Chapter 4

An Evening After School

Furia walked through the doorway of her home, then turned to walk into her room. Master Pricilli was not home yet. “Might be a long night at the library” she thought to herself as she hung up her robe, put the red outfit in dirty clothes, then brought out a tan shirt and shorts and put them on. She headed to the kitchen and looked for what she could have for dinner. Artificial milk to drink, leaves with some fruit she can mix in a dish for a salad, put a little bit of nuts in the dish, veggie steak flavored with herbs. Steak flavored with Spice; now that would be interesting although a bit disturbing. Grilled Kowakian cooked with sweet smoking sauce, now that would be a dinner! She put the steak in the food heater and let it cook while she made the salad and poured some milk into a glass. She put the bowl with salad in it on the kitchen table, then put the glass of milk on the table. A bell went off with the food heater, and she opened the door and touched the plate. It was hot, but the plate cooled down quickly and heated the air to her right for a bit. A little trick she learned on her own about the Force, moving fire and heat in different ways. No one else seemed to do it, and she wondered why since it seemed so easy for her. She put the plate on the table then sat down for her dinner.

While eating her meal she thought about what she did today. She did learn from her studies. Some metals are better than others for wiring. Silicon was an important part of making holocrons. The crystals inside the holocron could still grow even when the holocron is made so it could then store more information. She wondered why there wasn’t much information about comparing silicon with carbon in different uses. Numerous other facts she got to learn with her studying in the afternoon. The workout in the practice area felt good, despite a little guilt hurting Master Plootu. Tomorrow will be another class day, which she will continue her studies on the force, cultures on different planets, history of the Jedi, and her language course which she picked a while ago Huttese. The language of the underworld, Furia thought it would help in the future. It wasn’t a difficult class since the language was similar to Rodian. She already knew some Rodian to help with talking to numerous Rodians like Master Wassach. She wasn’t the only one taking Huttese. Numerous padawans and even some Jedi Knights were in her class learning the language. One of these days she knew she would have to take the class to try to learn the droid speak. She really didn’t want to have to take that class, yet it probably would be beneficial in the future when working with some mech droids. It certainly would be better to take that class than have some assassin protocol droid do the translating with the mech, and then gloat about itself she mused. Then again, maybe it would be more fun to take that Jawa language class. That class would be a blast.

After the classes she would go again to the practice area to learn her martial skills. Some people would say lightsaber skills, but she knew there was more to a Jedi being in combat than simply using a lightsaber. There was a reason the practice area was called martial arts area and not lightsaber area.

She finished her meal, put the dish with bowl and glass in the dish cleaner. The eating utensils she put in the cleaner next. She went to see what she could have for dessert. Looking different places she found it. Chocolate pieces. Correlian Chocolate pieces. Yummy! She put some pieces on a plate then took the plate to the main room. After putting the plate on a table, she grabbed one piece and ate it then grabbed another and likewise ate. She went to stand in the middle of the room. She unstrapped her lightsaber then held it in the middle of the room. Twirling the hilt in her hands, she felt the weight of the saber and tried to hear for any loose pieces. So far, so good. Nothing seemed wrong. She turned the switch then watched to see the green blades of plasma come out. Raising her eyebrows, she watched the blades only come out halfway, sputter back and forth, then retract back into the handle. “Stupid lightsaber!” she yelled, finally losing her patience, then she got back her composure. She sat down in the middle of the room and held the hilt horizontally. She reactivated it, seeing the blades come out mostly, but then sputtered again.

Furia turned off the lightsaber then closed her eyes and focused on her tool. She had always called it her tool; much better than calling it her weapon since sometimes the lightsaber was very helpful in a use other than defending herself from an attack. She just then had a quick memory of using it to free people on a large space freighter that were trapped behind a blast door that got triggered to close.

Her thoughts went to trying to sense her kyber crystal, the crystal that created the plasma blade of the lightsaber. The crystal seemed right, but then she felt something in the Force. A crack in it? That is not supposed to happen. Those crystals are supposed to be practically indestructible. The only time she had heard of that is a couple stories of Jedi turning to the dark side, like when joining the Sith or going to be their own tyrants. There was no way Furia was thinking of joining the Sith. The feeling of a crack went away. Was that sense of the crack real, or was she having problems focusing with the Force? Opening her eyes she switched the lightsaber on again, and this time the green blades came out appropriately and stayed out. Hopefully the blades will work if she needs to defend herself. Walking back to the table she ate the rest of the chocolate. She sighed after eating the last piece of chocolate, satisfied at her choice for dessert.

It was now evening. What to do? Thinking of what she can do, there came the idea. A few hours in a nightclub with a friend. Stacy might be free. She was a little older and given a little more freedom from her master. Within a couple years she is going to have her trials to become a Jedi Knight. Furia went over to the room’s holoprojector and pushed the buttons to call Stacy’s home. After a few rings, the hologram above the device went from distorted to the picture of her friend, Stacy Organa.

“Hey!” Furia greeted her friend.

“What’s up?” Stacy answered.

“Let’s go out. Mecina and Dantella can’t, work. We could try that new club in the restaurant district.” The restaurant district Furia alluded to was not far from the Jedi Temple. “Younger crowd there.”

“That the Solar Flare?” Stacy had heard of the place.

“Yea. I will call for a ride and can pick us up in an hour.”

“Sounds good. Go with the blue suit with the mini?”

“I can go with my black one” answered Furia, referring to her one piece body suit that has a miniskirt that goes mid-thigh as part of it.

“Doesn’t Pricilli complain of you looking like a Sith in that, and that you are inappropriate speech?”

“Sometimes. I’ve got to go out at times and be able relax. What she want, me to go out in the public with an EVA suit?”

Stacy laughed. Her friend could be funny at times. “K, I’ll be ready when you get here.”

Furia went to her room and changed her clothes. The black body suit covered her from her neck to her toes. At the middle was a minidress that went down to mid-thigh. The suit and skirt had a red trim which accentuated the look of the outfit. Around her waist was a matching wide black belt. Her black boots were ankle high with a snug fit. They were easy to walk in, with few knowing it was easy to run in, and only she knew easy to kick in. “No need for high heels” she thought to herself. She had no desire to exaggerate her look tonight. Maybe some other time. Going over to a small vanity table in her room, she put on a little makeup. She didn’t need to put her hair in a bun since she wasn’t going to do Jedi Temple business, but she kept her padawan braid for her shoulder length ginger hair. Looking at herself in the mirror she proclaimed “Looks good.” She stood up and stretched, sensing all of her body and enjoying the feel. “It’s nice to be healthy” she thought.

Furia walked into the main room of her home. She kneeled down in the middle of the room. Extending her feet so the tops of her toes were touching the rug, she closed her eyes to meditate for a couple minutes. Several years ago she learned from one of her Jedi teachers to sit in this fashion while meditating instead of cross legged because it was easier to get out of the position in case there was a surprise attack on oneself. With her eyelids closed, she looked down as if she would be looking at her thighs if her eyelids were open. Calmly she breathed. She felt the Force emanating from herself. She felt the Force flowing through this part of Coruscant, flowing through her home. The joys, hurts, boredom, fears, irritations, she could feel the emotions of the people near her home. The serenity of several Jedi near her home. The lust of someone not that far away. Hopefully that isn’t a Jedi. It wasn’t as strong of a feeling as that time several months ago she was at the open market with Master Pricilli. Calming herself on the bench, her Master told her to stay there while Pricilli was looking at art to buy for Pricilli’s room. Furia felt those two probably at a residential unit not far from the market. Those two were wild. There was the worry of someone that was not difficult to detect, probably someone worrying about that awful war. There in the Force she just felt the feeling of exhaustion with success. Good for that person.

Furia prepared herself for her next action that was not easy to do. Keeping her calm, she put all her concentration into snapping apart her connection with the Force. The flow of the Force to her became now barely a trickle. She felt a massive stab as if to her entire body. She became mostly detached from the Force. No one could read her mind, no one would notice her by using the Force. She could not sense anyone except herself. An ability she learned a couple years ago studying in the Jedi Temple Library from a holocron that was a few hundred years old. She also studied there were attacks within the Force in which there was no defense. Perhaps from detaching, there would be a defense. She counted her breaths, keeping her breathing even. Twenty eight, twenty nine, thirty, she now focused on reconnecting to Force. She felt the Force at a distance as if it was a stream. Her mind sensed and tried to pull that stream towards her. Energy of the Force flowed from her. Pulling the Force from far towards her, it came to contact with that emanating from her. Furia felt the jolt as the two parts met. Before this would shake her, but now she became used to it. Keeping her body calm, she sensed the Force becoming a natural flow again through her. Master Pricilli doesn’t know about it, and probably shouldn’t since she would think Furia was doing a terrible and unnatural thing. As Furia would continue practicing this, she knew someday someone is going to notice this unique disturbance of the Force. At that time she would explain herself. Furia learned from her own studies that the Force does help a Jedi, but she can’t be dependent on it and one must be wary of an unusual attack through the Force.

* * *

Furia allowed a little smile on her face, then she got up and stood. It would be a little early to leave to go over to Stacy’s. Furia turned on the holoprojector to the program practicing speaking in Huttese. There was the holovid of a Hutt, saying a sentence then Furia would reply back, sometimes saying one sentence and sometimes saying a little more. Sometimes Furia would respond with her own voice, sometimes she would with the help of the Force speak like a Hutt, which never stopped entertaining her. Tonight she had the program set to practice on financial dealings. She hoped in the past the program would allow practice with hostage negotiations, but it was at least not yet set up for that. A Jedi padawan trying to learn being a diplomat, yet the Jedi program doesn’t allow it. Figures.

The padawan finished her practice of speaking Huttese, then turned off the holoprojector. It was time to leave and get her friend. Furia attached her lightsaber hilt to the belt, having it loosely covered with fabric from the belt. Her identification card she put in a pouch on the belt. She called for a ride to meet at the front of the Jedi Temple. She walked out of her home onto the main passageway for her level, then walked towards the turbolift. She pushed a pad by the turbolift, and waited for the door to open. She heard the turbolift come to her floor and the door opened. She walked into the empty lift. She pushed on a panel in the lift, the door closed, then started moving lower. Hopefully this will be a fun night. The turbolift came to the level where Stacy lived, stopped, and the door opened. Furia walked out of the turbolift then turned to walk in the direction of her friend’s home. She walked the passageway with her graceful walk and finally came to the unit where Stacy Organa lived with her master, Gianna Magister of Alderaan. Furia pushed a panel on the wall and waited.

The door opened with Stacy Organa near the doorway. “Hi” she said with a smile as she gave her friend a light hug, then walked out of her home. “Ready to go.” The two padawans walked the passageway to the turbolift. Stacy wore a blue body suit of the same style as her friend’s, also with a miniskirt and wide belt. Her lightsaber was attached with loose cover just like Furia’s. The blue color of her outfit matched the color of her eyes. Stacy Organa of Alderaan, born in a royal family from the planet of mountains, forests, crops, and nice wines. She had many relatives on that planet. Some were born into families with father and mother married, and plenty were born with parents not married. A bit too many times a member of the Organa family would have a fling with someone with a surprise pregnancy as a reward. She and her siblings were born into a family with her parents married, luckily for her. Her father worked in finance at a bank in the capital, and her mother worked part-time with the Agriculture Department. Jedi Gianna Magister knew numerous of the Organa family members, and on a trip back to her home planet she sensed the preschool aged girl’s force sensitivity. After some discussion with Gianna Magister and other Jedi, the Organa family allowed for Stacy to go with the Jedi for training. Although it was frowned upon for younglings or padawan to have contact with family members, Stacy was allowed to have chats with her relatives from time to time, and a few times went with Jedi Gianna Magister back home to see her family. Master Gianna was glad she did that with her padawan. It did not disrupt nor corrupt Stacy.

Furia and her brunette friend from Alderaan made it to the turbolift. Furia pushed on a panel and the two padawans waited for the turbolift. Looking at her friend with the same type of padawan braid as her, she smiled thinking how similar their hairstyles were. Stacy also wore her hair shoulder length. The two padawans got along great over the years. They had fun in the classes they had together, and practiced well in their dueling. She was a good friend. The two walked into the turbolift after the door opened.

“We can’t drink too much booze Furia” Stacy said to her younger friend. “Wouldn’t look good at the Temple tomorrow with a hangover. Funny, but not good.”

Furia laughed a little. “All right. I wasn’t really planning on much anyways. Main thing is for us to hang out together and have some fun.”

“Got that right” Stacy replied. The turbolift came to a stop then the door opened. The two padawans walked out of the door onto the main level of the Jedi Temple, then walked to the front entrance and awaited at the area for picking up rides. Waiting for less than a minute, a speeder driven by a cylinder shaped droid showed up with a roof and two comfortable seats in the back. The two ladies got inside then the doors lowered and shut lock. The top part of the droid spun its head to look back. Furia spoke to it “Solar Flare in the restaurant district.”

“Droid driver. That’s probably better.” Stacy commented while she looked at the droid then turned her head and looked at Furia. “Droids at times are better than the breathing ones.”

Furia laughed. “Remember that Twi’lek that asked why we weren’t modeling lately and wanted our home addresses because he was going to find us a job?”

Stacy Organa laughed with her friend. “Or that Corellian creep that said he could set us up to do those diet drink commercials?”

The two padawans laughed for many seconds as the droid driver took them into a traffic lane. It drove the speeder effortlessly in the lane, avoiding other vehicles, taking the ladies from the area of the Jedi Temple to the restaurant district. The craft moved through the air with ease. After several minutes it took a turn to the right and went downwards towards the ground. Gently it came close to the ground, moved to an area in front of the Solar Flare nightclub, and then stopped. Furia flicked her identification card near the droid, and the ride was paid. The doors opened and the ladies stepped out onto the pavement. The doors of the speeder closed and the speeder sped up into the sky. Furia and Stacy turned towards the front of the Solar Flare and walked to its front door. Both of their miniskirts moved a little as they walked. Stacy stopped first then Furia by a man at the front door. Stacy Organa brought a card from her belt and held the corner of it while the man scanned it with a device. He nodded to the brunette and she walked forward a couple of steps then stopped to wait for her friend. Furia brought her card out, and then the man likewise scanned the card then nodded to her.

Both padawans walked through the doorway into the large room with loud music that played on speakers in the walls, and multiple colored lights going off and on illuminating the room. There was for a couple seconds less noise as the crowd noticed the two Jedi walking into the night club, each with their braid so those that noticed would have known these two were padawans. Solar Flare had its elongated bar and many small tables with chairs. There were so many bottles of different types of alcohol and mixers from different parts of the galaxy in their appropriate spots covering the wall. The young ladies looked around at who was there, and found a space at the bar they could go to so they can order their drinks. In the large room there were many people who worked at the nearby businesses. Furia noticed tailors, bankers, government officials, and merchants from the different businesses she has visited near the Temple and the Restaurant District. On the far side were some troopers in a circle talking, probably recently back from a deployment.

There were several species in there, yet a vast majority were nevertheless people that lived not that far away and all were speaking Basic. Furia was thinking this was definitely a nice place. Certainly better than some dingy bar with its scum and villainy at some outlying world that she unfortunately had to visit with her master a year ago.

The bartender came up to the two padawans. “What would you two ladies like to drink?” He looked at both of them when he asked, and waited patiently for their order.

“Starblossom Nectar. I’m buying for the two of us.”

“No, I can pay” replied Furia.

“You paid for the ride. Beside, I’m older. My credit is a bit larger.” Stacy Organa said to her friend, then turned to look at the bartender.

“All right” answered the ginger haired padawan. She looked at the balding human bartender. “Little Lady Rishi Punch.”

“All right ladies. Coming up” he replied to the two ladies and then walked a little to the back to get the ingredients then make the drinks.

Stacy laughed a little. “Keeping low on the alcohol tonight?”

“Don’t want to get tipsy then have a headache tomorrow with class. The dash of rum is enough. And leave it to an Alderaanian to order Starblossom Nectar” said Furia as she smiled to her friend. Furia was enjoying herself, relaxing with the beat of the music, coloring of the lights, and being with one of her good friends.

The two padawans looked around at the nightclub until the waiter brought their drinks in tall multicolored glasses. Stacy brought out her card and gave it to the bartender. He moved it above a machine behind the bar surface. The machine flickered lights then he gave the card back to Stacy.

“Force be with ya” the two said to each other as they clicked the glasses touching each other, then had a drink. Both swirled the drink in their mouths before swallowing, savoring the taste. The group of troopers looked back occasionally at the two padawans, admiring the free spirit of the two. The troopers were unwinding, talking about their recent deployment in a generic way. They all knew not to give specifics. Who knew who might be listening.

“Still having that saber problem?” Stacy asked her friend while the two chatted at the bar.

Furia shrugged her shoulders then leaned in close to whisper in her friend’s ear. “For a little bit I felt as if the crystal was cracked.”

Stacy raised her eyebrows. “That’s different.”

“I know” Furia replied, took another drink, then noticed a group coming towards her. Three men and one woman. It was the troopers. Although not in armor, they wore nice long sleeved shirts with the Republic Army logo on them. Stacy then noticed them, had another drink of her Starblossom Nectar as the group walked towards the two ladies.

One of the tallest of the group, a man in his early twenties with brown short hair, said to Stacy and Furia “Hello ladies”, and bowed his head a little.

“Hi” Furia and Stacy said together.

“I’m Stacy.”

“I’m Furia” she said next. The two of them got this down. It certainly wasn’t the first time the two of them had been approached by people at a night spot.

“I’m John Brotch.” He then pointed with his human finger at his three companions.

“Xi Shien” said the other human male with dark hair.

“Cathy Rilie” replied the human woman with brown hair that was on the short side.

“Ibubes Wehlathi. People call me Ibu” said the Cathar in brown hair.

Furia and Stacy bowed their heads a little. “Nice to meet you” they said in unison.

“You two waiting for others?” asked Xi.

“No. It’s simply the two of us enjoying drinks after dinner” replied Furia. “All of you back from a deployment?”

“Reading our minds?” Cathy replied. She was joking a little, however it was evident with the braids worn, that these two who were catching the looks of numerous people in the nightclub were Jedi padawans.

Stacy giggled. “No. It’s just with all the movement of people we see at the ports. Not a difficult guess.”

“Got that right” answered Ibu. “We’ve been gone for months. Nice to be back home.” The Cathar then gave a sigh, then took a drink of Coruscant Red Ale. “Nice to have some sanity.”

“Definitely nice to be back home” said Xi. The four troopers all drank some of the ale that they bought together.

Stacy had a look of sympathy for a few seconds, then had a drink of the Nectar. Furia kept the composure of her face smiling, although inside she was thinking these troopers recently got back from a deployment in the war, and they saw some combat and are having a hard time coping. Furia was able to tell that without using the Force. With the slightest concentration with the Force, she was able to discern all were occasionally having nightmares, the Cathar more often than the others. They probably have been debriefed by Command about what they saw, however no one seems to have helped them since they have been back to Coruscant. Furia looked to the side and saw two tables right by each other became open. “Hey, let’s grab those tables” she said to the group. The four soldiers walked with the two padawans to the two empty tables while holding their drinks. Furia and Ibu scooted the tables together. The others moved six stools to be near the tables, then all sat on the stools.

Ibu looked at Furia’s drink. “A Little Lady for the lady” he said as he pointed at her drink.

“Why thank you” Furia answered. “A nice after dinner drink that doesn’t cause a hangover the next day.” The group smiled at her response.

“This is a nice new club” Stacy said as she surveyed all the lights and decorations.

“And a good selection of drinks” John replied. They all nodded.

“Seems better than the other clubs in the district” Cathy then said.

“With a crowd easy on the eyes” Xi said as he looked at the different people in the nightclub.

“A good pickup place?” John asked.

“Wouldn’t know” Stacy replied.

“Jedi don’t pick up one night romances?” Cathy said with a little smirk.

“The Force is not good birth control” Furia answered as she raised her eyebrows a little.

The group laughed heartily at Furia’s response. “Good” she thought. It will help the troopers unwind from what they had faced on their last deployment, which appears to have been a rough one.

“Neither of you someone special in your life?” Ibu asked.

Both padawans shook their head. “No way” Stacy responded. “First, it’s against the Jedi Code. Second, that is drama that would be hideous and draining.”

“You two got a presence” Xi interjected.

“Guess it’s the braids that give us away.”

“You two got a special presence” Ibu said. “Not all Jedi have it, but you two do.”

“Really?” Furia said. “That could be a good thing or a bad thing.”

“Well with you two it is a good thing” John replied.

Stacy and Furia nodded their heads a little in a thank you to John for the comment. The two ladies then had another sip of their drinks. Another song started on the speakers. “Good music, wish this place had a dance floor” stated Xi.

“Either of you four being naughty and should be home with someone?” Furia asked.

“Notta” answered Cathy. “I know where you’re coming from talking about drama. Don’t need it. Have enough to worry about with our missions.”

“I’m looking” said Xi. “But not in a rush. When I find someone that sparks my interest, I’ll then check.”

“Nope. Be nice though” Ibu replied then gave a little involuntary sigh.

“Want to wait until we are done with deployments. I’m not into long distance relationships. And far away star systems is quite long” stated John.

Furia then just thought of an idea. She looked at the bartender who noticed her after a few seconds. She made a quick motion with her thumb to the table then moved two of her fingers like they were doing dancing. The bartender laughed a little, nodded his head in her direction then mouthed the word “yes” to Furia. She smiled then had another drink of her Little Lady Rishi Punch. The others were discussing the different restaurants in the district, and didn’t know what Furia was smiling about.

“What’s your favorite restaurant in the district Furia?” asked Xi.

“The Grill” Furia replied. It had a simple name and nothing fancy about its furnishings, but it cooked its food slowly with numerous spices added for a great taste. Master Pricilli would take her there once per month as a break from the home meals, and she has done that since Furia was a young padawan. Furia was listening to the music to wait for the right song to do her idea.

“Good food” Cathy said. “And a great variety. I like the Bantha steaks.”

“And tasty desserts. Good cooks they have there” replied Ibu.

“You two still got awhile before your knights?” Asked Cathy.

“You want to answer first?” Furia said to Stacy.

“Sure. It’s not like an exact amount of time, like when you do basic training. You keep on learning and training until your master and the Jedi Council decide you’re ready for a test. Test can be quite an ordeal. When finished, the master and council decide if you have proven you’re a knight. There rarely some that become knights around our age, some a bit older, some a lot older, and some never become knights and are always padawans helping out here or some remote temple.”

“Who knows when our masters will decide” then stated Furia. “Don’t want them to drag it, but no rush. It’s not the worst life right now to be a padawan.”

“But don’t you want your little padawans?” asked Cathy.

Stacy and Furia smiled with a little laugh. “That be different” answered Furia.

“Be a combo single parent and teacher. Definitely be different” Stacy said next.

Furia just thought of something. “Hey, weren’t you two near the fountain earlier today?” she asked pointing to John and XI.

“That was us” chuckled John. “We heard of your adventure at Kashyyykyon from one of the Dragons. You seemed to be occupied walking with that older woman.

“Yes” Furia said with a little irritation then took another drink of her Rishi Punch.

“Pricilli?” asked Stacy.

“Yea” responded Furia.

A new song started in the nightclub. Furia listened to the beat for a few seconds, liked it, then moved the few drinks from her table to the other table. She jumped up to a stool, then immediately jumped onto the table. Moving her body to the beat of the music, she danced in place on the table. Lifting her arms up then moving them to the side, she moved her hips and swayed her head, catching the attention of everyone in the nightclub. The troopers were all in awe with open wide mouths. Stacy was laughing and started cheering her friend along. After a little while, the whole crowd of Solar Flare was cheering the ginger haired padawan, enjoying the show Furia was giving. The bartender was watching with a big smile on his face. “That girl is the life of a party” he thought.

Furia kept up the energy with her dancing until the end of the song. When it ended, she stood, then gave a long bow to the cheers of the crowd in the nightclub. She took a little jump onto a stool, then jumped onto the floor. Stacy was laughing away. “Why am I not surprised” she said as she did a light slap to Furia’s shoulder. The four troopers were stunned with wide eyes. Here was this Jedi padawan dancing right by them with her heart’s content enjoying herself. No Jedi they have worked with, few times it had been, ever did anything like that. Not to mention she looked good doing it.

Furia finished drinking what was left of her Rishi Punch in her glass then put it on the table she just danced on. The others then finished what they had left of their drinks. “Want another round? I’ll pay” John asked.

“Thank you, but we have to go home and rest for tomorrow” Stacy replied.

“But thank you for coming over to be with us. It was nice. And fun.” Furia then said “Hey, let me get your numbers so maybe we can get together again.” Furia was thinking of using the word blast, however she knew the four soldiers needed to relax without some reference to a battle. Furia and Stacy tapped their cards to the four soldiers’ cards. Unofficial numbers were exchanged among the two padawans and the four troopers so they can contact on another day if they want. The unofficial numbers were given, not the official. That was a standard policy so a person would know it is leisure and not official business that they were being contacted.

Stacy put her hand out to shake the hands of each of the four soldiers. Furia instead stepped close to the troopers and gave each a quick kiss on the cheek, giggling as she had to get hair off her lips from kissing the Cathar’s cheek. John, Cathy, and Xi blushed, while Ibu raised his eyebrows. “Nice meeting all of you. Have a great rest of the night. Force be with ya.” Furia then gave a little wave to all of them.

“Bye. Hope to see all of you soon” Stacy then said with a big smile on her face, following her friend as they walked towards the door of the Solar Flare.

“Bye.” All four troopers said to the two ladies as they walked away.

“Wow” Cathy said with a little exclamation.

“You don’t see Jedi like that every day” replied Ibu.

“Why can’t we have Jedi like that working with us in our Company?” asked Xi.

John shook his head a little. “Because there are no Jedi like that. Stacy, and especially Furia, are one of a kind.”

Xi brought out a comlink and spoke into it. Putting it close to his ear, he heard the response. “Should be only a few minutes for the ride to get here” he told his other soldiers.

The four troopers walked to the entrance of Solar Flare then walked out. They stood outside waiting for their ride. All four looked more relaxed compared to when they first got there. A speeder showed up, and they got into the back and sat in the comfortable seats. They chatted to each other about going there again and about the restaurants in the district they should try out. Comments were made about hobbies they can take up while they are on leave. Ibu brought up a couple relatives he should send message to that he hasn’t contacted in a while. The others talked about people they are overdue to get in touch with.

The speeder sped effortlessly through the air until it turned and lowered itself in front of several tall buildings. “The barracks”, as the buildings were nicknamed, were not far from the Jedi Temple. They were housing units for the active duty stationed at Coruscant. One building was for singles, the other for active duty that were married, or had children. All four of the troopers walked into the front entrance of the singles’ building. At the entrance were four soldiers in armor guarding the building. It was a protection to make sure no one tries a surprise attack when most of the active duty were sleeping.

The four walked to a turbolift. Cathy pushed a panel near the door and the group waited, feeling at ease. The door opened and they all walked in, pushing a panel in the turbolift for the floors each lived on. The turbolift brought each to their floor. Saying goodnight to each other, they went to their single living units. All had the first good night sleep in a while. Instead of dreams about the conflicts they were in, all of them dreamt of people enjoying themselves at one place or another, laughing away and being merry. Also, in the dreams, there was a wild ginger haired young woman dancing amongst the crowd.