Family Found - Chapter Five

Noelani sighed as she looked around the common room of the quarters she shared with Tahiri. Noting that everything was put away perfectly in place. Neat, tidy, clean. She dropped to the couch, and glanced at the low table in front of her. An empty expanse of wood and metal. She frowned as she realizes that it was too neat and too tidy for her.

And that empty table annoyed her.

She looked around again, and then stood up walking into her room for a moment. She felt more comfortable here, happier at the organized mess she kept her room in. The droid and console parts spread over her work station. The two vibrobrains surrounded by droid ocular sensors on her nightstand. She grinned as she pulled out a box of items that her adopted father had sent her a few months ago; digging through the stuff until she found what she was hunting for. A large metal plate with a few buttons situated on the side.

Returning to the common room she placed the plate in the center of the table and presses the activator button. A holographic image of the Juudland Wastes flickered into existence above the plate.

She looked at the chrono and realized that she was almost late for her lesson. Grabbing her datapad she rushed from the room, running through the halls until she came to her class.

She was the last to enter the room, moments before the lesson was scheduled to begin. She slid into one of the seats near the front ignoring the stares from the rest of the class as the instructor began to teach.

Within a half-hour she was bored.

Noelani let out a sigh, trying her best to pay attention to the instructor. Today's lesson was on using the holonet to discover information about their missions. She glanced down at the terminal in front of her, frowning as she realized that she was about four steps behind the instructor. She quickly punched the various keys and icons on her terminal, until her screen showed the same information as the instructor's display.

As the teacher droned on, Noelani's attention once more drifted away. She decided that she would rather be going on missions, even with all the inherent danger and fighting, than sit in a class.

Then an icon popped up on the corner of the terminal screen. Noelani glanced around the classroom, surprised at receiving a message on this terminal during class. Her eyes found Ben's blue ones, and she noticed a mischievous light in them.

She pressed the icon, and a text message pops up on the screen. Noelani quickly read it, and then read it again to make sure she understood.

I heard there's a bunch of ruins here on Ossus, and these ruins have some wizard caves. Me and Poll were going to go explore some of them, you think you and Kor will want to join us?

She cast another glance back over her shoulder, he grinned for her, bumping one eyebrow up slightly. She could feel a blush cropping up on her cheeks as her head darted back around to the front of the class. She tilted her face down, allowing her hair to cover her cheeks. She exhaled, trying to regain control of her physical reactions, willing the blood to flow properly in her cheeks.

She quickly replied that she would love to and that she would ask Kor after the class.

Then she spent the next fifty minutes, trying to pay attention and trying even harder to not cast glances back over her shoulder towards Ben.

Finally the class was over, and Noelani stood up to looking around the room. She frowned as she realized that Ben had already left. She could feel a pout coming to her lips, even as she wondered why it was there. Shaking her head slightly, she walked down the aisle of desks, and left the classroom. Stepping from a scene of learning into one of the many hallways of the Jedi Temple.

As soon as she cleared the doorway, she felt a hand grab onto her shoulder, and Ben's Force presence flooded her awareness. For a second she frowned, as there was something familiar about his presence. As if it was one that she had known for years. Shaking her head, she put that familiar feeling up to him being the Grand Master's son. She turned to look at him, noting that he was dressed in a pair of black pants with a white tunic and a black jacket over that. Hanging at the collar of his jacket was a series of small gold pins; rank designations for the Galactic Alliance Guard.

"So, are you ready to go?"

Noelani laughed. "I still got to ask Kor and my Master."

"Ask your Master what?" Both teens jumped slightly at Tahiri's voice, and turned to face her.

Noelani noticed the sly amusement which had risen to her Master's face. As if Tahiri knew something that Noelani didn't. For a second, she considered bugging Tahiri until her Master told her what it was, but recent experiences had proven that Tahiri probably wouldn't cave under such pressures.

"We'd like to go test our spelunking skills over at the old ruins on the edge of the Temple property. My dad's already approved it, and I was asking Noelani if she and her friend Kor would like to join us."

Noelani smiled at her. "Please, Master?"

"I'm going to be making another run to Rhen Var, you sure you want to stay here and go exploring some dirty caves?"

Noelani looked horrified. "You're going back to that ice cube? Please don't make me go there…I'm sure it's bad for my arm or something."

Tahiri laughed and shook her head slightly. "I see. No appreciation for the different planets out there."

Noelani danced closer to Tahiri, her smile returning to her lips. "So I can stay here?"

Tahiri nodded her head. "Yes."

Noelani bounced up and wrapped her arms around Tahiri. "Thanks, Master!"

As the young apprentice dropped back to the flats of her feet, Tahiri placed a hand on her shoulder. "You behave while I'm gone, understand?"

"Yes, Master."

"Good. I'll see you in a few days." She looked from Noelani towards Ben. "Good bye, Ben."

Then she strode away, her bare feet shuffling against the cool marble floors. Noelani noticed Ben shaking his head slightly. "I don't see how she can wander around the Temple without shoes on. Shouldn't her feet get cold? Or dirty?"

Noelani huffed sharply, planting her elbow into Ben's stomach. He clutched at it as he doubled over slightly from the impact. "Don't talk about my Master like that."

Ben laughed as he straightened, one hand still rubbing at his stomach slightly. "Seems like that's a sore subject."

Just then, arms wrapped around both Noelani and Ben, and Poll's face shoved between them. "Hey you two! So, are we going on this little jaunt?"

Ben took a step away from Noelani, and Poll stumbled into the widening space between them. He turned a glare towards Ben for a second and then hugged Noelani a bit tighter. "So, 'Lani when are we going to go have a date?"

Noelani jabbed her elbow into his rib, causing him to stumble once again. She glanced over at Ben and noticed the look of annoyance that had risen to his face. Grinning, she quickly adverted her face.

Noelani smiled at them, glancing between her two friends, noticing that Ben had once more schooled his features into one of calm unconcern.

"I've gotta go find Kor and see if she wants to go, want to meet at the main entrance to the Academy in an hour?"

The two boys nodded their heads, and Noelani stopped, watching as they continued down the hallway laughing to each other.

Noelani allowed a small smile to come to her lips for a moment, and then turned around darting back down the hallway towards the quarters Kor shared with her Master. Within a few moments she was standing outside of the door. She pressed the anunciator and the door opened to reveal Kor standing there.

"Hey, Noelani. What's up?"

Noelani grinned happily. "Ben and Poll want to go exploring some of the caves and want us to go with them. Can you?"

Kor grinned mischievously. "Ben and Poll? I can understand why you wouldn't want to be alone with the two of them."

Noelani frowned at her friend. "Oh? So you don't want to go?"

Kor laughed. "I definitely didn't say that. Wait here, and let me go ask Master Thann."

Noelani nodded her head as Kor disappeared back into her quarters. A few minutes later, she reappeared with a big grin on her face. "Looks like you don't have to be all by yourself with those two boys after all."

Noelani grinned at her friend. "As if there was ever any doubt about that. I did mention that Poll was going to be there."

Kor's eyes narrowed slightly. "You better not tell him anything, Noelani Darklighter."

She laughed, holding up her hands slightly. "Hey, it's me. Besides I don’t understand what you see in him, and can't see why you like him."

"Yeah, well…at least he's not Skywalker."

Noelani frowned slightly. "Ben's not that bad. Now, let's go meet the boys."

She ignored Kor's chuckle as they walked down the hallway.