I remember back in the day...

[Zeke]

You don't find grassy hills on Coruscant. They're on some of the other worlds...this one's Naboo. He thinks. He wasn't looking when he got on the shuttle, so he doesn't know where he is. Which is fine. He flops down on the ground and looks up at the sunset. He likes the colors. They make him think. More specifically, they make him remember.

[Zeke, the Happy Child]

"Zeke, it's early! Wake up Zeke! Wake up! HeeyEEEEYYY!"

The seven year old boy waves sleepily at the voice and presses his pillow over the back of his head.

"Is not, either!" comes his muffled protest. "May, go back to sleep."

[May, the Happy Child]

She shakes him some more, refusing to give up.

"Yes, it is! The clock says it's 8:30! Daddy said so!"

She takes his pillow in both hands and pulls with all her might. For being only four, she's terribly smart and strong. She's got a vocabulary to match Zeke's and she can do basic math, like adding small numbers. She just learning to tell time, and has to let Zeke know all the time what time it is.

"Now it's 8:40! C'mon, wake UP! ZEEEEeeeeEEEke!"

[Zeke, the Happy Child]

"Jeez, why can't you wake up at 9-something, like everyone else on board?"

He's not complaining, nor is he mad at her. He's happy for May, she's learning alot and she's one of the few friends he's got on the transport Happy Child. He lets go of the pillow and May falls on her rump. He rolls and yawns.

"Fine, I'm up, I'm up..."

[May, the Happy Child]

May's eyes mist with tears as she falls, but quickly wipes them away as Zeke rolls over.

"You're not up! You're still in bed!"

[Zeke, the Happy Child]

"An' so are you."

The boy reaches out with one arm and scoops May into the bed and holds her tightly, so she can't escape and proceeds to snore loudly and exaggeratedly. He's faking, it's so obvious. It's hard for him to hold a straight face.

[May, the Happy Child]

"Stop it! Your hair tickles!"

May squirms and wriggles, but can't get away from him. She laughs and turns to push him away.

"You're not really sleepin'!"

[Zeke, the Happy Child]

"What're ya talkin' about, yes I am."

He lets loose the loudest, most obnoxious snore he can muster.

"Hear me snorin'?"

[May, the Happy Child]

She giggles, Zeke is so silly.

"Nuh-uh! You're talkin' to me!"

She shimmies out of his arms and pulls his hands, dumping him unceremoniously on the floor.

"Outta bed!"

[Zeke, the Happy Child]

"Ow! That hurt."

Zeke rubs the lump on the back of his head and stands.

"Let's go get some breakfast, May. Wonder what your mom's got made?"

He can smell it from where he is, seems like eggs and sausage today.

[May, the Happy Child]

"Eggs! Eggs! Mommy let me break them open!"

May goes running ahead and tackles her mother's leg.

"Mommy! Tell Zeke how I helped!"

[Zeke, the Happy Child]

Zeke stretches and leans back, yawning widely.

"Did she for real?"

The mother nods and scrapes the eggs out of the pan and into a large bowl. They've been cooked to perfection, like the plate of sausages that's already on the table.

"You two sit down!" she says, ushering them to the table. "Eat up. Today's a big day."

Zeke loads May's plate then fills his own, casting a quizzical glance at his adoptive mother.

"Whassup?"

[May, the Happy Child]

May reaches for her glass and the milk, but is beaten to them by her mother.

"Today you two need to be on your best behavior. Daddy is about to make an important trade, and we need for both of you to be nice to our guests and not bother them much. Okay?"

May nodded.

"Yes ma'am!"

[Zeke, the Happy Child]

"Mffph mmm!"

Zeke's mouth is full of sausage as he acknowledges her, but she knows he won't do anything to create mischief while the captain does his business.

"Pass me the ketchup, please."

[May, the Happy Child]

"MOOOM! Zeke's putting ketchup on his eggs again!"

She thinks its gross, and chooses to eat her eggs as they are. Her mother laughs lightly and hands her surrogate son the ketchup. Seeing he hasn't bothered to fill his glass, she pours some milk for him.

"If he likes it, don't question him. People are all different May. You will understand in time."

The child hunches, chagrined by her mother's statement.

[Zeke, the Happy Child]

"I bet you'd like it if you tried it."

He spears a few more sausages with his fork and eats while he's mixing the eggs and ketchup.

"Here, I'll give you a little of mine. Eat it or not, it's your decision."

[May, the Happy Child]

May squirms at the red eggs on her plate, and picks at her food nervously. Reluctantly she scoops the eggs onto her spoon and eats them with a look of disgust on her face. She chews and swallows, her expression changing as she reaches for the ketchup.

[Zeke, the Happy Child]

"Yeah..."

Another person he's won to the cause of ketchup eggs. The sound of boots comes down the hall and Zeke starts to eat faster. He's coming. It's...

[May, the Happy Child]

"DADDY!"

May gets up and runs to her daddy as he walks in the door and latches onto his leg. He walks across the room with her stuck to him, a big smile on his face.

[Jhony]

"Hey, May! Cap'n in the kitchen!"

His wife mock salutes, and Zeke becomes more interested in his breakfast. Walking by the boy, he pilfers the last of the sausage from his plate and eats them.

"Good food, son."

He kisses his wife then lifts may into his arms.

"Did mommy tell you what was going on today?"

[Zeke, the Happy Child]

Zeke sputters in protest as the Captain takes his sausages, but there's a full plate on the table. He simply replaces them and keeps eating.

"Yes, she did. Who's the big wig?"

[Jhony]

Rasputin Jhonathan Peris--Jhony to his crew--laughs hard at his adopted son's antics.

"He's an important guy. Rich, powerful, so on and so forth. I have to do well today. So you guys play on the ship, ok? Stay out of the cargo hold."

[May, the Happy Child]

"Okay, daddy..."

But the cargo hold is the most fun place on the ship! All the boxes and stuff make for great mazes and arenas for playing pretend.

[Zeke, the Happy Child]

"Sure, pops."

Zeke has no intention of staying out of the cargo hold. He likes it there better than anywhere else on the ship. He and his few friends can play there without having to deal with the bullies that plague the ship when passengers come aboard.

[Jhony]

"Thanks you guys. It's almost time for him to get here, so you two behave. I'm going to the bridge to greet him."

He kisses May and sets her down.

"Wish me luck!"

He's out the door before the chorus of cheers begins.

[Zeke, the Happy Child]

As soon as he's gone Zeke gets up and pushes his plate back.

"See ya later. C'mon, May."

The two go running out the door, leaving the mother to clean up.

[May, the Happy Child]

"Where are we going?"

May is already bored, she wanted to go play in the cargo hold.

"Zeeke! Wait up! You're too fast!"

[Zeke, the Happy Child]

Zeke slows down and grins.

"We're gonna go play in the cargo hold!"

[May, the Happy Child]

May stops still and stands defiantly in the middle of the hall.

"No! Daddy said we can't play in there today!"

She folds her arms and puts on her "angry face", a mock glare she's learned from her mother.

[Zeke, the Happy Child]

"You and I both know that the spoiled brats won't play with us, and if we try to play anywhere else in the ship, they'll pick fights with us. Besides, the hold's big enough we should be able to hide easily. I know! We can pretend to be Jedi hiding ourselves with illusions from the Sith!"

[May, the Happy Child]

"Really? Wow, that'd be fun!"

Zeke's plan to change her mind worked like a charm. At the mention of fun, several of the other crew children come running. There's the glasses wearing Trex, his pudgy brother Jiminy, and a wheelchair-ridden girl named Miko.

"Let us play!" Miko begs. The boys simply nod, and May giggles.

"Yeah, let's all go play! We'll all be Jedi, and the visitor will be an evil Sith Lord that we have to hide from!"

[Zeke, the Happy Child]

"Sure, c'mon. Be absolutley silent..."

Zeke flattens himself against the wall and shuffles down the corridor with May behind him, Trex after her, and Jiminy pushing Miko at the rear. The leader pokes his head around the corner and holds out a hand for them to stop and be absolutely silent.

"Someone's comin'..."

[Jhony]

"Sir, I sincerely doubt that you won't find what you're looking for. Our hold is carrying a wide variety of anything and everything imaginable..."

Jhony walks to the end of the corner ahead and opens the door to the hold.

"After you..."

[May, the Happy Child]

"What's going on? I wanna see!"

May shakes him impatiently.

"What's happening? Why did we stop?"

[Jhony]

Jhony stops still for a moment and listens, then follows his guest into the hold.

"Is something amiss, Captain Peris?"

Jhony shakes his head and shuts the door.

"Nah, thought I heard something."

[May, the Happy Child]

"ZeeEEEEeke!"

She shoves him and they sprawl out across the hall, just as the door slides shut on the Captain.

"What're you doing? There's no one here!"

[Zeke, the Happy Child]

"There WAS," he points out as he shoves her off of him. "Pops was just here. He's in the hold with the dude."

Trex cleans his glasses on his shirt tail and grins.

"Now we must infiltrate without being spotted. The door is too obvious."

"But waitaminit!" Jiminy protests. "Me and Miko can't go in the air vents like you guys can!"

Zeke raises a brow. Very true.

[May, the Happy Child]

"Um...what if we snuck you in as cargo? There's boxes over there..."

May points back down the hall at an open storage closet, which is full of cardboard boxes.

[Zeke, the Happy Child]

"Hey...not a bad idea, May!"

Zeke pulls out a push cart and puts four big boxes on it.

"Jiminy, you get in one, me and Trex will load Miko and May into another, then we'll stick her chair in the third one, then me and Trex can hid in the last one."

Jiminy climbs into his box and closes the flaps. Miko and May are both light, and the boys easily deposit the girls in the box and shut the flaps. The wheelchair is harder because it collapses, it takes some time to get it folded and put in the box. Finally, the boys hop into their box. Just in time, a crew member spots the cart of boxes.

"Into the hold with yas!"

[May, the Happy Child]

The cart shudders and begins to move, and May suppresses a giggle. They were going to get in! They hear the hiss of the door opening and the hum of the cargo elevator.

"Hey, Cap'n! Foun' some boxes out in the hall."

A distant reply is heard, and the cart stops its movement. After a few minutes, May pokes her head out.

"Clear!"

They're deep within the stacks of boxes. They'll be safe enough getting out here.

[Zeke, the Happy Child]

Zeke crawls out of his box and lifts May and Miko from theirs. By the time Trex has hauled Jiminy out of his box, Miko is back in her wheelchair and Zeke is scaling a tall tower of boxes.

"What can you see?" asks Jiminy in a loud whisper.

A hail of cardboard weaponry falls on their heads, then Zeke replies.

"They're over checkin' the speeder parts."

He takes a cardboard katana and an oversized cardboard sword for himself. Trex has a staff weapon, Jiminy carries a cardboard blaster, and the girls each carry a set of daggers.

"C'mon, let's move to the far corner. We should be able to play there without much worry."

[May, the Happy Child]

May clutches her cardboard weaponry tightly so she won't drop it and leads the way down the corridor of boxes. Jiminy is pushing Miko and Trex is covering their tails. She's having fun. She's not May Peris, daughter of the Captain, she's May Peris, Jedi Knight! Cardboard daggers? These are light daggers, they can cut anything! At the end of the row she looks cautiously around the corner and pretends to focus her "Force Sense".

"No one's here!"

[Zeke, the Happy Child]

"They're not coming yet...we could do some fight practice!"

"Nuh-uh! I can't do it well, remember?" Miko protests. "Let's do something else!"

Zeke takes a seat atop the stack in the corner.

"Well...like what?"

[May, the Happy Child]

"Um...I dunno..." Miko admits.

May sits against the boxes and tries her hardest to come up with another idea, like she did in the hall, but can't think of anything.

"What can we do that's fair to everyone?"

[Zeke, the Happy Child]

"Um...we could..." Trex is at a loss. Jiminy hasn't bothered to offer anything yet. Zeke rubs his chin in thought.

"We could flirt with disaster and try to stay as close to the adults as possible without getting caught!"

Danger is always more fun than safety, after all.

[May, the Happy Child]

"But we could get in big trouble!" May protests in a fearful whisper. "Daddy will be mad!"

"That's why we don't get caught," Trex retorts. He's all for it.

"B-but...but..." May sputters. Her lower lip trembles as she tries not to cry. She doesn't wanna be in trouble...daddy will punish her and be mad at her! The little girl sniffles and a small tear slides down her face.

[Zeke, the Happy Child]

Zeke dives from the boxes and clamps a hand over May's mouth, but he's far too late. A short wail cuts across the cargo hold before suddenly muffling.

"Change of plans! May is a Jedi Padawan, and we're the Sith that captured her! Dad and the visitor are the Knights that are tryin' to save her, and we gotta keep her away from them!"

This way May can cry and the others can play. This sort of thing happens all the time.

[May, the Happy Child]

May continues to sob as Zeke carries her away. The others follow suit. Trex adopts a false evil grin, but Jiminy falls silent with a grumpy expression. He doesn't like playing the villain. Neither does Miko, but she has a quick fix for this.

"I wanna be a hero and be kidnapped too!"

Trex takes a little rope and ties it once around the girl and her chair.

"Thanks!"

Of course this adds a new element into play. She can now plot an escape and take the game in a whole new direction.

[Jhony]

A short cry is heard, then fade just as quickly as it appeared.

"What was that, Captain?"

Jhony casts a wary eye about before he answers.

"...nothing...maybe one of the crew's pets is in here somewhere..."

[Zeke, the Happy Child]

"He heard us..."

Zeke cringes, that was a disastrous event. Now he knows they're in the hold for certain. So much for the game.

"That's game...you guys need to go on out...I'll bet he knows we're in here now. Maybe if we can get out fast enough he'll write us off..."

Zeke clambers up another row of boxes and winces again.

"They're headed this way...go right..."

He gestures with one hand to indicate the direction.

"I'll keep watch up here."

[May, the Happy Child]

Now May feels bad. She spoiled the game, and she thinks Zeke is mad at her. He probably isn't, but she can't help but worry. Stifling her tears, she follows Jiminy, Trex, and Miko up the row. At the end they froze.

"Now what, Zeke?" asks Miko.

[Zeke, the Happy Child]

"Um...straight to the cargolift..."

Zeke watches precariously, leaning up and to his right to see the adults...and falls off the stack, bringing several boxes with him.

"Crap! RUN!"

[Jhony]

"That didn't sound good..." Jhony quips. "Is our business concluded?"

"It is," replies his guest. "Cargo blocks 15 though 23 will be transferred by our shuttles. I thank you for your business."

"Very well. It was a pleasure doing business with you. It'll be a while before the shuttles arrive; care to help investigate this mysterious disturbance?"

"Certainly, Captain Peris. I'll even help you restack the crates."

The two men move off toward the site of the disturbance.

[May, the Happy Child]

"Zeeeeeke!" May keeps her voice down, but the sense of urgency is apparent in it. "Are you ok?"

Jiminy and Trex tug her toward the cargolift. Miko is already there waiting for them.

"Let's go, May! Zeke can handle himself!"

May struggles, but in the end is brought to the cargolift. Looking back from the high entrance once more, she can see her father turn the corner...and can also see the look of disapproval on his face as she sees his elder brother. She leaves before he has the chance to spot her, feeling guilty for having left him behind to face them alone.

[Jhony]

"Zeke...what're ya doin' in the cargo hold?" Jhony asks, disappointment apparent in his voice. "I told you not to play in here today."

He lifts the boxes off the boy and begins to restack them. His guest looks on silently.

"Well?"

[Zeke, the Happy Child]

Zeke stands slowly.

"Ow..."

He rolls his shoulders out kicks one leg to pop his knee.

"Yeah, I know...but..."

Zeke trails off. Should he lie? Should he tell the truth? Should he implicate May and the others?

[Jhony]

"But what, Zeke? I told you not to do something, and you did it anyway. What reason do you have?"

[Zeke, the Happy Child]

"Th' passenger kids make fun of us and pick fights. They don't come in here, so we were gonna play in here today. But you said not to, so we were gonna play somewhere else, but everyone wanted their weaponry..."

His eyes cast themselves to the bent cardboard katana and the oversized sword. Both are broken, he'll have to make new ones.

"I was gonna get 'em and then go back and play some more..."