Adi was standing near to the window which overlooked the scintillating silver plains of Coruscant beyond the Temple, though she faced me and smiled when I came in and spotted her. "Welcome. It's good to see you, you're looking well."

"Thanks," I bashfully acknowledged, slowing my pace as I approached her. Though she was a friend, or as close to one as I could hope for among the Jedi High Council, she was still a councilor, an authority figure, and from her aura of power I shrank back. "I didn't expect your summons at all. I thought I'd been forgotten."

"Nonsense," Adi smirked. "It may be several weeks since you were granted asylum, but I assure you, you have by no means been forgotten." She moved away from the window towards a group of chairs, and I followed. "I hope you're doing well while Master Qui-Gon is out on duty. How long have they been away?"

"This time? Um...three days, so far," I replied as I took a seat in a comfy chair. How many Jedi in need of a listening ear or a Master's advice had sat here just as I was? "They only had three days of down time before they were sent back out. I don't think we got anywhere near what Qui-Gon wanted to accomplish, there just wasn't time."

Adi folded her hands together and rested her elbows on the arms of her chair, her robe's elegantly tailored sleeves draping softly over them. "That is usually the way of things. Moments must be stolen in between the galaxy's needs, and what may take short time to accomplish for most people must be spread out over weeks or months." She tilted her head slightly, her eyes remaining cool and expressionless. "What is it you were working on?"

I sat back, trying to relax and not feel scrutinized. "Well...while they were gone on the last mission, Qui-Gon encouraged me to meditate, in the Force, just to keep my senses...um, you know. In shape. But I had some trouble, I couldn't do it, so he wanted to find out if it was just my own mind subconsciously putting a block where there wasn't one, or if it had to do with something else."

A look of interest gathered on Adi's features. "And, did you figure it out?"

I shook my head. "No. There wasn't time. We meditated together, but Qui-Gon couldn't figure out why I had trouble without him. It worked fine when he was here. I'm going to try again, with them gone again, just to be sure it's not me that's the problem."

"Well, if you ever want to meditate with someone, I am available. I know I can't sense you like Master Qui-Gon can, but it may help just to have another Jedi in the room. The Force is indiscriminate - I would be able to feel it being used or directed even if it didn't give me insight into your mind."

I perked up. "Really?"

The Jedi Master nodded. "I sensed it moving around you while we were on Salji. That was how I knew to touch Qui-Gon's mind in such a way as to indirectly sense you when you meditated on the ship." She gazed seriously at me. "I hope I did not intrude, then."

"No, you didn't. I admit I was startled, but I suppose, so were you." I smiled hopefully.

Adi smiled back. "It's not often I am a participant in something so unusual to the Jedi. For the most part, there is nothing new among the stars." She settled deeper into the chair and loosened her hands, becoming more relaxed. "I hear from some of the Masters that you've sat in on a few of the initiates' training periods."

I nodded alertly. "It's been very interesting."

"It must be. Yet, most of them say you don't stay long, and I've spoken to others who say they often see you wandering the halls alone. Is everything all right?"

Her patient tone and understanding eyes made me want to break down and admit everything, every nuance of my feelings and the things I was hiding. "As all right as they can be," I forced myself to answer.

Adi's dark eyes softened, becoming pools of night. "I know you miss your friends. It must be hard to be here alone, without anyone else to turn to."

"It is," I quietly admitted. "I mean, I know you, but you're busy and I don't want to intrude on the work of a High Councilor." She smiled at that, understanding. "And," I added, "I've met Te Haruth. The Twi'lek?"

"Yes, I know who Te is. So, you've been talking to her. That's good," Adi remarked.

"I've only seen her once. She's been busy about her own tasks in the Temple."

"It is hard for a Jedi to form close friendships," the councilor mused, seemingly to herself as she glanced away briefly. "Which is why I find it remarkable that you managed to bond so closely with Master Qui-Gon, and with Padawan Kenobi."

I flicked my eyes away for a second as I mulled over her comment. "Yeah, but...I was with them for something like two months, day in, day out. And we went through several life-and-death situations in that time, that tends to pull people closer more quickly." I shrugged casually. "It's not much of a surprise to me - for the most part. I do know that Qui-Gon's not the sort of man who makes friends in a heartbeat, or has a lot of them."

Adi laughed softly. "Ah, you do know him well. I believe Qui-Gon to be the sort who prefers quality over quantity - a handful of deeply close friends rather than a great number of friendly acquaintances." Her eyes settled on me, and a cool smirk touched her lips. It was the sort of look that usually preceded a dangerous or shocking remark from Adi Gallia. "You seem to be closer to him than most of his friends."

I felt a twinge of apprehension pinch my heart in my chest. I had to take a breath to keep it from emoting on my face - Master Adi may not have been able to sense me, but she sure could read my body language. "I don't know that I am," I tried to deflect the comment. "There's still a lot I don't know about him."

"Is he that complex of a man?" she wondered.

I nodded enthusiastically. "Ohhh yes. Very complicated."

Adi tilted her head again, a gesture which I couldn't easily interpret. "I admit that I don't know him as well as others do, I wouldn't believe myself to be a part of his handful of true friends."

"Really? What makes you think that?"

The Jedi Master held my gaze a moment as I stared at her. She seemed to be at a loss temporarily when the questioning was turned back on her. "Well, we don't travel in the same circles, so to speak. I rarely see him, and when I do it usually involves some official business. There simply isn't time or chance to do more than exchange pleasantries while passing in the hall." Her wise look returned. "And I'm sure you will agree, it takes more than a passing exchange of that sort to build a friendship."

"Yeah," I smiled. "I know what you're saying. It's true. It's not just because you're a Councilor though, is it?" I persisted. I wasn't going to be grilled anymore, her questions were getting too personal. "After all, Qui-Gon's friends with Plo Koon."

"Master Plo and he have been friends longer than I have known either," Adi said airily, "it does not surprise me that he makes an effort to maintain old relationships while not actively seeking new ones." The dangerous glint returned to her eyes - she was steering this conversation back where she wanted it. "Which makes your relationship to him even more remarkable."

I took a second to close soft fingers on the Force and wrap it around my thoughts, quieting them just as Master Qui-Gon had taught, so as not to make any faces or movements which Master Adi could interpret. "I realize that," I said. "I'm not taking a moment of it for granted, because I don't know what I'm doing here or if it'll suddenly come to an end. Qui-Gon is a very good friend, he's been so helpful to me. I don't know what I would have done without him."

"And it appears he has been taking special interest in helping you."

I shrugged, my modesty completely sincere. "I don't know anything about that. He's just the sort of Jedi who helps the lowly and downtrodden. I'm no different than any of his other charity cases that he's helped over the years, I'm sure."

Adi's graceful eyebrows lifted, but whatever comment had flitted to mind, she did not share it. Her eyes wandered away, toward the windows that looked out on busy Coruscant. "It seems your case is in good hands. You're sure there is nothing I can do for you, to help you out?"

"Not really," I answered. "Thanks, but...there's not a whole lot to be done, really. I'm fine. Just..." I grinned recklessly. "...well, all it is, is...I miss Qui-Gon, and Obi-Wan. I miss them a lot."

The grin reflected on Adi's lips. "And that's why you've been seen moping around the halls when your guardians are away on a mission."

"I'm trying not to," I insisted. "I know they'll be back when they can, and I'll see them then. But, you can't blame me, after being in their constant presence for two months. The void is rather hard to get used to."

She nodded wisely, still grinning. "That's quite understandable. Quite."

*****

Several days, and then weeks, went by without anything being written in my journal, partly because there was nothing to write, and partly because I lacked the desire. Whenever I picked it up, all I would do was flip open the cover and stare longingly at the sketches I had hastily scribbled on Chad while watching the Jedi spar, finding it less interesting for the unique lightsaber moves they captured and more for the men depicted. Or, I would read over passages I had read a thousand times already, as if something new had magically appeared on the page while I wasn't looking. The private notations I had made to myself about the conflict on Salji - safe, because no one could read my writing - gave me an idea. I requisitioned another notepad which could be used to take actual notes, since I was exerting an honest effort to learn about the Force. The paper was so finely-toothed that I ached to use it for a drawing pad, but the curious stylus I used was not erasable like a pencil, so I refrained. Instead, I carried my new pad with me whenever I stole a glimpse of a Jedi instructional period, and wrote down whatever salient points could be gleaned. I quickly learned which courses were on the ways of the Force, as opposed to mathematics or astrophysics or political theory, and tried to peek into at least two or three a week.

Following the pleasant surprise upon the Master's return home from their first mission apart from me, I began to gradually wean myself off needing the comfort of his otherwise empty bed every night. It became easier to stay in my own, though every now and then I would creep down the hall and lay on his undisturbed covers for hours, thinking, dreaming, until I finally fell asleep. It was only fair that I also took a night or two in Obi-Wan's room, but not out of some need to balance favoritism, but some subconscious desire that occasionally tipped the weight of my thoughts toward him. Sometimes I wanted him more, sometimes the mere memory of his gorgeous face, his dancing eyes, and his compact, muscled body crowded out all thoughts of Qui-Gon and left me to dwell on the Padawan as I huddled with his pillow in his absence.

Still, life wound on in an almost unchanged rhythm. The Jedi Temple hardly changed from day to day. Curiosity was enough to help me find things to hold my interest. Nearly everyone I encountered remained a stranger to me because they were always on their way somewhere important, never having time or desire to stop and welcome a new face. I got used to the five-day weeks, to the artificial environment, and to being alone for uncomfortably long periods of time. Master Qui-Gon could not always call or send a transmission from his mission field, leaving me with no one to talk to except Te Haruth. We passed messages to each other when we couldn't meet, which was often. Over the space of about a month - that was seven weeks, on Coruscant - I saw her perhaps three times. Her friendship filled a yearning in me that I had no idea existed, a yearning for female companionship like that of the friends I had lost when the Force took me from my home. Te encouraged me in my pursuit of Jedi matters, while I managed to corrupt the serenity she had achieved from so many years safely enclosed in the Temple. She dismissed my apology for that with a wave of her slender hand. "I've never lost this part of me," she scoffed, "only buried it for a time because there was no one around with whom I could share it. The Jedi are marvelous, and the serenity a very powerful, useful, treasured thing to have. But, sometimes I wonder if..." She leaned close and winked. "Some of these Jedi haven't forgotten how to laugh."

"Maybe they all just have Obi-Wan's dry sense of humor," I retorted. We both broke down in giggles.

My life was good, but it had become an interminable series of countdowns, partitioned into blocks of days or weeks of waiting for Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan to come home. And they did, thankfully. Not once did they hop from one mission to the next without a break of at least two days, sometimes more. I dropped everything to be with them, then, trying to recapture what we had had before, knowing as I did that things would never be the same. This was a new phase of my life, and I had best get used to it. Every once in a while, when time dragged on without any change to my situation, I would recall what Master Adi had said about it being rare for a Jedi like Qui-Gon to form such close companionship so quickly, and it would reawaken a deep-seated fear that any sort of relationship beyond platonic acquaintances was impossible. Nothing was happening to assuage the fear completely, but it retreated every time my guardians returned and came straight to see me.

When they were back, my education in the cultures and lifestyles of the galaxy continued, as did my practice with the Force. After three missions, I started to note a pattern in my level of sensitivity, and mentioned it to Qui-Gon. I suspected that being far away from him affected my sensitivity, causing it to wane in strength and intensity. He wasn't sure, only suggested more work was needed before the conclusion could be made with certainty. My growth had plateaued, there were no more great leaps in what I could do with the Force. Obi-Wan tried to assure me that he felt a marked improvement from where I had started, and that I should be pleased that I got this far, but I was sort of disappointed. I wanted to be farther. I wanted to call a lightsaber to my hand again. Those sorts of things did not happen, and none of us knew why. Qui-Gon did not spend his entire time between missions trying to solve my problems, though. He assured me now and then that things would come of the Force's own will, when and if it was time, and suggested I treat it with less intensity. I couldn't help it - I was trying to cram a lifetime of living into a handful of days every time I was near them. I never knew if a chance missed would ever come again.

After some uncounted weeks of the stuttering rhythm of my life spent waiting, Qui-Gon announced one mid-morning after coming back from some briefing that he and Obi-Wan had drawn the lot to take Daramin. Obi-Wan looked up at him with mingled interest and discouragement. I looked up with a boggled frown. "What the heck is Daramin?"

"It's a planet," the Master patiently explained. "It's technically a colonized planet, in the late stages of its colonization efforts. The Jedi Order oversees these efforts as part of a very long-standing treaty. Pairs of Jedi Knights take twelve-week shifts in this duty, most active Knights have drawn the lot at least once." He nodded toward his apprentice. "Obi-Wan is old enough and far enough along in his training that he and I qualify for the lots, and we've drawn a shift."

I glanced curiously at the Padawan, who was sitting next to me on the couch having a load of fun testing my reading skills with whatever passed for trashy pulp fiction in their galaxy. "So you're going to be away for twelve weeks?" I couldn't keep the note of panic out of my voice.

Qui-Gon sighed. "Yes," he answered heavily. "I know, it's a long time. The longest we've been apart so far has been three weeks."

"Sixteen days," I corrected. "Sixteen very long days."

A strange look crossed his face. "Do you say that because you yearn to be with us, or us with you, or do you say it because you're bored?"

I looked away, for his eyes had become piercing, as they do when he's onto something and hunting the truth like a wolf on a scent. "A little bit of both, I guess," I mumbled. "I'm trying not to covet you, really. But the times we spent all together on missions were exciting, fun. Interesting. I felt like I had a purpose - I don't here. I've never felt so useless in all my life."

A look of pain glimmered in the Master's eyes. "It seems that in our haste to secure you a place here in the Temple and no restrictions to be with us, we've sentenced you to the opposite of what we intended."

"Would it be possible to allow her to accompany us to Daramin?" Obi-Wan wondered hopefully, glancing at me. "I don't know much about it, but I don't recall ever hearing it was dangerous."

"I don't know, I've never been there," Qui-Gon mused, pacing away from us. "While I was training my first apprentice I never drew the lot, and Yoda never trusted...my second," he hastily explained, "to a point where he made us available for the lot."

I felt a tingle of something in the Force when Qui-Gon caught himself and glossed over the reminder of his second apprentice. Pain? Regret? I wasn't sure. "Why is it so unique to be available and draw lots for this duty?" I asked.

The more comfortable line of questioning drew Qui-Gon's attention back to us. "Jedi overseers to the colonization of Daramin take the form of two-member teams, either two Knights called in to work together, or a Master and apprentice if the apprentice is mature enough to make decisions and act as an equal part of a team with his or her Master." A faint smile crinkled the corners of his eyes as they settled on Obi-Wan. "My apprentice has more than reached that point in his training."

I also glanced at Obi-Wan, and grinned, because he was blushing. "Good for you two. But, it doesn't sound like there's a lot of room in that arrangement for a third wheel."

Qui-Gon shook his head, his businesslike demeanor returning. "I would have to check the principles of the treaty, it may be completely against the law to bring another along whether they were a part of the team or not. It would be safer for us to expect that you will not be allowed to come along."

The mission to Daramin was scheduled to begin in another seven days, while in the meantime, Qui-Gon was asked to take care of some diplomatic entanglement that took up a handful of those days. In the end, no answers were found, but it was advised the Master that he not take chances, and so I was left behind again. Before they embarked on the long journey to the planet, which was near to the Outer Rim, Qui-Gon made arrangements for me to have something to do on a regular basis to keep me out of trouble: defense lessons. Of the Masters stationed on Coruscant to train the young Jedi acolytes in physical combat, only one could be convinced by Master Qui-Gon Jinn to take an hour or two out of his schedule twice a week to teach me. He was probably another "old friend" of Qui-Gon's, I mused the first time I met him, because he had a smile in his eyes whenever he mentioned the Master's request to occupy me. It was no mere self-defense training like some half-hearted offshoot of a karate studio back on Earth, oh no - it was hardcore combat tactics and exhausting physical training. For the first week I thought I was going to die. Then, into the second week, I realized if I kept it up, I was going to lose weight and maybe develop some muscles. From then on, I eagerly attended each session for a reason besides a need to humor Qui-Gon.

Almost two weeks passed before Qui-Gon sent a transmission from Daramin to say hello. I was getting used to the delay, reminding myself that Qui-Gon Jinn was a single-minded Jedi, whose focus on the mission was more important than taking time for a stray thought in my direction. Whenever they were home, both Jedi were kind to show me their affection, gestures of touch and warm smiles conveying as much as they ever had, but no moves were made by either to escalate the simmering feelings in all of us into something more solid, more official. I had no idea what passed through their minds while they were away from me, they never told me. Still, I considered myself fortunate. I knew they cared, that was more than I had ever had in my whole life up to this point. Thus, whenever Qui-Gon was able to take time out of his schedule and record something to transmit to the Temple, or even call in real-time, I felt unworthy, like I was usurping the Jedi and their duty for my personal wishes. Yet, also extremely tickled, because each call came in unexpectedly, a gift given for no reason other than being me.

The first word from Daramin came as a recorded holo-transmission, two minutes of Qui-Gon standing there telling me how lovely the planet was and that he and Obi-Wan were hard at work checking into a million different things. It was a cursory call, he shared nothing of importance other than to quietly murmur at the end that he hoped I was doing well and finding the defense lessons not too difficult. Then, he closed the message with an unanticipated comment, one which breathed secretively from him: "I have been thinking about you." I replayed the message five times just to hear it again.

More than a week later, I was hanging around in their quarters late at night when the communicator let out a warning signal that a transmission was coming through. I knew from experience that the Temple communications system kept track of which Jedi were in the field and automatically recorded their messages, but a Jedi could call his own quarters using a security clearance if needed. Any signal that got through to Qui-Gon's quarters was from him. I jumped up and ran to answer it immediately. "Master!" I exclaimed brightly as I slid into a chair and the screen winked on before me.

It was a direct link on a clear signal, no holograms. Qui-Gon was seated before his own communicator, smiling in his usual quiet way. "Stacey," he greeted me. "Good evening."

"It's a bit later than evening," I smirked. "What time is it there?"

"Late afternoon. I just returned from a meeting and had some time, I thought I would let you know how we're doing."

"Where's Obi-Wan?"

"On an errand of his own. Did you get my last transmission?"

"Yeah," I assured. "That's right, you mentioned you two have often been doing separate things. How's it going?"

"As well as can be expected. It's not a very stressful mission," the Master smiled, "just involved. There are hundreds of sites we must visit, and a variety of issues we need to keep track of. But, there is nothing remotely dangerous about Daramin."

"That's good," I mused. "You're not bored, are you?"

Qui-Gon's smile brightened to a smirk. "Hardly. Are you?"

I waggled a hand. "Ehh...so-so. Sometimes I am. But Master Kinse's sessions are great! Thank you for setting that up for me."

A pleased grin filled the Master's face. "You're enjoying the defense lessons, then? That's wonderful."

"Yeah, they're awesome! I always wanted to learn some kind of martial skill. Master Kinse even talked about moving up to stick- and sword-fighting someday. He says I'm a natural." I gave the face on the screen a glowing look. "Thank you so much. I owe you for that."

"You owe me nothing," Qui-Gon said modestly, lowering his eyes. "It was my pleasure to help you out. I'm glad you're finding it worth your time."

The screen flickered briefly. "What was that?"

Qui-Gon glanced to his right and smiled faintly as if in recollection. "That was lightning. There is a window right here which looks out over the city, and a storm is coming." There came a muffled sound, too faint for the communicator's mic to pick up, but Qui-Gon lifted his eyes in wonder. "And there is the thunder."

I sighed jealously. "Oh, Master! You lucky dog! Do you realize how long it's been since I heard thunder?"

"I know it's something you love. It has been a long time, hasn't it?" He smiled again, his eyes soft. "I remember it well."

"I wish I could be there," I lamented. "I'm so cooped up here. Don't get me wrong, I like the Jedi Temple well enough, but..." I gazed shyly into the screen and met sympathetic gray eyes. My voice softened with reminiscence and longing. "I just miss some things, and you can't find them here. I need to get out, I need a change of scenery." I found myself fidgeting, entwining my fingers, as Qui-Gon kept watching, waiting to see what else I would say. "Master, have I ever told you what my favorite sound in the whole world is?"

"Besides thunder?" he quipped.

"Yeah, besides thunder," I returned snidely.

"No, you haven't. What is your favorite sound?"

I sighed again, relishing the images in my mind. "Leaves rustling in the wind. I always lived near trees, I loved to hear the wind blowing through the leaves. There was a big tree right outside my apartment windows, and one of my favorite things was to lay in bed at night and hear the leaves swishing." I fixed Qui-Gon with the most plaintive look I could muster. "I can't hear that on Coruscant. Even if I could open a window somewhere - which I can't, and wouldn't because of the pollution - but if I could, there aren't even any trees around to rustle. Man...I really miss that."

Qui-Gon glanced to his side again, and I could see a pensive look gather on his features. "You have been closed inside the Temple for quite some time," he mused, thinking aloud. His eyes shifted back to his screen, to me. "Perhaps a change of scenery would be good for you."

I perked up at that. "What are you saying?"

"How comfortable would you be taking a transport to another system by yourself?"

I couldn't believe he was offering this chance! "Um, I think I can do it. I've taken an air taxi across Coruscant by myself once..."

The Master's brows furrowed. "When was this?"

"Couple weeks ago. I had to get some things that couldn't be requisitioned, and I asked Adi what to do. She said I would be okay by myself, and she was right. I got used to it pretty fast." I leaned into the screen, failing to keep the growing excitement out of my voice. "You want me to take a ship to Daramin?"

"Do you think you can do it?"

"I think so." I shrugged. "It's about time, isn't it? I'm a grown woman, I can make it. Besides, if anybody comes after me," I added with a grin, "Master Kinse's lessons will come in handy."

Qui-Gon accepted that with an amused snort. "All the same, I think we will contact someone on the Jedi Council and have them find you transport on a safe, reputable ship. Daramin is a long way," he cautioned. "We're on the edge of the Outer Rim. It will be a journey of a few days."

I gave him an innocent look, the product of learning to control my emotions. Right now, I was just trying to get them all to settle down so I could think rationally. "If you think I can handle it."

Qui-Gon's eyes glowed with warmth. "I believe you are more than capable. Go to someone you know on the Jedi Council, probably Master Adi, and let them know we talked about this and I'm positive it will not interrupt the mission at all. The Daramindi are friendly and accommodating. This is the sort of mission that almost runs itself, so having you along will be neither a distraction nor a complication. In fact," he admitted with a rueful smirk, "both Obi-Wan and I have already agreed that we need a diversion."

I chuckled warily. "I thought you said you weren't bored."

"Not from the point of view of having nothing to do. We are busy. But the work is tedious, I won't lie about that." An intelligent look replaced his sarcasm, and he shot me a direct gaze through our screens. "I would like you to see this planet. There is much you could learn here about the galaxy, which you can't learn by reading reports from inside the Jedi Temple. Bringing you here would be beneficial."

"Okay. I'm in," I grinned. "What do you want me to do?"

"Go to Master Adi and tell her about our decision. The Council knows how to contact me here on Daramin to confirm it, but let her know that I wish her to find you a safe transport that will get you here, and she is free to charge the expense to my stipend. We will be here several weeks, yet, there is certainly room for a little diversion."

We settled a few minor details of the trip, like how long it would take and what I needed to bring, all the while the flickering on the screen growing more frequent. When everything was clear, Master Qui-Gon glanced to the window just off-screen. "I had better go, the storm is about to hit. Electrical interference will make communications difficult." His eyes returned to the screen. "Take care, Stacey. You know what to do. I trust you will be safe."

"Thank you, Master." My fingertips brushed the screen, almost of their own will. "I miss you."

His hand came off the console, and a fingertip touched the distant screen as if to meet mine. "I will see you soon. Much sooner than either of us had hoped."

I nodded, but said nothing more. A moment of silence passed between us, and then Qui-Gon reached to end the transmission. "Be careful. Keep your head, and remember control if you find yourself in trouble. I will see you in a few days." He paused, and his eyes twinkled. "May the Force be with you."

*****

It wasn't until the following day that I got a chance to speak to anyone about the transmission I had received late in the night. My first instinct was to go to Master Adi, as she was my best ally and would okay the trip in a heartbeat, but she was busy about many things and not to be disturbed. I was turned away without ever having gotten her chamber door opened or a message given. Frustrated, I wandered down the hall trying to find Master Saesee Tiin's chambers instead. Master Saesee was not in the Temple, though. The initiate handling his affairs while he was out gave me a disparaging look when I appeared to call her honesty into question, but I was merely surprised that the Iktochi Master had left the Temple grounds. Some important business somewhere on Coruscant, I guessed. That left me with a number of options, none of which seemed good in the least. I wanted to avoid Mace Windu and Ki-Adi Mundi at all costs. Most of the others didn't know who I was. Then, as I trod past his chambers, Plo Koon came to mind. He was Master Qui-Gon's friend, though I had never seen them together outside of the High Council chamber, and had only been addressed by the Kel Dor Jedi once. Yet, with Adi busy and Saesee gone, he was my next best hope. I paused at his door and waited for a response.

Master Plo himself answered the door, standing about a head taller than me - Obi-Wan's height - and darkly intimidating with the metal mask covering his eyes, nose, mouth, and extrasensory organs to protect them from the oxygen atmosphere. I had no idea how, but he could see and hear and sense just as clearly through the mask as without it, though it gave him the most blank countenance of any Jedi because it covered all facial expression. My voice left me, but fortunately, a warm note of welcome tempered with surprise sounded as he spoke. "Why...hello. Mistress Stacey. Good afternoon."

"Master," I said respectfully, bowing my head. "Do you have a moment?"

Plo's voice was not muffled by the mask, but had a slight metallic ring to it, as if synthesized or miked. "Yes, I do. Please." He stepped aside and held out a hand to invite me in. I followed, nervous but glad that he was able to see me. And he remembered my name - that was a good sign. "What can I do for you?" he wondered as he offered me a chair.

"I need your help," I said simply. "I spoke with Master Qui-Gon last night, and he wants me to join him on Daramin. I need transport."

"Do you, now?" Plo curiously wondered as he came around a chair and pulled it around to face mine.

"Well...he said I needed to find someone on the Jedi Council who could book passage for me on a safe, reliable transport - since I wouldn't even begin to know where to find one," I explained, trying not to fidget. "I don't know who else to go to, everyone else is unavailable. Do you...think you could help me?" I wondered, a little fearfully.

Master Plo sat back in the elegant chair and nodded once. "You have nothing to worry about. If you need my assistance, you will have it. Master Qui-Gon is a very good friend of mine, I would not hesitate in a moment to help him or any friend of his. But, I would like to know what precipitated this idea."

I briefly informed the Jedi Master of the conversation I had had the night before, making sure to emphasize what Qui-Gon said about it being good for me to see Daramin for some unspecified reason. "I'm really intrigued by this place," I continued straightforwardly. "I'd be willing to do any research needed to bring me up to date with the customs and status of Daramin. I already started looking into a few files this morning that I could find - about the Homeworld Alliance and the charter of the treaty that allowed them to colonize it."

The ridge of Plo's brow lifted upward, as if he were raising his eyebrows. "Have you? That is very astute of you. In that case, I see no flaws with Qui-Gon's reasoning to have you join him. I may check into their progress reports, but either way, it sounds like a good idea." His head tilted to one side. "Yet, I am concerned about sending you halfway across the galaxy alone. You've no experience with space travel, apart from that which you've done in the company of Qui-Gon."

"I know," I admitted, "but I'm willing to give it a shot even though deep down I'm a little scared. I've got to get out of here, Master Koon."

"Please, there is no need for formality here." The Master's head tilted the other way. "What do you mean, you have to get out of here?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean that like it sounded." I grinned and chuckled a little. "It's just...the Jedi Temple can be stuffy. I'm sure some creatures welcome the security of the walls, and the routine and all, but for a person like me who's most at home out-of-doors, where I can feel the sun and the wind on my face, it's..."

"Confining."

I shrugged and nodded, hoping he was seeing my point.

Plo rested the tips of his pointed fingers together. "Your world. It is industrialized, but not space-faring?" I nodded, unsure where he was going with this. "Do your people spend most of their time inside or outside?"

"Depends on the person," I cautiously answered. "There are a few places sort of like the Jedi Temple - I mean, fully enclosed, and some people do spend all their time insulated inside buildings like this. But not everybody. I mean, the first place I lived on my own, I made sure it had a balcony so I could sit outside on sunny days." I remembered it, and Earth, and all the wonderful things about my homeworld, and sighed wistfully. "And so I could watch lightning storms."

Master Plo nodded ponderously. "Then, you are not used to Coruscant."

"Not really. It still feels...well, alien, for lack of a better term."

The councilor immediately got up from his chair and swept around behind the console at the other end of the room, his brown robe swirling majestically around his feet. "Then, we had best get you out where you can get some sun and wind, and lightning storms, hmm?" His covered eyes turned directly towards me as he sat down.

I scrambled to my feet and joined him at the console. "Yes, Master...Plo. Thank you."

"After all, Master Yaddle did give you your freedom. It would hardly be proper of the Jedi Order to refuse to let you go anywhere, especially under the watchful eye of Master Jinn." He gestured beckoningly. "Come closer, I will need your assistance."

Thrilled, I hesitantly approached him around the other side of the console, getting a view of the screen as I did. "What do you need me to do?"

"Tell me what you do know, thus far, about Daramin, while I begin the search for transport. I will cross-reference the Temple records of transport pilots with a fair reputation against all flight plans terminating in or near Daramin's system in the next few days." Plo looked up at me, and while his expression had not changed, I distinctly felt that beneath the protective mask, he was smiling only as a Kel Dor could. "By the time we have a list of potential clients, I should be able to fill in the gaps in your knowledge. If you're going to fly there alone, I'll not have you unprepared."

I told him what I could, which wasn't much considering how difficult it had been to translate my way through the library records on Daramin and its unique colonization effort, while Master Plo's fingers sped over the keypad of the console and angular symbols flashed dizzyingly across the screen. He wasn't kidding; the computer was still cross-checking while he explained to me the reasoning behind the races who had colonized Daramin, and was well off on a tangent about cultural practices related to climate when a very short list of transport captains and ships came up. I let the Jedi Master pick the transport and call in a request for passage, since it was his list of contacts and he knew who would be the most reliable, most trustworthy agent. The Jedi may be pacifistic, but they were far from naïve, and no rascally freighter pilot whose greed was the only thing larger than his ego could snow a Master like Plo Koon. I waited while he negotiated with a couple who were on Coruscant and near their communicators, and then excused myself to pack when he suggested that it might take the rest of the day to choose a transport to his liking and make the arrangements.

I whipped the dusty old bag that had been my responsibility to look after on Salji out of the bottom drawer of my bureau, where it had been for the last couple months, unneeded. Qui-Gon had said there were several climate zones on Daramin and there was a likelihood we would visit all of them, so I packed both warm shirts and cooler, lightweight garb. There was an old, nylon-like, three-quarter-length outer jacket in the drawer with the bag, something Obi-Wan had found in his room and declared too small for him to use anymore, so I stashed it in my luggage in case of rain. I made sure to set aside both my journal and the extra notebook with my notes from classes and other moments of learning, because I was certain I would be entering information into both of them on this trip. All the while I hummed under my breath, excited beyond expression. I was going to see them again. I wasn't going to have to wait the better part of twelve weeks. And, most exciting of all, I was about to embark on a trip across the galaxy by myself, something that had never crossed my Star Wars-addled mind. Nobody I knew had ever done what I was about to do, a common practice in this part of the universe but unheard of where I came from. The thought made me squeal out loud. Time to get back to the adventure!

On to part 39

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