath that I swear were not there the night before. Might I enquire what form of debauchery you have been subjecting yourself to, or would I prefer not to know, hmm?"

Debauchery? That caused Simeon to blink a bit! Hadn't he just hauled himself out of bed after what seemed like mere seconds after having got into it?

"Master," the apprentice stared lifelessly up at him, "if you must know I've been trying to improve my general knowledge of unofficial galactic languages."

"At night?!?" An-Paj's right antennae folded suspiciously in the middle as if questioning the truth of the matter.

"You're supposed to listen to them at night!" Simeon rubbed aimlessly at his eyes; fists balling in his eyesockets attempting to rub the bleariness away. "You know?it's like those hypnosis discs. You plug them in and listen, letting them sink into your subconscious. That way you get the benefit of learning without the stress of trying to cram everything into your mind."

An-Paj didn't seem especially impressed. "And what have you actually learned?" He asked Simeon, sitting down in the chair opposite from him, helping himself to a glass of freshly squeezed citrus juice.

"That I didn't get any sleep." Simeon admitted, defeated. "It doesn't work! I have a brain totally incapable of taking in any useful information! It's not fair - all I want from time to time is a little co-operation. Is it so much to ask?" He pushed his bowl away from him, no longer wanting to look at the gelatinous looking milk sitting in his bowl. "All I wish to do is learn a few languages, yet when I try I can't remember a single word! Yet if you asked me to name every winner of the Republic Gabali Championship for the past two hundred and nine years I could name each team, who scored the winning shot and which celebrity they were dating at the time!"

An-Paj gave a rueful snort. "Admittedly not exactly the most helpful thing to learn as regards healing and medicine?"

"All I've been getting for the last few days are bigger and bigger bags under my eyes." Simeon pulled a miserable face. "No wonder Jemmy wouldn't want to kiss me in broad daylight!"

An-Paj tapped on the bowl with an extended finger.

"If you don't eat then you won't

 

I felt like doing a bit of a reversal of the standard padawan/master debate on the matter. Also, sorry if I pulled Jay away from anything important he was supposed to be doing story-wise, so hard to keep up!

----------


Faster!

Menali-Jay Abran took a moment to regret the sad fact that there was no force power for granting wishes. Such a thing, he considered, would be more useful than levitation, mind tricks and all the others together. On the other hand, he mused, were that the case he could think of much better wishes than a faster lift.

Why, I'd just summon up an amusement park here. And that fine bit of something from the airspeeder holo ads... On second thought, what's so great about amusement parks?

Returning his mind forcefully to the present, he once more willed the conveyance to speed. He had to meet up with Obi-Wan and Simeon soon enough, and if anything the lift seemed to slow the closer it came to its destination. It took him a moment to realize it was slowing, halting to pick up another passenger. Just great...

Well, not bad, anyway. His silent objections cooled as the girl walked in. Without even thinking, Jay's eyes imperceptibly flicked over her in an automatic examination of her figure, lingering just long enough to detail the interesting bits. The famous "Glance" maneuver, consisting of a furtive appraisal of the female form, went back as long as there had been men. He was rather proud to have perfected it to the level he had. Besides, there was no harm in appreciating a well-kept individual!

When his mind reclaimed the responsibilities of thinking from other, more persuasive organs, he noted curiously that her clothes and hair indicated quite clearly that she wasn't a padawan. It wasn't too unusual for a non-Jedi to be wandering about the Temple, but her relatively young age and lack of escort compelled him to spare a question.

"You're not a Jedi, are you?" he observed.

The girl turned to him, not at all bothered by his spontaneous conversational overture. "No, I'm not. Just here to see someone."

"Well, since I'm someone, I suppose you'll be headed home now, hm?" He held out his hand by way of greeting. "Menali-Jay Abran. Just Jay, if you haven't got all day."

She grinned lightly and took his outstretched palm. Definitely not shy around strangers. "Maye Kline. Pleased to make your acquaintance. Though actually I'm here to see Garos. Garos Hmiol, I mean. You wouldn't happen to know him? I doubt it somehow, this place is so huge..."

Jay stared at her a moment in disbelief. "You're Hmiol's new girl? And here I thought Simeon was just catching a few too many medicinal fumes again!"

"So...you do know him, then?"

The padawan laughed. "Yes, and on behalf of all male kind I'd like to thank you."

"For what?"

"For giving hope to every man alive."

She stared at him quizzically. "Er...okay."

The mind of a joker is a remarkable thing, able to make thousands of connections instantly to deliver the perfect witty comeback or capitalize on an opportunity for mischief within seconds. The specific connections Jay made at this time went something like this-

Where am I going? Amusement park.
What's at an amusement park? Fun.
What's the opposite of fun? Garos Hmiol.

"Well, I guess I'll see you at the park today, then?"

"Park? What park?"

"Oh, you haven't heard? Garos must not be going to the amusement park with us, then. A shame."

"An amusement park?" Maye questioned with just the slightest hint of naive wonder.

Definitely not from Coruscant he noted, or any major core world, for that matter.

"Yes. Surely you've been before?"

"Well, no. I've heard about them, of course, but I've never been myself."

"You're joking!" Jay exclaimed. "Then you have to give it a go sometime. It's the most fun in the sector, on the rare occasions it's on Coruscant. The rides alone are worth it, not to mention the shows, concessions, and various other attractions..."

For the next fifteen seconds he detailed, and where n

 

Jemmiah - Besides which the translator made his voice sound like a girl! - LOL! Poor Simeon! The stage is set for some very amusing and awkward situations! Can't wait!

Wampasmak - "For giving hope to every man alive - ROTFL! Looks like Garos is going to have words with Jay!

 

Mace Windu strode through the first floor of the Coruscant Museum of Ancient History. His conversation with Dex the night before, had reminded him that he had not visited here in almost a year and he decided to set a good example. Not that he thought that any padawan?s with permission to leave the Temple today, would follow it, then again, would he have done at their age?

Mia looked at the exhibits. Trust Rem to write his history assignment on the Senate. He was standing next to her, pouring over the original documentation for the formation of the Senate. They had got permission for this trip from Knight Galia and had not actually mentioned their planned route back to the Temple but she had heard that other padawan?s had received permission to attend the amusement park and was almost sure that Sifo-Dyas would have given his.

She had arrived at Rem?s apartment the night before, lamenting about her visit to the infirmary. ?They want me to see a Soul Healer.? She paced up and down the living area while Rem watched from the kitchen.

?I?m surprised it?s taken this long.? He busied himself in the refrigeration unit, avoiding the glare she was undoubtedly sending in his direction. ?Although seriously,? he stood up, ?I?m sorry I wasn?t here when you needed me but if you do want to talk.?

?I will,? she answered quickly. ?Thank you. Anyway, it?s not your fault that you were stuck on Dantooine for all those months.?

?Any more dreams??

?No.? She took the drink he offered. ?Healer Leona has given me the all clear to resume training. I haven?t picked up my lightsaber in months.?

?I don?t mind going over the basics.?

?Thanks.?

He took his lightsaber from his belt. ?Ok, this is a lightsaber. Make sure you point this end away from you when you activate it.? He had cheered her up with a response she should have expected after twelve years of friendship.

?I knew it!? He exclaimed excitedly, interrupting her thoughts. ?The official report of the meeting misquoted the original speech made by the first Chancellor.?

?Congratulations.? Mia tried to sound as excited as he was. ?I expect the others are at the park by now. Did I tell you that I bumped into Simeon last night? It seems that there are quite a few of us going.? He continued to read. ?Rem!!?

?I heard you.?

For the last few months, she had studied as hard as she could, so that the Council and Sifo-Dyas would have no reason to get rid of her. Yet here she was about to??Rem!?

?I told you I wouldn?t be more than 10 minutes and I have only been 5.? He didn?t look round.

?No!? She grabbed his arm. ?It?s Master Windu.? He was in the next room. Their exit was blocked. ?What is he doing here??

Rem glanced up; Mia noticed that he didn?t look too concerned. ?Leave this to me.?

??No problem.? She followed him to the next room.

?Master Windu. What are you doing here? Rem asked as they approached him.

The Jedi Master raised an eyebrow, ?The same as you.?

?Do you have a history assignment?? Mia asked, not totally succeeding in sounding innocent.

?Not today, no.? Mace replied dryly. He took in their appearance. What they were wearing did not fill the requirements of regulation Jedi uniform. ?I did not realise that you had successfully completed the trials Padawan Ardnt.?

?I haven?t.?

?Then where is your braid??

?Oh, that.? Mia?s hand flew to her hair. While putting her hair into an Alderaan braid, she had accidentally included it. ?Sorry.? She looked to Rem for help.

?I?m doing my assignment on the Senate, Master Windu,? and he went into great detail about the complexities involved in it?s formation. He paused for breath, usually by this time the listener had lost interest, but to his horror the Jedi Master seemed to be listening intently. So he launched into his discovery, ??and therefore, the copy of the Treaty held by the Archives is incorrect.?

?Maybe you could show me?? Mace suggested. He did not want to inform Madame Nu about this without having evidence.

?Actually Master, we do

 

Hi Wampy!

I promise to review yours and Sabes posts in the morning tomorrow...I've simply run out of time this evening. I promise I'm not ignoring anyone!

*****

Obi-Wan turned over onto his side and sighed, eyes still closed. As a jedi he had been taught to think nothing of deprivations and lack of material goods: after all it was rare for a master or padawan to have much in the way of possessions. Whilst money and luxury were things that Obi-Wan had no desire to obtain it didn't mean that he was unappreciative of them should the opportunity arise. Such was the case with his bed.

Normally, given the fact he could never tell from one mission to the next if he'd actually be able to get any sleep at all let alone somewhere to rest, Obi-Wan would have felt satisfied with a floor to lie on and his robe as a pillow. Lately however he'd taken to imagining that there was somebody beside him in the bed?not something he intended telling Qui-Gon in a hurry!

Qui-Gon was not a prude. He was as far from a prude as you could possibly get, but he did have standards to uphold and opinions based upon years of personal experience. Whilst the man could at least concede that it needn't necessarily follow his padawan would similarly dive headfirst into a disastrous relationship like his own with Sal-Fina, his gut reaction was to not even let the scenario arise. Small blame to him for wanting to keep the status quo and hoping that somehow things would simply go back the way they were before his padawan started seeing his ward?

Still, Obi-Wan needed to make sure his thoughts weren't constantly addled with Jemmy: it was part of the bargain that Qui-Gon had driven. Most of the time he was more than fine. Then occasionally he would catch himself thinking about her, and that affectionate smile would creep back onto his face?the one that Qui-Gon was always quick to notice. His poor master! How he must despair of him sometimes!

"Your eyes are glazing over, Obi-Wan." He would comment with a sigh. "Either you're sick or you're thinking of Jemmiah again. So, do I need to take you to the infirmary or," he would add a touch mischievously, "do you require further hours meditation to concentrate your mind?"

Amazing how a conversation with his master helped to focus the mind where it should be!

Obi-Wan could actually sympathise greatly with Qui-Gon's situation. Were the roles reversed, would he feel any happier at the notion of somebody being so familiar with his 'daughter'? Was it simply a case of not wanting to have to pick up the pieces if it went hideously wrong (as Qui-Gon felt it certainly would) or that he still couldn't quite think of Jemmiah as anything other than a helpless child in constant need of protecting? If it was the latter then Obi-Wan felt certain he was facing a losing battle, for nothing would ever persuade his master to see that Jemmy had grown up. The idea of seeing her in any kind of a relationship must surely be problematic for him.

And if he were honest Obi-Wan was almost certain that should he ever become a master in his own right, he'd never consciously allow a padawan of his to indulge in the kind of 'romantic' behaviour that he himself did! If this made him a hypocrite he didn't particularly care at that moment in time. All that mattered was getting a few more hours sleep, before he had to?had to?

What was he supposed to be doing??? Wasn't there something different planned? And why would his sleep-addled brain not function properly?

"Obi-Wan." A voice said in his ear. "Wake up."

The padawan gave a small grunt and rolled back onto his other side, taking half the covers with him. His bed was nice and soft. He liked his bed and it liked him. They were made for each other: just like he and Jemmiah?

A hand cautiously began to rock his shoulder, pushing it slowly back and forward.

"Hmmm. Jemmy." Obi-Wan murmured under his breath. "Give it a rest?I'm trying to sleep."

"What was that?" The voice answered sharply.

After a delayed reaction of what must have been five seconds or

 

Rolling over, Bal Jolenar stretched out, his arms reaching out from under the covers and falling back on the mattress. ?It?s morning already??

Yu Martuf was standing over him. ?Yes, it?s morning, and it was morning ten minutes ago when I woke you up the first time.?

?You?ve already woken me up?? Jolenar asked, starting to sit up, bleary-eyed.

?And it took me five minutes just to get you to move.?

?Then what?s another twenty minutes gonna hurt?? Jolenar grabbed his covers and pulled them back up to his neck and started roll over.

Martuf grabbed the covers himself, and yanked them back down. ?I can think of a guy who?s three feet tall and furry who?ll be very disappointed if you?re not awake, ready, and downstairs in only a couple of hours.?

?Three feet tall and furry? I think you?re being overly critical of yourself, Master.?

?I was referring to Master Rostov, Padawan. Now get out of bed before I have to start Force-pushing.?

?Oh! The fencing seminar?s today!? Shaking his head, Jolenar started to sit up again. ?Okay, Master. I?m getting up.?

Martuf sighed. ?Okay. But I?m coming back in here in five minutes, to make sure you didn?t fall asleep again.?

?Fair enough, Master.?

As the door slid shut, Jolenar pushed the covers off and swung his legs off the side of the bed. He stretched again, and scratched the back of his head. He yawned ? hoping that he could actually wake up ? and headed to the fresher room, where he could shower and get dressed again quickly.

Remembering he was wearing just his undershirt and shorts, he came back out and grabbed his tunic and robe, then hurried back to the fresher.

*****

Martuf checked his chronometer, and, finding that five minutes had passed, punched in the code to open his padawan?s door.

?Okay, last call to get up--? he began, then froze midword. His apprentice was sitting on the chair pulling on his shoes, showered, shaven, and robed. He hadn?t put on his boots, but the athletic shoes again, though Martuf could forgive it this time, since he was going to a swordfighting seminar. The rest of his appearance was flawless. The robe appeared pressed, his hair was gelled up, and the braid was draped over the right ear, as was traditional. ?Thank you, padawan. Come on, now. We can make it down for breakfast in the commons.?

?Yes, Master. Just hold on one second. I want to grab some datapads for taking notes, things like that.?

?I?ll meet you in the other room.?

Thankful that his Master was walking away, Jolenar cracked open a backpack, and tossed in a datapad, followed by a shockball cap, a pair of sunglasses, some spare daktari, and a pair of swimming shorts in case there were water rides. He pushed in his lightsaber, too, in case Martuf asked.

?Coming, Master,? he called.

As his apprentice came bounding out of his room, Martuf smiled. ?Ready, padawan? Breakfast may not be Uteeni-Burger?s shaak nuggets, but it?s something.?

?Can we stop by the Archives first? Nessa said she wanted to talk to us just for a minute.?

?Sure, I guess,? Martuf agreed. ?I guess that?s on our way anyway.?

They stepped out into the hall, and Jolenar smiled. ?Eani links and crappy pancakes, here we come.?