"Not a problem," he assured. "It was our pleasure." He turned and went back to inspecting his ship.

I paused and looked around the docking bay, finding it deserted. Not only was no one waiting for me, or for the ship, there were no stray mechanics, attendants, passengers, or even droids hovering around the area. The bay itself was round with high walls, over which a blue sky stretched unbroken. Only the handful of the cargo ship's crew moved about inside it, checking over the hull and landing struts as they prepared for refueling. Over the course of the journey, which took a couple days, none of them had especially taken the time to befriend me, nor I they, even though they were all fairly nice men who never once showed signs of wanting to take advantage of a helpless female passenger. Master Qui-Gon had advised me to be confident, and act like taking passage on ships was something I did all the time, but I hadn't needed to with the crew of the Shadow Rider. The captain liked to tell stories of some of his less questionable exploits, and I liked to listen. The rest pretty much let me be, neither curious nor cautious of me. The Shadow Rider was a small cargo transport, but they did occasionally take on stray passengers, especially Jedi, and therefore it shouldn't have been surprising that they took no interest in nor attempted to disturb a passenger picked up at the Jedi Temple. They were fully aware who was paying for this excursion.

I had been told that Daramin, being in the later stages of colonization, fielded a lot of shipping traffic, but our ship seemed to be alone in the spaceport that morning. I was fresh and wide awake, having napped briefly a few hours ago, and looked around the circular docking bay with alert curiosity. Not a thing moved in shadows or in light, except the transport crew. Straight before me was a broad entranceway into the docking bay, beyond which was only a shadowed hallway. Guessing that it would lead me out of the spaceport, I stepped off the ramp and went through it.

A long, winding corridor stretched in both directions, dimly lit only by natural light from bays, stairwells, and high slits of windows, but there was no way to tell which way I should go. The place was still deserted, not a dock-worker or droid in sight. Instinct made me turn right, and I continued on at my brisk, eager pace. It didn't matter that I had no idea where I was or where I was going, I was here to be with Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan! And then, as if my enthusiasm had summoned them, two Jedi drifted around a distant corner.

Though they were still several hundred feet away from me, I squealed an exuberant "Hi!" and quickened my steps to meet them, trying not to run. My greeting echoed in the quiet corridor. Both of them smiled broadly upon seeing me, and in seconds we were face to face. First, Qui-Gon held out his long arms and gathered me into his embrace, holding me close and tight. I could have melted into his arms and disappeared. Then he let me go and I turned to Obi-Wan, who immediately threw his arms around me and picked me up, whirling me in a circle. My bag fell off my shoulder, and I laughed and squealed, "Put me down!"

He obliged, but not without an extra squeeze. "Hello," he greeted in his sultry voice.

"Hi," I said again, with a bit more control. Looking up at Qui-Gon, I could see joy twinkling in his gray-blue eyes. "I made it."

"I see that," he smirked. "Welcome. Welcome to Daramin." His arm came around behind me to guide me, turning me back down the corridor in the direction they had just come from. Obi-Wan picked up my bag and slung it easily over his shoulder, following a half-step behind me. The Master walked easily at my side, his posture loose and relaxed, his hands folding instinctively into the ends of his robe sleeves. "How was your flight? Did you have any trouble?"

"None at all," I reassured him. "Master Plo hit up one of his old contacts who owed him a favor or something. Nice guy. Nice ship, too. I was expecting something a bit more rickety."

"Was it the sort of passenger ship that puts chocolates on your pillow?" Qui-Gon lightly wondered.

I snorted derisively. "Not! I was lucky I even had a pillow - I think the captain gave me his." I glanced at Obi-Wan and nudged him with my elbow. "He was a very nice man. Very nice."

"I'm so happy for you," the Padawan replied sarcastically.

Qui-Gon chuckled warmly. "Well, as long as you're here safe, and had no adventures along the way, I consider it a good trip."

"Yeah, it was fine," I smiled. "Oh, and Master Plo says not to worry about your stipend - he would take care of it."

The Master's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Really?"

"Uh huh." We reached the end of the corridor and turned left through a doorway, which opened up into a wide, low-ceilinged hall populated with the first Daramindi I would ever see. There weren't a lot of people milling about, but the spaceport terminal was at least semi-busy with beings of several species passing to and fro beneath long lances of mid-morning sunlight. The Jedi did not hesitate once, but steered me across the hall to the main doors and straight out into the street. There, we paused, and I found myself breathing, "Wow."

Due to the research I had undertaken to prepare for joining this mission, I had a preconceived mental image of a "colony," of primitive surroundings, simple pre-fab buildings, and wide-eyed innocent pioneers scraping out a living. But, four races had been working for more than a century to turn Daramin into their official homeworld, so the sight that met my eyes completely destroyed my concept of their colonization. The spaceport sat on a bluff - sort of like a mesa - elevated above the rest of the city, which sprawled loosely among trees and fields comprising a broad plain. A wide river wound lazily through the middle, with simple but elegant homes crowded right up to its tree-shadowed banks. Far to the other side of the city, a short stretch of mountains sat like a wall protecting the plain from whatever wilderness might be on the other side. They weren't very high mountains, but sheer-sided and graceful, rising up from the flat floor of the valley to form a perfect scenic backdrop for the settlement which had grown to become Daramin's largest city and acting capital of the planet. From where we stood, along the road that led away from the spaceport, we could look down into the city and see it from end to end, from the mountains' feet to the edges of the wilds. Something about the buildings made them glow warmly in the sun, hues of gold and red nestled among the green of the vegetation.

Qui-Gon stood quietly beside me until he sensed I had gotten my fill of the view. "It's a relatively short distance to our quarters," he said, turning and heading down the road. I snapped myself out of my reverie and followed, with Obi-Wan beside me. The Master talked over his shoulder as he walked. "Because of the arrangement with the Order, the Jedi teams have private personal housing here in Takra. We have it all to ourselves, no one will disturb us."

"And wherever we go on Daramin, there will be guest housing made available to us," Obi-Wan added. "In most settlements, it's a permanent setup. We won't have to worry about bunking with some poor family or worse..." He winked. "...a team of colonists."

I wasn't sure exactly how bad such a thing would be, so I just gave him a smirk in reply and asked Qui-Gon, "I've done a little research, but I don't totally understand what's going on here. Are there still parts of Daramin that aren't colonized?"

"Yes, there are," Master Qui-Gon replied, slowing his pace so I could catch up to him. "Quite a good portion of it is still native, and there are several regions in which the colonies are still at foothold status. It is our duty to visit those colonies, to make sure they are progressing at a good pace but not violating any terms of the treaty to do so." He held out a hand to indicate the city of Takra before us and mostly to our right, as the road headed down the side of the mesa. "It has taken many teams of Jedi and very strictly laid-out guidelines to ensure that Daramin has only progressed this far, slowly and with care, and its population kept within specific parameters."

"What have you found out, in your research?" Obi-Wan tested me.

"Let's see..." I had to think for a moment, to order my knowledge and find a starting place. "I know that this is the capital, and it's also the largest city on the planet. It was the original starting point of the colonization." Both Jedi nodded at that. "And, um...oh, it's also the only spaceport."

"However, ships do land in other regions when they must," Qui-Gon informed me. "Usually only supply ships for the outlying colonies and a few bush pilots with the courage to risk their ship."

"Cool. What else? Oh...the group that claimed Daramin was called the Homeworld Alliance, and it was made up of four different races. But, I didn't really understand much about who those races are, I'm not sure I translated all their names and words right." I made a confused face up at Qui-Gon.

He chuckled. "The Nego, the Pfand, the Hodran, and the Be'a'lai."

"Yeah, those," I grinned. I hadn't gotten them right at all.

The Master gestured with a jerk of his bearded chin toward the city. "'Takra' is actually Pfandi for 'colony.' In these regions of the planet, you'll see mostly Nego and Pfand. The Be'a'lai are almost exclusively located in the tropics. We will be visiting them in a few days." He shifted his eyes to me with a fatherly glance. "You did remember to pack for all climates?"

"Yes, Master," I said modestly. "You told me to, so I did."

"Good. The weather in the tropics is rather unbearable to almost all lifeforms but the Be'a'lai. You should be prepared."

I took that under silent consideration as we walked steadily downhill, following the road's gentle curves as it gradually found the easiest way off the mesa and curved back toward the city. There was a fair amount of foot traffic in both directions, and every once in a while a speeder bike or some similar repulsorlift craft would zip by down the center of the road. There were a few other large buildings in addition to the spaceport on the elevated bluff, but I wasn't sure what they were. It looked to me like Takra itself was a bustling, heavily-populated city, and we'd find most of that bustle once away from the spaceport. As we walked, I heard a burst of engine noise in the sky and looked up to see a large, disc-shaped freighter coming in for a landing. Even though it was no more unusual here than a plane landing at an airport on Earth, I stared at it in awe.

I remained in full tourist-mode all the way into Takra proper, my head swiveling back and forth to catch glimpses of perfectly ordinary things turned extraordinary by their newness to my experience. The great, spreading trees with their small, fluttering leaves and spiny thorns, the variety of fascinating beings meandering about the city, the curious architecture of various cultures mixing in with what must have been standard colony housing many decades ago...while not particularly fascinating in and of themselves, together they characterized this unique planet. Takra's past had not been wiped away by new projects but incorporated, so every block or so I would see a morphing of the architecture attesting to the neighborhood's age and the cultural origin of the residents. I wasn't sure which of the beings belonged to which race, but there were at least two common sights on the roads - a beastlike visage with longish ears, and a relatively humanoid face with a slight reddish tint to the skin. Among them I saw many familiar creatures from off-world: three-eyed Grans, Toolans, a Rodian, the occasional helmeted pilot, even tentacled Quarren. I was saving my questions for in private, though Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan pointed out things of minor interest along the way for my benefit, such as landmarks and curiosities. The walk felt a lot longer than I expected, I started to think Master Qui-Gon had a very different concept of "relatively short distance" than I did, especially when we came to the river. Its course wound back and forth across Takra, following an ancient bed carved deep into the plain, requiring a number of arched bridges to span its impressive width. There was a lot of traffic on the bridge we came to, so Qui-Gon pulled me aside and suggested I sit down and rest a moment while we waited for it to clear. There were some scenic benches positioned along the riverbank, one of which was occupied by an elder of the red-tinted race throwing crumbs at waterfowl. I plunked down on one and took a deep breath of warm, summery air. "Now, this is more like it," I sighed. "Sunshine, the smell of flowers...I could get to like this."

"Is this much like your homeworld?" Obi-Wan wondered as he took a seat beside me. Qui-Gon remained standing over us, half-guarding, half-observing.

I hummed as I thought. "No more or less than most of the worlds I've seen so far. Maybe a little more than, say, Rodia." I glanced up at the glowing orb in the sky filtering between rustling tree branches. "At least the sun is the same color as mine. White. Not blue."

"Technically, it's a yellow star," Qui-Gon pointed out.

"Technically, so is mine," I added. "I think." Looking around some more, I breathed deeply the scent of some unknown but powerful flower that grew in clusters beneath the trees. There was a tang of dust in the wind from constant foot-traffic on the dirt-packed roads. Above us, in the branches, either a bird or an insect was trilling a perpetual G-note. "I bet that's about where the similarities end," I said, picking up where I had left off. "What kinds of native life does Daramin have? Anything interesting?"

Qui-Gon remained staring off into the distance as he replied casually. "If you've done your research, you know already about the mour."

"Is that the telepathic animal?" He nodded in response. "Yeah, I read about that. That's one of the reasons the Jedi are still maintaining an observation post on Daramin, to protect the mour's habitat." I looked up at the Master. "How can an animal be telepathic? How can that not be considered sentient life?"

"That is one of the great mysteries of life and the Force," he answered, turning at last to face me. "Very few scientists are approved to study the mour, it is a great honor to them to be able to come and observe. But, the mour themselves resent too much intrusion, so the studies must be very limited." A slight smile touched his lips. "One of the things I would like to do with you while you're here is take you to see mour in the wild."

The grin that filled my face must have been positively glowing. "Ohhh yes, Master! I would love to!"

"There is a preserve very near to one of the outposts we must visit, where scientists tend to stay. There is an Alderaanian team there now, we will need to check on them. You can ask them all about their theories on sentience. While we are there, I will take you into the preserve to look for mour and, if we are fortunate..." He lowered his voice so no passersby could hear. "...we may be given the gift of their presence. They're very shy, but have been known to seek out Jedi who come into their territory."

My jaw was on the ground. "Cool," I breathed in awe.

The trilling in the branches over our heads stopped abruptly, which I hardly noticed until Obi-Wan suddenly lunged and forcefully brushed something off my far shoulder. I looked at him, startled. "Sorry," he quickly said. "It was a sindi beetle."

I glanced around me sharply, but I didn't see anything beetle-like on the ground or flying in the air nearby. "What the heck is a sindi beetle?"

"They're everywhere on Daramin, at least where the climate is warm," Obi-Wan explained with a hint of annoyance. "You can hear them singing. They're as big as your palm, and they bite - hard."

My curiosity turned to revulsion. "Eww! They're this big?" I held up my hand, fingers outspread. Obi-Wan nodded. "Ewww!! I didn't even feel it land on me! Ick!" My seat left the bench and I danced away from it, cringing and flapping my hands frantically. "Eww, Obi-Wan! Now I'm going to be all crawly all day!"

"Would you rather I let it bite you?" the Padawan laughed as he got up.

"No! Ick ick ick...gross!" I kept dancing around.

Qui-Gon's hand came down on my shoulder from behind to quiet me. "You'll be fine. Sindi beetles are too large to sneak up on you, and you can usually hear them well before you see them."

I glanced over my shoulder. "Yeah, well...you're too big to sneak up on me, and yet you still do."

The laugh burst out of him before he could stop it. "Point well taken," he admitted. "Come, let's cross while we have a chance."

"How much farther is it?" I asked as we merged into traffic and swiftly walked the length of the stone-paved bridge.

"About five blocks," the Master said. "There is a green square - a park - and our building is at the edge of it. Near to the law enforcement offices, if you ever get lost."

"I'm not going anywhere without one or both of you," I said under my breath, fully meaning it. I came all this way to be with them, not to be separated again.

There was nothing remarkable about the Jedi quarters, a small, two-story house with a very nice garden. Only a metal sign bolted to the side of the building with the four Aurebesh symbols that spelled out "JEDI" indicated that no mere Daramindi resident owned the place. Law enforcement was actually right next door, with the downtown prison holdings just around the corner on the adjacent side of the square. We stepped inside and met no one - no housekeeper, no officials, no guards. Electronic security kept watch for us instead. These quarters were truly ours alone; the Jedi overseers who had been contractually obligated to keep an eye on the colonization for over a hundred and fifty years were not the guests of any royalty or government. Instead, the treaty between the Republic and the Homeworld Alliance, negotiated by Jedi, contained stipulations that the Jedi would not be hindered in their efforts to maintain peace and order on Daramin. They were to be provided everything they needed and cooperated with in full by all citizens. It was a comfortable arrangement, since Daramin's planetary government was only about seventy years old and its chief executive office - the Executor - about forty. Prior to that, local boards had made the laws, so there was technically no office or royal house who could have invited and housed Jedi. That, and the Jedi had to maintain complete objectivity, and not be burdened with a debt of hospitality toward any leaders of any kind.

When the main door whirred out of the way, Qui-Gon paused and glanced at me. "Stay right next to me as we go in," he directed. "CQ will need to establish your clearance before you can go anywhere."

"CQ?" I boggled.

The buzz of gears and power cells drifted around a corner as Qui-Gon introduced, "CQ-RT1, the house's internal guard."

The droid looked as threatening as its title, a cylindrical garbage-can body coasting over on hidden wheels, a bulky block of machinery with only slightly-disguised ports for lasers poking out of its metal hide. "Identify," it demanded in a monotone.

"Locate command file on visitor Stacey," Qui-Gon said smoothly.

Whirs and electronic beeps came from the CQ as it did as ordered. "Command file located. Visitor Stacey identified. Please confirm."

Qui-Gon nodded toward the droid. "Place your palm on the flat panel."

I did so, albeit cautiously, unsure what was going on. The panel glowed brightly for a second, and I jerked my hand back as the CQ droid intoned, "Confirmed Stacey. Welcome to Jedi Base Takra."

"Uh...thanks?" I mumbled.

Obi-Wan shouldered past us, wearing an amused smirk, and headed down the hall. Qui-Gon gently guided me away from the droid, which turned and whizzed back the way it had come, disappearing to its work. "CQ patrols the house and grounds when we're gone and at night, but you shouldn't see much of him. He is an efficient security droid."

"I see that."

"From now on, you will be identified by visual scan, voice print, and if need be, fingerprint scan," the Master went on as he led me through the plain, austere house. "In other words, just walk right in and out. CQ will know who you are and not blast you."

"Gee, thanks." I grinned up at him, starting to overcome my nervousness. The CQ droid didn't have much of a personality to put one at ease, which I supposed was a good thing considering its duty was to keep people away, not welcome them. "Well?"

"Well. This is the place." Qui-Gon paused as he led me into a sitting room. "Our team is the only one on Daramin at this time, so here and in all the other settlements, it will be just the three of us." He smiled warmly down at me. "You have the freedom to go anywhere and do anything. You may even choose your room - there are four bedrooms not currently being spoken for."

"Four? Wow, they really went all out for the Jedi," I teased.

The Master gave me a mildly scolding look. "There have been as many as five teams on the planet at one time, in the past. They needed the room a lot more back then."

"I know."

Obi-Wan returned to us, having deposited my bag somewhere. "I took the liberty of choosing the room across the hall from ours," he said brightly. "If you want another, just move your things."

"Across the hall is fine, doesn't matter to me," I assured. They both stood before me, their backs straight and postures perfect as always, hands clasped before them. It was a sight that made me smile even more broadly and almost laugh in relief. "I can't believe I'm here, with you. I missed you both so much."

Obi-Wan glanced up at his Master, and they shared a smile, but before either could speak a tone rang out from some undisclosed direction. "I'll get it," the Padawan grumbled, turning on his heel and gliding out as swiftly as he had come in not a second before.

I looked curiously up at Qui-Gon. "What was that?"

"Incoming transmission," he replied matter-of-factly. "There is a beacon in every one of the main rooms, so that no matter where you are, you know something is coming in."

"Well, that's rather...annoying," I said with a well-timed insolent grin.

Qui-Gon chuckled shortly, keeping a steady gaze on me. Though the smile faded, the look of warmth remained on his face and in his eyes. It felt like he was staring at an unfamiliar sight, drinking it in - and as that sight was me, I couldn't help but blush. After a long pause, the Master softly spoke. "It is truly good to see you, here."

I lowered my eyes bashfully and smiled, wishing my face wasn't so hot. Then, we heard the smart tread of boots on the floor of the corridor preceding Obi-Wan's reappearance. "Master," he said immediately as he came to the doorway. "It's Councilor Vaile. He wants to speak to you."

"Thank you, Obi-Wan." Qui-Gon nodded at me to excuse himself and disappeared off down the hall.

I sighed, almost relieved to be released from the sudden attack of sentiment that I felt was about to erupt. "Can I see my room?" I asked Obi-Wan.

"Of course." He waved for me to follow him as he turned the opposite way down the corridor from which he had come. There were two stairwells leading both upstairs and into a basement, at opposite ends of the house; Obi-Wan guided me to one and hopped up the stairs two at a time. "You have a lovely view of the square," he informed me along the way. "And the prison block on the other side."

"Great," I groaned at his lightly-veiled sarcasm. He led me to the second door on the left, which hummed open to reveal a quiet room with very quiet décor, and my bag lying on the bed. One rectangular window made of a single pane let warm sunlight into the room, and did indeed look out over the empty green square, and the mountains in the distance. I nodded to myself in acceptance of the accommodations and turned to my shadow. "Yours and Qui-Gon's are on the other side of the hall?"

"Yes. Your door is between the two of ours." He stepped back into the hallway and raised a hand to point it out. Both doors were open to admit natural light into the corridor. I could see by the rumpled blankets which one was the Padawan's. He leaned on the doorway and smiled innocently. "There's nothing to worry about, though. CQ keeps an eye on the grounds, and there's interior surveillance..." He gestured toward a tiny box mounted along the molding near the ceiling at the far end of the hall, by the stairwell. "...so that CQ isn't always blundering around where he isn't wanted."

"Good, because the last thing I need is a droid invading my privacy," I said with some amusement. "It may not be awkward for the droid, but it is for me!"

Obi-Wan laughed sprightly. "Yes, well...CQ learned where not to patrol after doing exactly that to Master Qui-Gon the first night we were here."

My mouth fell open and let a squeal of laughter out. "No!"

Obi-Wan laughed again. "Yes."

"Oh man..." I giggled for a bit, and then heaved a contented sigh before leaving the room and returning downstairs. "So, I can go anywhere in this place?"

"You can go anywhere in Takra - though, I would expect you not to wander far without one of us," the apprentice replied as he followed me. "The city is fairly safe, but there are areas you should probably stay away from."

"No way, I'm not going anywhere without you. Bad things happen when I do." I glanced over my shoulder at Obi-Wan as I reached the bottom of the stairs. "Just like on Salji."

A memory caused his sunny look to vanish. "You will be safe here," he assured in a firm voice. "And when we leave Takra to visit other colonies, you will be at our sides. This is a peaceful planet; in all honesty, CQ blundering in on you at the wrong time is about the greatest of your worries here."

I believed him, as nothing since arriving on Daramin struck me as being potentially dangerous, but still - being with two Jedi was never a boring or entirely peaceful state. I just gave Obi-Wan a smile as I entered the small office where I knew Qui-Gon to be. I could see that it was the same office he had called me from just before the storm, when we had arranged the trip - I recognized the furniture and the frame hanging on the wall behind the communicator screen. The windows looked out on the square. The Master was just getting up from a chair, the transmission over. "I'm sorry," he immediately said to us as we came in, "I've been called away. Some unfinished business." He smiled apologetically at me. "I thought I had cleared the rest of the day to spend with you, getting you acquainted with Daramin."

"It's okay," I said honestly. "You're on duty, I actually expected I wouldn't see much of you." I glanced back at Obi-Wan. "Are you leaving me here alone?"

"No, Obi-Wan doesn't need to join me," the Master said. "It shouldn't take long. I will be back by dinner at the latest."

Obi-Wan stood aside as Qui-Gon crossed the room toward the door. "Where will you be? The capitol?"

"I assume so. I will be meeting the Councilor there, at least." He paused at the door and turned back to us, a hint of regret in his eyes. "You two, have a good day." His eyes flicked to Obi-Wan. "You know what I had intended. Go ahead and do it without me."

"Yes, Master."

Qui-Gon turned without another word and just left, the hard sound of his boots on the paneled floor dying at the door. I sighed and nudged Obi-Wan's arm. "What was this he had planned to do?"

"Just a personal tour of Takra," Obi-Wan murmured. "Lunch at a local restaurant and an afternoon of wandering. We worked very hard the last few days to make sure we had nothing else to do today, so we could be free to show you around." He faced me, calm and unexpectant. "However, if you would rather stay here, I will stay with you."

"No, let's do it," I decided. "Master said we should. Let's go - I think it's a great idea."

The smile returned to the Padawan's delicate lips. "Very well. We will."

*****

Despite the handy presence of any kind of repulsorlift vehicle we could possibly want, the tour was a walking one. By the time Obi-Wan escorted me back to the house near sunset, I was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to get off my feet and have something cold to drink. It was early summer in this region of Daramin, so the weather was perfect for being out, not too hot and not too windy. But, without benefit of a ride, anything Obi-Wan wanted to show me was a long walk away. At a few points he gave up and just told me, in general terms, where something was - like the capitol, which wasn't a fancy building that could be seen above the roofs of other buildings, just an office block nearer to the mountains. I did my best to keep up, and I was doing fairly well, but all day on foot will wear anyone out. When we returned to quarters, I found my way into the sitting room, kicked off my sneakers, and sprawled out on the couch. "Wake me when there's food," I groaned as Obi-Wan followed me in and smirked at the sight of where I'd ended up.

"Are you hungry now?"

"Not really. That was a big lunch."

Obi-Wan nodded. "That's why Master Qui-Gon likes to go there."

I snorted at that. It was true, though - Qui-Gon required more on his plate than I did to keep going through the day. "He's not back yet."

"No, he's not. We can wait for him, I think."

I nodded awkwardly with my head pressed back into a cushion. He left me there, so I closed my eyes and savored what I could hear, smell, and sense. I hadn't taken the time all day to call attention to it, but I could intuitively feel that my strength in the Force had increased since landing on Daramin - since returning to the presence of my bonded Jedi. With them so near, everything was as it had been, as it was whenever they were with me. I toyed idly with the string of energy connecting me to Obi-Wan, as he was so nearby that I could tangibly sense the bond and use it to summon or notice the other end. From the other room, he brushed off my contact like brushing away a would-be tickling hand, and sent back the inaudible Force-equivalent of a chuckle. I decided to leave him alone and just listen, just feel. The house was nearly silent, but for innocent sounds trailing in through opened windows in the sitting room. From far off down the block came the sounds of children playing, and nearer to us, the leaves of the big tree on the property fluttered gently in the dying breeze. A sindi beetle sang from the branches; I was grateful that all the windows in all the buildings I had seen, including this one, had tight screens. No giant bugs were going to fly into my room at night! I chuckled to myself, lolling back on the couch, thoroughly happy with where I was. It didn't matter that Qui-Gon was late, I was at least on the same planet as he was for once. In terms of my current life, that was quite the accomplishment.

After a while, as the room got darker with the onset of evening, Obi-Wan returned and flicked on a lamp. I glanced up at him as he came around the couch, and yet again smirked at me. "What?" I demanded.

"If only I could relax like you are," he mused. It was then I noticed the folder in his hand, which he laid neatly on the table with the lamp for a moment while he shrugged off his robe and draped it over a chair.

"You have to work?" I wondered, forcing myself to sit up and make room on the couch.

"I have to prepare for tomorrow." Obi-Wan sat at the end of the couch, leaning all the way back and letting out a tired sigh before picking up the folder and leafing through the hard copies contained inside. "I put in a call to Master Qui-Gon. The session is running long and he doesn't think he'll be back anytime soon. We can eat without him."

"I would if I felt like eating," I grumbled. "I'm still full. I don't think I'll need dinner."

Icy blue eyes flicked my way with a gleam of a smile. "You should probably just go to bed, then. You're tired."

"It's not night yet," I complained, even though it was almost night. "I want to stay up until Qui-Gon gets back."

"He may be very late."

"I don't care. Just so he knows there's no hard feelings about him missing my first whole day on Daramin." I slumped back against the arm of the couch, which was angled not only stylishly but also comfortably. "Besides. I'm not that tired."

Obi-Wan didn't take his eyes off the report he was reading. "That's not what you said about half an hour ago."

"My feet hurt. I'm not sleepy-tired, just exhausted-tired."

"There's a difference?" he dryly wondered.

I nudged him with my foot. "Yes, there's a difference."

The smile he'd been trying to contain finally broke free, yet his eyes never wavered from work. "It's entirely up to you. I still suggest you ought to go to bed, and get some sleep, but if you want to stay up until Master Qui-Gon returns, it's your choice."

He settled down and poured his full attention into the reports, so I gave him silence in which to work, turning my gaze instead on the tall windows and the night coming slowly on behind them. The mountains caught the dying light and glowed vividly pink-red, the shadows of clefts standing out in purple relief. They held onto the light long after the rest of the landscape had gone dark, it was beautiful. As the sky faded to indigo, the trilling whir of sindi beetles hushed completely. The noise of traffic and people died down. It was a silent, peaceful evening, like the ones on Earth where elder folks would sit on their porch swings, and the kids would hunt for a jar to catch the lightning bugs which would soon be coming out. Instead, I was on a colony planet belonging to entirely non-human races, sharing a couch with a Jedi apprentice. Shifting my eyes to his figure, I indulged myself in unabashed adoration for a while, torn between keeping it restrained in case my thoughts got out and disturbed his studying, and actually attempting to do so deliberately. I didn't need to worry, though - he was focused, and only by actively projecting something to him would I be able to distract him. He was leaned back on the couch, his boots firmly on the floor but the rest of him sinking into relaxation as he read from the folder cradled in his lap. The lamp behind him put his profile into silhouette, golden light just tickling over his round cheeks and filtering through the tips of his soft, spiked hair. It felt like a dream, to be there, so close, with an unrestricted view. I completely did not realize I was dozing until Obi-Wan's voice shattered the reverie, seeming loud even though he was speaking soft and low. "Stacey, go to bed."

"No, I'm fine," I insisted, sitting up and rubbing my eyes. I must have drowsed while sitting. The night outside had gone black. "I'll just stay up until Qui-Gon gets back, then I'm going to bed."

Obi-Wan looked at me and sighed comically. "Must you always be so stubborn? You're tired, you're probably exhausted from the space travel. You should rest."

I slid to the other end of the couch, where he was, and leaned my head on his shoulder. "No, I'll be fine. Really." He glanced down, so I coyly smiled up at him. "You'll have to make me."

"I'm not going to make you," he assured. "But honestly, what good is it going to do you to sit here while I read through these reports for tomorrow?"

"I think it's doing me a lot of good." The flirtatious tone slipped out completely unconsciously, as did the look I shot him from where I still leaned on his shoulder. I noticed almost too late and added, more seriously, "You're good company, even if you're working."

The folder closed for a moment. Obi-Wan sat there, still, and then reached to unclip his lightsaber from his belt. The movement of his body made me lift my head, freeing him so he could reach over and gingerly set the lightsaber hilt on the table beneath the lamp. Then, his boots came off, and he shifted so that he was leaning up against the cleverly-angled arm of the couch. He stretched out along the length of the couch, nudging me back with his knees, and then lifted up his left arm to beckon me closer. "Here. The least you can do is lay down and get some rest. I promise you, I will wake you when Master Qui-Gon comes in."

I had no words, only a grateful (and very tired) purr as I crawled up alongside Obi-Wan and laid my head on his chest. His arm fell over me, holding me close, as I settled down with an arm draped across his stomach. Sandwiched between the back of the couch and his warm body, I couldn't help but close my eyes and breathe deeply, failing entirely to fight off the sleep lurking around the corners of my mind. The Padawan returned to work, propping his right arm on his hip so he could keep reading, taking papers from the folder and perusing them individually. For a short time I remained awake, watching him, feeling his hand gently and absently stroking my hair while he read. Something on his belt was pressing hard into my side, keeping me from drifting off. Finally, I mustered the strength to lift my head and stare up into those expressive blue-gray eyes. "Your belt is poking me."

He glanced at me, as if startled out of some deep concentration. "I'm sorry?"

"The pouch on your belt is poking into me."

"Oh." Obi-Wan set aside his reports and with one hand, deftly unsnapped the buckle of his belt and worked it off. I pushed myself away from him just enough to get the offending piece of equipment out of the way, and then flopped back down onto him. It was so much easier now to snuggle up against him, my body's curves overlapping the angles of his in perfect fit, my arm around his middle, his slowly-unwrapping tunics forming the perfect pillow. For a while I alternated between napping and savoring my waking moments, noting the passage of time by which file was in Obi-Wan's hand each time I woke up and looked over. I didn't realize I was so tired, the exhaustion and "space-lag" catching up with me and overcoming my wish to stay awake until Qui-Gon got home. Obi-Wan's body was just so comfortable...

The gaps of time between awareness were growing longer and longer, and a time came where the rustling of papers didn't wake me. The next time I opened my eyes, there was no file resting on the Padawan's hip, nor even his right hand. Shifting my head just a little, I glanced up to see his head tilted sideways, his eyes closed. His other arm was draped on the floor. A shallow breath sighed rhythmically from him, his chest rising and falling subtly beneath my head. He fell asleep, I noted, smiling tiredly to myself. I hugged my arm more tightly around his middle, snuggled more deeply into his soft tunics, and closed my eyes to sleep for real. I didn't even remember why we were still on the couch and not in bed.

I don't know what woke me at last - a sound, a draft, a twitch of my companion's - but the change to my surroundings kept me from falling immediately back to sleep. The room was dark except for faint swatches of light from outside falling through the windows, one of which creaked ever-so-slightly all of a sudden. I lifted my head from Obi-Wan's chest and peered at the impression of movement over by the offending window. Half expecting CQ, I stared until I could resolve the shape of a tall man shrouded in a robe. A chill had crept into the room through the open windows, and I noticed Obi-Wan's robe was draped over the both of us. Master Qui-Gon had returned at last, and was silently making things more comfortable for us, at the moment bent over to close the windows. Whether he knew I was awake or not, I never found out, for he drifted past without so much as a glance in the direction of the couch and left the room. Puzzled, but grateful, I settled back down. Obi-Wan clearly had no intention of moving, as he was deeply asleep and slumped further down on the couch, his left arm around me completely slack, so I just laid back down and melted into nearly dreamless sleep.

The body wrapped up with mine finally stirred shortly after dawn, when morning sunlight filtered through ineffectual blinds and painted us with golden stripes. The movement prodded me up from the heavy folds of dozing sleep, where I'd been languishing for probably an hour. We had somehow settled naturally into a comfortable position, myself still squished between Obi-Wan and the back of the couch, him no longer leaning up but lying down, and turned somewhat towards me. The robe was half on the floor, half wedged in between the cushions. As I blinked in the dim half-light, Obi-Wan stirred again, lifting his right hand to rub his eyes. I felt his body expand with a deep breath, followed by a sigh and a grunt of acknowledgement that morning had come and he had to meet it rather than ignore it and go back to sleep. For a moment I stayed where I was, unwilling to let go and break the spell that bound the two of us together, but in the end I forced myself to lift my head and meet Obi-Wan's eyes, to let him know I was awake also. Deep pools of gray blue stared back, dark with sleep yet but sparkling with life. He blinked a few times as if just now recognizing where he was and who was beside him, and a peaceful smile crept onto his face. I lowered my head back onto his chest and listened to his heart beating, too embarrassed and tickled to remind him that he'd failed his promise of waking me up when Qui-Gon got home, since he himself had been fast asleep. His tunics were draped open, his sash lost somewhere beneath him. I smoothed a hand over the firm muscles beneath the thin woven fabric of his undertunic and unconsciously let out a contented sigh. As if in response, Obi-Wan's hand found its way through my long hair to the back of my neck, which he caressed lightly, running silky fingertips just along the nape. We lay for a long time, all words unnecessary, while the sun climbed higher and the sindi beetles started humming again in the daylight. After a while Obi-Wan squirmed his way back into a sitting position - almost - and looked down on me with more of that peaceful smile while he still held me to his side. I settled almost on top of him and raised my head to admire that smile, with the mysterious eyes and the tousled hair. He moistened his lips and whispered delicately, "Promise kept."

It took a moment for which promise he meant to sink in. When it did, I smiled back and just squeezed him in acknowledgement. In a few minutes he would have to get up and get to work, and I needed to change since I was still in the clothes I had worn the day before and then some. There was no sense rushing into the day, though, not when there was a moment to savor.

On to Perspective: Disequilibrium by Trisha

Back to index