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En route to Coruscant
Anakin Solo felt slightly giddy as the Reckless Abandon entered the Coruscant system. He’d been away from home for at least four months, and had to admit he missed his family and friends, even Jacen. The space lanes were crowded with ingoing and outgoing ships, making going through the planetary shield a difficult task. The wreckage of warships from when the Vong tried to take Coruscant added to the mess, along with the cleanup crews slowly dragging the garbage away.
The congestion made Anakin a bit nervous, and he considered taking the controls from Nicholai Previn more than once, but decided against it. Nic was a fairly good pilot, and Anakin knew he could trust him. Plus, he didn’t want to insult his friend.
His second cousin, or first cousin once removed, (Anakin couldn’t be sure which she was) Julya Daris leaned forward in the Observer's seat, her large brown eyes filled with wonder as she got her first view of Coruscant. With long brown hair and a petite, slim figure, she was attractive, but not strikingly so. She’d pale in comparison to Jacen’s girlfriend, Nadia, if it weren’t for the way she carried herself.
"Anakin," Julie said softly, breaking his train of thought.
"Yes?" Anakin asked, blinking his ice blue eyes.
She cocked her head, favoring him with an easy smile. "What are you staring at?"
Anakin flushed. "Umm." He fumbled for an answer. "Your response to Coruscant."
"Oh," Julie said, her dark eyes dancing. Her gaze flew briefly over Nic, and her lips dropped into a slight frown. She lowered her voice. "Anakin," she paused. "Do you think Nic is acting a little strange?"
"Strange?" Anakin asked, raising an eyebrow. "In what way?"
Julie shrugged her shoulders. "I’m not sure." She furrowed her eyebrows. "It’s just that," she hesitated. "Ever since he found out I was only 16... he grew distant with me."
"Well, he is four years older than you," Anakin gently reminded her, then froze under Julie’s hard stare. "I mean...he’s twenty." Her eyes drooped into a glare. "Actually what I meant was," Anakin hesitated, then plowed on. "How dare he!"
Julie laughed, sounding almost melodious. "Anakin," she said, trying to muffle a snicker. "You’re too easy, you know that?"
Anakin scratched his head. "What do you mean?"
Julie stared at him. "Um, never mind."
Grinning, Anakin elbowed her. "Now who’s the gullible one?"
Julie tossed her head to the side and winked at him. "You."
Nic, completely oblivious to the conversation going on about him, carefully landed the ship in docking bay 39 of the Imperial Palace’s spaceport. Anakin glanced through the viewport just in time to see their Welcoming Committee. Tahiri stood at the front, trying to look happy and mad at the same time, Uncle Luke gripped Mara’s hand, his father stood with Jacen and Jaina, making Anakin wonder where his mother was.
The instant the ship touched down, Anakin made a dignified mad dash to the hatch, slamming the release button and impatiently awaiting the boarding ramp to lower. The first thing to meet him was a zooming Tahiri, who threw her arms around him in a wookiee hug. Anakin snaked his arms around her waist, burying his face in her hair. "I missed you," he said softly.
Tahiri drew back, studying his face for a moment before cupping his chin in one hand and raising on her tiptoes to plant a fiery kiss on his lips. Before the kiss could linger, Tahiri removed her other hand from his waist and smacked the back of his head. "That’s for being gone so long!" she said, then punched his arm. "And that is for only calling me once."
Anakin rubbed the back of his head. "I’m sorry..." he began, but she was already storming off. Sighing, he walked down the ramp, allowing the others to get off the ship.
Julya Daris followed Anakin down the ramp, shaking her head at his finicky girlfriend. She still couldn’t believe she had actually left Naboo, leaving her family and friends behind. Julya stood away from the group, growing uncharacteristically shy among the group of strangers. The other five students, including Nic, had already surrounded Anakin’s siblings and the Jedi Masters.
Luke Skywalker caught her eye, and strode purposefully towards her, offering his hand. "You must be Julya Daris," he said with a warm smile, pumping her hand.
Julie returned his smile. "You caught me, Master Skywalker."
Luke grinned and touched his hand to the small of her back. "I am glad you were able to come," he said, leading her towards the aircar. "I have arranged for you to room with Cianna Darklighter and Nadia Montaigne. Both girls are fairly advanced in their training, and I feel you could learn a lot from them."
"Thanks, Master Skywalker," Julya said, trying not to make a face. Master Skywalker had chosen roommates for her that she could learn from? Not that she didn’t want to learn the ways of the Force, and be good at it. Well better than good, she wanted to kick butt at it. But that didn’t mean she wanted boring roommates...
"And after you’ve had a chance to rest," Luke was saying, "I was hoping you’d be willing to elaborate on what Anakin said about your lineage." He dropped his voice. "And mine."
Julie nodded. "I’d be happy to," she replied, studying his face for a moment. He definitely resembled his father over his mother, but he had inherited the cursed Naberrie "short" gene. Julie grinned. Anakin was going to pass his uncle up soon, if he hadn’t already.
***
The Following Day
The morning classes, which consisted of English, Math, and History went fine for Lainey, though she got the feeling that the Rebellion’s fight with the Empire was completely new to her, where everyone else had heard about it a million times. After lunch, Lainey headed to the temple’s Courtyard with Miranda, where Beginning Telekinesis was taught.
Miranda was bubbling with excitement. For the past week she’d only been taking general education classes. Master Skywalker wanted to start the newcomers all at the same time, so she had to wait until Anakin Solo returned from Chandrila. Lainey had been placed with the beginners, until it could be determined how far advanced she was in her training. She didn’t mind, since Pam and Miranda were in her class, so she’d at least know someone.
The class had already formed a circle in the newly laid grass, Master Ryshode in the center. Lainey, Pam, and Miranda squeezed their way in between Julya Daris and Jariath Lunceford. Once they were seated, Master Rhyshode gave an overview of the Temple rules, one being that no boys were allowed in the girls' dorm rooms, and vice versa. He added that age did not matter, shooting a warning glance at Jariath, who was destined to be the Temples first "womanizer," having already lined up dates with at least three of the older trainee girls.
He then gave a summary of their lesson, in which they’d learn how to move a tiny pebble. He split them into pairs; Lainey ended up partnered with Jariath. Before beginning the lecture, Ganner gave the partners a little "getting to know you time." Lainey groaned inwardly as she sat cross-legged in front of him, wondering what she could possibly say to him. He saved her from doing so by extending his hand. "Jariath Lunceford, and you are..."
"Lainey," she said quickly, raising her eyes to meet his. They were a clear blue, filled with a warmth she hadn’t noticed before. She studied his face as he smiled and shook her hand. He was strangely familiar somehow, but she couldn’t quite place where she had seen him before. If she was thinking of him. Maybe she had met his brother...
"So, where are you from?" he asked, breaking into her thoughts.
Lainey blinked, "I don’t know."
"You don’t know?" Jariath asked, raising an eyebrow. "You sound Corellian."
"Corellian?" Lainey asked, stunned. "Why would you say that?"
"You have the accent...wait!" Jariath looked her over. "Are you Corran Horn’s apprentice?"
"Yes," Lainey replied, knowing what was coming.
"So you have amnesia, right?"
Lainey flushed. "Right," she sighed. Nearly everyone she had met so far had to ask her about it. It was embarrassing, something she’d rather not discuss.
"Well, then that explains it," Jariath said as if he’d just had a great epiphany.
Giving him a weird look, Lainey asked, "Explains what?"
"Your Corellian accent. Corran’s Corellian, and since you’re around him so much, you imitate the way he talks, having no specific way of your own," Jariath explained, his eyes twinkling. He was really proud of his insight.
Lainey folded her arms. "And how do you figure this?"
"I’ve heard of it before." Jariath shrugged. "In fact, it’s actually pretty common in long term cases of amnesia."
"Are you studying psychology or something?" Lainey asked, her curiosity piqued.
Jariath laughed softly. "No, I’m actually a fourth year med student." He grinned at the confused look that crossed her face. "Before I came here, we were studying brain trauma. Amnesia is a major sign of it."
"Fourth year?" Lainey questioned, her eyes growing wide. "How old are you?"
Jariath smirked. "Twenty, I’m a quick learner."
"You’re a Force sensitive learner," Lainey reminded him.
Grinning, Jariath winked at her. "That, too."
A few seconds of silence followed. "So," Lainey said, uncharacteristically breaking it. "Is that how you knew you had Force potential? Being a quick learner?"
Jariath leaned forward. "Why do you want to know?" he asked conspiratorially.
Lainey shrugged her shoulders. "Everyone here has their own story about how they found out."
Jariath nodded. "I bet yours will be the most interesting."
Flushing, Lainey shook her head. "I doubt it." She pursed her lips. "Why are you avoiding my question?"
"I’m not."
"Right." Lainey studied his face. "You don’t have to tell me."
Jariath plucked a blade of grass and rolled it between his thumb and forefinger. "There isn’t much to tell. I was a quick study, yes. But I didn’t even think that could be connected to the Force until I began working with patients. Whenever I felt myself growing close to a patient I worked with for an extended period of time, I could feel twinges, practically whispers of their pain.
"I just thought I was being overly sensitive, until I casually mentioned this in a com conversation to my Grandfather Lunceford who lives here on Coruscant. Anyway, he kind of froze, I guess, because he didn’t respond for several seconds. Finally he muttered something that sounded like ‘I knew this would happen,’ and when I asked him what, he said he knew I’d take after my Great Aunt, his sister." Jariath released his blade of grass and pulled another. "I didn’t even know he
"So Lunceford isn’t your real last name?" Lainey asked, intrigued.
"Nope." Jariath’s eyes locked with her own. "It’s Trillium."
Copyright 2002 by Luney.
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