Like a bad penny (Kale)

[Rhea Kaylen]

Rhea Kaylen was trying to make her head stop spinning. The past three days had been like something out of a dream--returning to Coruscant, joining the Greater Jedi Order, meeting so many new people and being expected to remember their names...and she was still feeling the effects of jet-lag. She was tired from trying--and failing--to adjust her sleeping hours.

Tonight she'd just given up thrashing her (ancient, sunken, and squeaky) bed in her too-warm Temple dorm room and, at about one in the morning, crept out of the living quarters for a walk.

She was lucky, she realized, to have even found her way out of the labyrinthine living quarters. But she managed to make her way out into one of the many gardens on the Temple grounds without getting too lost.

Rhea had never before realized quite how much real estate the Temple actually encompassed. There were many, many more outdoor and indoor gardens and various adjoining rooms and outbuildings than she could have supposed before she'd started poking around the grounds yesterday. Lucky for her, the gardens were open at all hours for use of Temple residents, and as she needed to quiet her mind and make herself tired enough to sleep, a walk around one of the gardens seemed like a great idea.

Unfortunately for her, fifteen minutes outside, and Rhea had gotten herself badly turned around. It was late and dark and this garden, some kind of rock garden, was completely unfamiliar to her. Trying to retrace her steps only got her more lost, and just about the time Rhea had accepted the fact that she may have to spend the night under an ornamental garden boulder, she found herself staring at a door back into a smaller Temple wing.

She had no idea what the building was or how she would get from there back to the LQ, but her chances of finding an info kiosk or, at the very least, another Jedi to give her directions back to her room were exponentially better inside than out.

Quietly Rhea slipped through the doorway into a hall that was plain and dimly lit. This looked like it could be another part of the living quarters, maybe a newer part. Glancing around, Rhea quickly strode up the hall to the right, back toward the main living quarters complex.

Eventually Rhea found herself emerging from the dorm hall into a wide domed rotunda. It was quiet and peaceful here, cool marble floors reflecting the soft recessed lights above her. She didn't know where she was, but for the moment was content to stay here until she grew tired. Then she would make her way back to the--

What was that? Something had caught Rhea's eye: a painting hanging on the opposite wall. She neared to inspect it. It was alright; she had seen better. Looking at it made her realize, however, that she was in a sort of gallery. Around her were glass cases and on the walls framed paintings.

For some strange reason, the cases around her containing priceless artifacts caused a memory to flash across Rhea's mind. She was standing in the Temple Archives with Master Pierce Tondry on one hand and on the other a boy Rhea had felt, at the time, might never forgive her for the trouble she'd gotten him in. They were all looking at a case very much like this one, with a beautiful antique lightsaber inside, a mischievous device that had managed to bring Rhea to the Temple in the first place.

A face flitted before Rhea's eyes, the boy's face. Kale. For the first time since returning to the Temple, Rhea suddenly thought of her one-time compatriot, realizing that she wanted to see him again.

But...that meeting might be more painful than it was worth. The two of them had not separated on the best of terms. For all Rhea knew, the boy had forgotten her, and seeing her again might upset him, do him harm.

Perhaps she would do best to leave the past as it was, however unpleasant their last encounter may have been. Maybe she should just leave well enough alone. Maybe she would never run into him here, and never see him again. And maybe he would be the better for it.

[Kale]

Kale's sneakered feet didn't make a sound on the thinly carpeted floors. It wasn't that he was trying to be quiet; it was just the way he walked. That was a habit that preceded even his street life on Coruscant--even on the rusty, grated floors and subterranean warrens of Kuwaruk Re, going unnoticed had been a necessary life skill.

That was the only reason the soft footfalls around the corner spiked his senses. There weren't any rules against roaming the corridors late at night--and a good thing, because Kale had done that on more than one occasion. This one was more purpose-driven than most. He was fresh out of pretzels, and there was a vending machine at the end of his hall.

Whoever he'd heard had stopped. Probably in the little gallery by the elevators. A whim struck him--might be a good chance to practice his stealth.

Leaning against a wall, he took a deep breath and let his senses expand. The Force was uncommonly strong in the Temple area; now that he'd found his connection again, it was like tapping into a steady current. Carefully, he settled into the background noise of the dozens of sleeping Jedi on his floor. He was nothing but a shadow on the wall when he came around the corner.

The woman didn't notice a bit--she kept staring at the lighted, glassed-in display in the little alcove opposite the elevator shafts. Kale was pleased; there'd been a time that any conscious movement threw off his concentration altogether. He drifted by and glanced back over his shoulder. She looked thoroughly engrossed--far more interested in the display of Mon Calimari folk art than Kale had ever been.

Hmph, that was funny. Kale didn't remember seeing her around before, and he knew he'd remember if he had--she had zebra-striped hair just... like...

Squinting, Kale came closer, not realizing he was still shrouded by the Force. Shrouded, that was, until he spoke.

"What the--Rhea! What the frell are you doin' here?"

[Rhea Kaylen]

The quiet of the rotunda was shattered by a rough and unexpected voice. Rhea started violently (oh, how she wished people would stop sneaking up on her!) and turned to see who it was.

Gah!! She'd conjured a phantom! The air ten feet away from her rippled and congealed, pulling apart to reveal a perfect image of the very person she'd been thinking about. For a split heartbeat, Rhea pulled away from the specter she'd somehow created.

Then she saw he was no specter at all. He was a slightly taller, better-kempt, more filled-out version of the Kale Rhea had left on Coruscant last year. His eyes were brighter, his clothes less baggy, but the eyebrows and nose and mouth were the same, and he was looking at her with much the same expression on his face as she guessed was on her own.

Rhea's heart tried to swell and sink at the same time--not a very pleasant feeling, but she was unable to decide whether to be pleased or dismayed that the boy had, quite literally, appeared. She really had wanted to see him, talk to him.

She just hoped the reunion would go well.

Rhea tried a smirk. "Why the frell did you just suddenly materialize out of thin air? That, ky'da, is some trick." Her smile turned genuine. "Hello, Kale. I'm here because...well, where else are Jedi supposed to be but in the Temple?"

[Kale]

Kale was shocked to see Rhea in the Temple--and shocked that she was so shocked. It was a lot to take in at near two in the morning.

"Er... right. But what are... you... doin' here?"

[Rhea Kaylen]

Rhea suddenly burst out laughing. "I'm sorry, I guess I should have explained myself better. I've joined the Order; that's why I'm in the Temple. As to why I'm in this particular spot, well, uh...I went for a walk and got lost."

[Kale]

Kale blinked as his sleep-deprived mind attempted to assimilate the information. Settling back, he looked Rhea over. Her hair was longer than last he'd saw her, and she looked, well... strained. More so than usual, anyway.

"You've joined the Order," he echoed. He wasn't sure where to file that notion. When he got Rhea's regretful note several months ago announcing her departure from Coruscant, he'd suspected some sort of trouble in the Plaza Cueva de Luce. He'd been fairly certain that meant, one way or another, that he'd never see Rhea again.

So if she was back on Coruscant, that either meant that the trouble had blown over (unlikely) or that she'd gotten herself into even more trouble somewhere else (not unthinkable).

But why she'd joined the Order... Rhea had told him she wasn't ready to go back to the Temple--that it held too many powerful memories for her. Obviously something must've changed her mind.

Kale would have to ask her about that sometime.

"Well... it's good to see you."

He offered her a one-sided smile. And really... yes, it was good to see her. She'd always been a friend to him, even when he wanted it the least. If he could get used to the idea of her as a fellow Jedi instead of a fellow ghetto-rat.

But another idea struck him first.

"Uh--did you say thin air? Y'know, like... invisible thin air? Not thick air, not fit-but-could-stand-to-lose-some-pounds air?"

[Rhea Kaylen]

Rhea watched the boy's face as a sort of dawning broke over it, and knew that he was probably having as much difficulty in accepting her new status as she was. But then...he said it was good to see her again. And he smiled. Rhea knew he meant it. And, to her, who had suddenly been thrown into this place of new things and strange faces, it was like a light in the dark. Trite, yes. But for a creature who, like most of her people, craved familiarity in any situation, it was very true. Seeing Kale again was probably better for her, really, than for him, in the sense that it would ease her heart and mind to know that at the very least he was here and she might see him from time to time. It was a comfort to her that she would never admit to him, were she ever to fully recognize it.

But she wouldn't, she would just know that she was glad to see a friendly face. Kale, as a friend, was, in the Imrani sense, family, and she would always be glad of that.

At the moment, however, all Rhea was concerned with was laughing over Kale's question. "Well, I don't know, I just saw you as you were starting to show up again. Can you do it again, I'll tell you if I can see you at all. What is that trick, anyway?"

[Kale]

Kale shrugged. "Heh, well, remember that hiding trick I told you about? That was it. Only I'm not usin' the Dark Side to do it."

Well, that wasn't really a topic he'd wanted to bring up.

He cleared his throat. "I think I'm gettin' better--I can keep it up while I'm walkin', now. Only problem is I can't tell how well it's workin' until someone sees me. I've been practicin' it on my own time. Master Tondry keeps me pretty busy with the rest of my training."

[Rhea Kaylen]

That's right, Rhea thought. Tondry was Kale's master, now, and judging by what little she knew of the Jedi Master, saying that he was keeping the boy "busy" was probably an understatement.

"I am glad to hear you are improving." And that you've found a safer way of going about it. But that was, apparently, something Kale didn't want to dwell on. Good for him.

"It's a useful trick, to be sure," Rhea continued. "You just gave me a scare, that's all. I thought maybe I was seeing a ghost." She smiled, and her voice softened. "How have you been, Kale? I...I'm sorry I had to leave Coruscant so abruptly a while back. There was...well, I needed to leave just as quickly as I could."

Going into the reason for that need would only make Rhea angry--the fear associated with Gucchi's threat had long since given way to a feeling of injustice and anger. But, as she could do nothing about that part of her life just now, there were other things more important to talk about.

[Kale]

That was a steady confirmation of Kale's suspicions, just as if she'd said it outright. Gucchi. A crime lord who had both the audacity to operate just outside the Temple's back door and an almost manic grudge against all things Jedi. Rhea's shenanigans at the Temple must not have gone unnoticed.

"Uh... hey, I understand. That sort of thing... y'know... happens."

Boy, that sounded lame. But if Rhea didn't want to talk about it, Kale didn't either. There were too many bad memories involved for both of them.

"So... well, like I said, I've been busy. Pretty much been trainin' my butt off ever since I got back. Master Tondry seems pretty intent on keepin' me outta trouble." He smirked ironically. "Hey, you wanna walk with me? I was just on my way to pick up a bag of pretzels from the machine down the hall. I could buy you a can of Nehi or somethin'."

[Rhea Kaylen]

Rhea grinned. "Absolutely. Especially if you're paying. For once you've got the money and I'm broke."

The two made their way down the marble hallway, leaving the gallery behind. Rhea's Temple-issue brown cloak, grabbed at the last second before she'd left her room in anticipation of the dewy night, swished against her ankles. She was surprised how nice the fabric felt on her skin, despite the fact it was sewn from an itchy burlap blend.

"Incidentally, it was Master Tondry who let me in the Temple in the first place. Remember he said I should join, last year? He seems intent on keeping more people than you out of trouble. He's a tad late, though. The past few months have been nothing but." She shook her head in unconscious reminiscence.

[Kale]

"Pfft. Yeah, right. I bet you came back 'cause you were bored."

Kale grinned, but Rhea didn't grin back.

"Er... so, what have you been doin' with yourself lately?"

[Rhea Kaylen]

Rhea glanced over at the boy, biting her tongue contemplatively.

"Well..." She began ticking items off on her fingers in time to a somewhat acid tone of voice, "In the past six months I've had my house ransacked, I've had a death threat planted on my bed, I've pulled up and run away from home, been attacked by pirates, shipwrecked, kidnapped, enslaved, and threatened with brainwashing. Then I got back to Imran only to find out that I still didn't feel like I belonged, mostly due to nasty rumors that refuse to die. So then I uprooted--again--and came back to Coruscant. I've been...a little busy, of late."

She really hadn't meant to sound so abrupt; she wasn't trying to be rude. The last six months, however, were not the kind that could really come out calmly, especially since Rhea had not really come to grips with the whole experience, herself.

"Sorry, guess that sounded a little petulant, didn't it?"

[Kale]

Kale was holding his breath. Apparently, he'd said the wrong thing. Wasn't the first time he'd rubbed Rhea the wrong way.

"Uh... Guess it did." He'd be sure to look petulant up in the database when he got back to his quarters.

"Sorry. Y'know, I've never been spaceside except comin' to Coruscant from Kuwaruk Re. Just sorta assumed... well... never mind."

And there was the vending machine. Normally Kale steered away from the inflated prices, but pretzels were serious. He dropped a cred in the slot and punched in the code.

"Before that night at the Plaza, I barely knew anything about your story. Always kinda assumed it was just like everyone else's in the ghetto. Y'know. The sort of life that just never lets up. I guess I was right."

Whirrrwhirrwhirr--p-CHUNK!

Kale retrieved his bag of pretzels from the serving tray and scooped up his change. "Grape or orange?" he asked, pulling out another credit.

[Rhea Kaylen]

Wait a minute...was he calling her petulant? I mean, sure, she'd said it, but agreeing with her was a different matter. But then he seemed extremely bothered by her outburst, and she instantly regretted having made it. Kale hadn't needed that kind of--

His question made her blink out of her reverie. "Oh! Orange, please."

Orange soda. In the darkened cockpit of an injured starship in the middle of a nebular cloud, with the one and only man she would have liked to find herself in such a situation with...Whoops!

Wrong train of thought...where were we?

"No, really, my life was not nearly as hard as those of most other people living in the ghetto--" as hard as yours, Kale "--and, really, I've had and have a happy life. I've never starved, or been homeless, or had to be a prostitute to survive. I cannot lie and say I've never been unhappy or in pain, but I consider myself blessed--or lucky, however you care to look at it--but it's just been the past year that has been especially rough. Hopefully things will be a little...less stressful, now." She smiled wryly. "Though maybe not. The Jedi seem to like to keep their members on their toes."

[Kale]

Rhea definitely seemed preoccupied--more so than usual. Maybe sometime Kale would try to find out what had happened on her furlough from Coruscant, but not now.

Orange was B-6. The machine hummed and clunked again, yielding a can of Nehi and a pair of decicreds. Kale handed the former to Rhea and pocketed the latter.

"Tell me about it. Hey, you said Pierce was the one who let you in? How 'bout that... You know, as Jedi go, he's all right." Kale's eyes drifted sullenly to the floor. "I really wish I could help him."

[Rhea Kaylen]

Rhea looked over in surprise, both at the boy's words and at his tone.

"Help him? How do you mean?"

[Kale]

"Oh..."

Kale's ears burned. The sentiment had sort of slipped out.

"Sorry, you wouldn't'a heard." He leaned back against the vending machine, trying to find the best way to say it. "Couple of weeks ago, some Darksiders broke into the LQ and kidnapped his son, Jax."

It was unbelievable--Kale knew it. And he knew it was tearing Pierce up on the inside. It scared Kale, too... the thought that there were people who could pull such an outrageous crime on the grounds of the Jedi Temple itself.

"It's been pretty big news. Official word is they don't know who was behind it. But that's bantha-dren. Pierce knows, an' I bet the Council knows, too."

[Rhea Kaylen]

Rhea stopped breathing. Darksiders, in the Temple. It...wasn't possible. But that they had kidnapped a child, the son of a Jedi.

How had this happened?

Now it was only too clear to Rhea why Pierce had been so--changed--when she'd seen him three days ago. She was surprised, actually, that Tondry had been as calm as he was; if she had been in that situation, she couldn't even imagine how she would have acted...

Weakly, Rhea stared down at the cold soda can in her hand, her stomach twisting. Quickly she popped the top and took a sip to settle herself. Then she raised her dark eyes to Kale's in realization.

"Do you know who it was?"

[Kale]

"I don't know any names."

Kale split the top of the bag of pretzels and fished out a pair.

"But I think it was someone who used to be close to Master Tondry. He went looking for 'em right after it happened. But... I guess the trail was cold."

He shook his head. "Like I said, I wish I could help him. But if he couldn't find 'em..."

Kale left the sentence unfinished and bit down on his pretzels.

"Look, sorry to dump that on you all at once. It's had a lot of people talkin' lately."

[Rhea Kaylen]

Rhea shook her head, taking another drink of soda. "No, I'm glad you told me. It explains quite a bit, actually."

Her head was spinning. She was remembering Pierce Tondry's face three days ago--and recalling much more distant memories, of a smiling little boy waving at her over Tondry's shoulder as the two walked away.

The silence between her and Kale stretched for a few seconds longer as Rhea felt her heart ache in sympathy for the boy and his father.

Then she looked over at Kale, who was munching quietly with a distant look in his grey eyes. The corner of Rhea's mouth turned up, and she raised her hand, palm-out, toward the boy. A pretzel levitated out of the foil bag and into her clutches.

Rhea had rather missed the increased Force-sensitivity she'd experienced while living in the Veil, but had been pleasantly surprised to find that the peacefully vibrant convergence of the Force in and around the Jedi Temple was comfortingly similar to the way Imran felt. It had significantly helped Rhea to adjust to living here, as well as made it a bit easier for her to arouse her latent Force abilities, often difficult for her to summon in the ghetto. That was one of the myriad skills she knew she'd be sharpening in her training to come.

Which reminded her: she would have to remember to tell Master Tondry about the things she had particular trouble with, when next she saw him. She wondered then as she had several times before over the past few days, what it was going to be like studying under Tondry. Kale obviously didn't think him an intolerable teacher, but of Tondry's training style or his personality Rhea knew very little.

But before she could ask Kale about some of these specifics on his master, now hers as well, she bit into the pretzel, almost instantly making a face.

"Rrmm..." she mumbled, her nose scrunching as she gnawed the bland cracker-thing--she'd never had a pretzel before, and didn't think she'd be eating any more anytime soon.

[Kale]

Kale quirked an eyebrow at the pretzel theft.

"Serves you right," he quipped as she pulled a face. "Hey, uh, what're you doin' for trainin'? You get yourself hooked up with a master yet?"

[Rhea Kaylen]

Rhea choked down the dry, salty tidbit. "Pierce Tondry, incidentally. He was in the Recruitment Center when I arrived here three days ago--he offered to take me for training. Honestly, I don't know what to expect, so I'm a little worried." She frowned. "He said I had a 'lot to learn.'"

[Kale]

Kale eyes widened.

"Really? Wow. Guess that makes us... well... I really don't know what that makes us."

The teenaged Padawan smirked and bounced back against the wall.

"Well, listen, I've been his Padawan for a while now, an' I still don't always know what to expect. He's got his own way of doin' things. But I think you're gettin' a pretty good deal."

[Rhea Kaylen]

Rhea smiled. "I'm glad to hear it. He seems a very good man and Master."

She looked at Kale more closely then, struck by his words for some reason. For the first time Rhea realized how much he had changed since she had first met him, and that he was now much more than the boy she'd known for years. He was nearly grown, now taller than she. As such, he deserved the respect his years gave him.

"What does this make us?" she said, grinning. "Makes us brother and sister, of course, ad'gan-da."

Rhea knew that this meant nothing to Kale, but to her it was a concession she realized she should have made much earlier than now. But, seeing him here after a year apart, she also knew that he was no longer the child she had tried to look after when they had both lived in the ghetto. He was now self-sufficient, with a life of his own.

Yes, he was her brother, and, as a man, more than her equal. Rhea quietly made a mental note never to call Kale ky'da ever again.

[Kale]

Brother and sister?

Well, that was... kind of unexpected. It made Kale feel a little awkward. He'd never had any family since his mom died, and he didn't really know what he'd do with one now. The concept was just an abstract to him--it was ancient history.

But it meant something to Rhea. Must have. Kale remembered how she'd spoken about her parents. Like they'd meant the worlds to her.

Kale still wasn't sure if that's what her proclamation had meant, but he could see there was something going on in Rhea's head, and it made him feel... well, yeah. Awkward was a good way to describe it.

"If you say so," he said with a weak shrug. "Hey, well... it's nice seein' you... y'know... in one piece. I guess we'll probably be trainin' together. Just try not to make me look too bad, huh?" He smirked ironically.

[Rhea Kaylen]

Rhea had not meant to embarrass the boy. She often forgot just how different Kale's perception was from hers; she regretted having said something to make him uncomfortable.

Quickly she picked up the new subject. "I look forward to it," she replied, an evil smirk on her face. "I'll try not to, though, really, it's you who's been training all this time. You'll probably walk all over me."

[Kale]

Kale considered this.

"Yeah, you're probably right," he said wryly. "Unless you've been training on the fly."

[Rhea Kaylen]

Rhea snorted, visions of Sarojin of Kimatra and Tayadhara Ramanuja firing across her brain like blaster bolts.

Well, you could say that...

Weeks spent in the Force-enhancing Veil, months spent on Imran with her Force-instructor uncle, untold hours spent in the company of Taya and helping her understand her Force-capabilities...all the while being made to concentrate on her own skills, hone them from necessity to survive the Fyrokkian ordeal and to protect Taya from herself and Sarojin.

Yeah, you could definitely say that.

But she wouldn't. Heh. Kale could find out later--and so could Master Tondry, for that matter. Besides, the "hard-knocks" training she'd gotten from all that might be completely worthless here, anyhow. She may not have advanced at all.

So she only grinned more broadly at the boy and replied, "Well, don't let your head get big. We'll see just how much the both of us have managed to learn as soon as Master Tondry has time to humor us both a lesson. I could probably still wreck you in a sparring match--have you made yourself a lightsaber, yet?"

[Kale]

Something had happened while Rhea was away. Kale'd have to find out sooner or later. Probably later, considering how testy Rhea seemed to be on the subject.

"Uh... no, not yet," Kale admitted. "Just a blaster. But that was... well... never mind. Long story. I ain't done that much with a lightsaber. A little practice on the side... y'know, on my own. I tried learnin' a few tricks from another Padawan, but I didn't get very far. He, uh... kinda thought I wasn't ready."

[Rhea Kaylen]

Rhea tilted her head. "Who was the other Padawan? Haven't you gotten the chance to do any sparring with your master? Of course you wouldn't be ready to practice with another student if you've never had any lessons with your master."

Blaster? Long story? Yeah, I'm gonna have to find out about this sometime...

[Kale]

Kale shrugged. "Well, at the time, Oriadin was still my master, an' he was still AWOL. Sorta happened by accident--I just found an old training saber in a locker down in the sparring rooms an' was playin' around. Oh, the Padawan's name is Sejah Haversh. He's the guy who brought me here in the first place, believe it or not. Furry guy, long tail. You couldn't miss him. He's supposed to be some kinda bigshot swordswinger, but last I hear, he's on probation."

[Rhea Kaylen]

"Oh, that's a shame," Rhea replied, subdued. She wasn't really sure what it was she was declaring a shame, however--maybe the whole thing; her mind was having trouble processing a furry, tailed swordswinger, for some reason.

Then she yawned and, in sudden realization, glanced down at her wrist chrono. Yipe, almost three a.m.! No wonder she was feeling like she was made of lead, all of a sudden. Stupid jet lag.

"Well, I look forward to maybe taking you on, sometime, after you've built your saber. We should at least try to practice together--you've got a year's seniority on me, so you may be able to help me out. But--" Here she stifled another yawn. "If I stay up for much longer, I will fall asleep on my feet."

[Kale]

Kale followed Rhea's eyes down to her wristwatch. Pretty late, but he probably could still find an old Kung Fu movie to fall asleep to.

"Okay, sure. Guess I'll see you later. Depends on how Master Tondry plans to set things up. Well, good night, Rhea. Nice seein' you again."

[Rhea Kaylen]

"And you, too, Kale," Rhea smiled. "Take care of yourself until I see you again, alright?"

The light words belied the true concern for the boy's welfare Rhea actually felt. He would be embarrassed if he knew, so Rhea was content to say goodbye for now and trust the boy not to give her any reason to worry for him.

Rhea and Kale split, and she tried very hard to find her way back to the room she shared with Rikki without getting lost. This time, she managed it, even though the whole way she was thanking Astrel that she and Kale were once again on more or less the same civil terms they'd been on for years--and Rhea was happy to know she had another friend in the Temple.

Not that she would have any regrets when she soundly defeated him in a lightsaber match, someday.

Of course, she'd actually have to learn how to fight, first.