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“[Was anyone hurt?]” Skye asked.

“Does wounded pride count?” Jaden asked.

“[Yes, there were casualties,]” Tarrius admitted.

“[Was anyone killed?]”

“One of them got suicidal and jumped on the end of my lightsaber,” Jaden shrugged.

“And for once she’s telling the truth!” Jacy added. Skye shook his head in disappointment.

“[Do you have any idea what you’ve done?]” Skye asked.

“Rescued Jeri?” Arista asked.

“[You’ve done a lot more than that! You have completely jeopardized our identities here, not to mention they have your pictures all over their cameras, meaning you are all wanted by your own planet for breaking and entering, assault and battery, and murder.]” Skye told them. “[Why couldn’t you just leave this to Kaidd and myself?]”

“We worked to hard! Why do you think we pushed as much as we did? We’ve been planning this for months now!” Jacy replied.

“[You have to face the consequences of what you’ve done,]” he said. “[No, I’m not turning you into the authorities here, that would only land you with Xockus,]” he said catching the startled looks. “[You will however face whatever Gyren has to give to you!]”

“Have you seen the news? I have NEVER been more disappointed… no FURIOUS, with any student as I am with you three! You deliberately disobeyed me, complete exposed yourselves, and ripped the code you’ve been taught to shambles! And YOU! You let them do this! You HELPED them do this!” Gyren yelled at the three girls standing in front of him then rounded on Tarrius.

 Skye and Kaidd were standing to one side of them, Tarrius, Joel, Lang, and one other of the students to the other side. The girls just stared into space, somewhere beyond the scenery through the window, Tarrius starred pointedly at the floor.

“I will give you all two choices right now. You can either leave and be done with it. Let Xockus find you and torture and twist you into the puppet he wants... or you can stay and do what your told, when you’re told to do it.” Gyren looked at all four of the people right in front of him. The three girls appeared to actually be contemplating leaving. Gyren gave an exasperated sigh and looked over at Skye and Kaidd.

“I will deal with each of you individually. All of you out except for Arista,” Gyren said.

“Why do I have to go through this first?” Arista muttered to herself. Skye, Kaidd, Joel, and Tarrius all started towards the door. Jacy and Jaden remained glaring at Gyren. “Don’t worry, you’ll both get your fun, now out!” Gyren snapped at them. They both reluctantly backed out the door, leaving Rissa alone with Gyren, Lang, and the other student they didn’t know.

“Just relax, the less you move the less it will hurt,” Kaidd said as he helped Arista up the steps to the room she shared with Jaden.

“You sound like you know,” she said through gritted teeth.

“I do, so trust me,” Kaidd said. They reached the top of the steps and made their way down the hallway. Kaidd knocked softly on one of the doors as they passed it. The door opened as Kaidd and Rissa reached her room.

“What happened?” Doanee asked as she came over.

“Take care of her, Jaden will be up in a moment in the same condition. I’ll explain everything later,” Kaidd said as he helped Rissa into her bed.

“Thank you,” she said as he left. Doanee watched as the door shut and she looked over at Rissa.

“I’ll be right back, I have to get some things.” Doanee left the room and returned a minute later with a small basin of water, some clean rags, and bandages.

“Why did you let them interfere?” Gyren asked once the door was shut. Skye waited for a moment until he could no longer hear the footsteps down the hall. Lang and his pupil were going one way, Kaidd and Jacy were going another. 

“What choice did I have? I couldn’t have risked all of their lives, or let them know why we were there could I? Do you really want them to know what your original plans for them were? That would have been a dead give away,” Skye told him. It was actually the argument that Kaidd had suggested he bring up with Gyren.

“Since the situation was out of your control, I’m not holding you responsible for what happened. I will, however, hold you responsible for each and every one of their actions from here on out. I don’t care if you’re no where near them and they screw up again. You will teach them discipline!” Gyren growled.

“They know discipline, they just don’t listen to you,” Skye said with out thinking.

“Then make them listen to me!” Gyren shouted. “Threaten them, beat them, do whatever it takes, but get it done!” Skye paled, shook away his startled look, cleared his throat, and looked down. “I want them up and training tomorrow.”

“What?” Skye asked looking back up at Gyren.

“All of them! First thing in the morning!”

“I...”

“Don’t even think of arguing with me! You are not your brother!” Skye was silent for a moment, choosing his next words carefully.

“They hate you as it is. If you make them hate you more, you’ll loose what little control you could ever possibly have over them before you even get it,” Skye said.

“I know. That’s why you’re the one getting them up tomorrow, not me. It will be your orders, not mine.” Skye glared at the older man and walked out of the door. 

Nobody noticed Camron as he sat quietly by the large, dead potted plant by Gyren’s door. He watched Skye storm out of the office and down the hall. He remained sitting there, waiting for Gyren to leave his office. He desperately wanted to be up with Tarrius, but he knew he would be more useful here. He knew if he waited just long enough...

As if on queue from his thoughts the door to Gyren’s office banged open and closed again. He watched casually as Gyren locked the door and stomp down the hall. Cam smiled to himself and got up, walking over to the locked door. He quickly picked the lock and let himself inside. He had been in the office twice, once when he first arrived, and once, just a day ago. Each time Gyren had been working diligently on the small computer that occupied his desk.

Cam sat down at the desk and looked at the computer. He had gotten too it just in time, the screen saver had not come on yet and it was open to the world. He quickly browsed through the files, searching for what ever it was Gyren had been working on. Cam sat there for two minutes, his dull senses stretched out as much as possible to warn him of Gyren’s return.

He had no idea what he was looking for. For all he knew Gyren could have been playing Solitaire or Sabbacc! He looked at the computer for a moment and noticed there was something in the recycling bin. He opened the folder and picked the first thing on the list. It was a letter, and from the last person Cam expect to see one from. He read over the letter for a moment but sensed Gyren walking back. He quickly closed the file and folder and ducked out of the office, locking the door before he closed it.

He was sitting back beside the potted plant as Gyren rounded the corner. This time he noticed the boy.

“What are you doing here?” he snapped. Cam sat there for a moment. He had rehearsed his lines all afternoon.

“I was just going to see if you needed any help with anything. I know, it must be a strain having to look out for every one in the academy, and I just wanted to help.” Gyren stared at the boy for a moment, wondering if he heard him right.

“Just make sure they’re following orders!” Gyren said unlocking his office and walking in. Cam let out a relieved sigh and got find someone to share is information with.

“Do you think he’s watching you very closely?” Kaidd asked Skye quietly.

“I don’t know.”

“You’re not going to actually get them up tomorrow are you?” Kaidd asked.

“I have to.” Kaidd glared over at him.

“Oh do you?”

“If only to get them out of the hotel, yes. It’s harsh what they got, but they did deserve it, you know that.” Skye said.

“How can you say that?! They did exactly what everyone expected them to do! They showed bravery and loyalty, and despite everything, they WERE careful! Just not careful enough. If he had really wanted them to stay here, he could have fixed it. He wanted them out there, wanted them to disobey what he said and screw up so he would have an excuse to do this! You have no right to say they deserved what they got! No one deserves that!”

“What would you have done in his place then?” Skye asked. “He has a lot to deal with without them running off, half trained, almost ruining everything. They could have gotten themselves captured, or killed!”

“You idolize him too much! That is NOT a man to look up TO!” Kaidd stared at his brother for a moment longer and took on a softer tone. “Look Skye, he’s up to something. I don’t know what, and I have no proof, but I tell you he’s not doing things right. You have to trust me… listen to your heart for a change, not what you told.”

“I can’t do that as easily as you. I don’t know how. I never learned how to listen to my heart like you did. I was taught in other ways,” Skye replied without looking over.

“And isn’t this awfully similar to those other ways?” Kaidd asked. Skye looked up sharply, but Kaidd was no longer paying attention. “Come on, let’s see if we can wake up Jerika before Gyren decides she’s a waste of space,” Kaidd said walking down the hall.

“What’s wrong?” Jacy asked as she walked stiffly into the room. Cam, Skye and Kaidd were all sitting on the bed, discouraged expressions on all of their faces. They were looking at Jeri who was still unconscious in the seat they had set her in earlier that day.

“We’ve tried everything. Nothing has worked,” Kaidd said with a sigh.

“Well you didn’t try the right things,” Arista said from the door way behind Jacy. Kaidd and Skye both looked over at the girls.

“Give us a couple minutes,” Jaden said and pulled the other two out of the room.

“Why are you two up?” Jacy asked as they walked towards the steps.

“Boredom?” Arista asked.

“It’s worse lying down then standing up so... hey,” Jaden said, resisting the urge to shrug.

“I know the feelings,” Jacy said. “We do have whip cream right?”

“Yeah, at least we should,” Arista said.

“How many?” Jacy asked.

“I think three will be enough to start with,” Jaden said with a laugh.

“We have more on hand just in case though,” Arista said smiling.

“Oh Jeeeerrrriiiiii....” Jacy called softly, staying an arms length away. She held onto a warm mug of steaming hot espresso, sweetened with some sugar and chocolate to cover the burnt taste of the coffee.

“Wakey, wakey...” Arista said waving her cup of espresso under Jeri’s nose. Jaden had set her cup of coffee down and was picking up one of the large peacock feathers from the mirror. She pulled off Jeri’s sock and ran the feather down her foot. Jacy and Arista both stepped back.

“If you make her spill this we’re pouring it on your head!” Arista said as Jacy snatched the feather from Jaden.

“What?? It’s probably the only chance I’d get to do that!” Jaden whined evilly, then grinned. Jaden sighed and stood up carefully and picked up her mug of java.

“I like coffee I like tea... I like the java and the java like me...” Jacy sung quietly. The three men in the room started laughing. Arista was still waving her mug under Jeri’s nose, letting the aroma of the strong brew waft up to her. Jeri sniffed the coffee and let out a tired yawn.

“Ouuuch...” she muttered an imitation of E.T.. quietly as she tried to move her head. She instantly reached out for one of the cups of espresso and slurped it down, with out opening her eyes. “What took you so long??” Jeri demanded as she took the other cup. “I was sitting there for so long that I have a permanent crick in my neck!”  She forced her eyes open and grinned up at them.

“You’re welcome!” Arista said.

“I’ll go get more espresso,” Jacy said.

“Ooooh... okies...” Jerika said as she slowly turned her head to work the kink out. Kaidd and Skye were now just behind Arista and Jaden while Cam remained seated on the bed. “Do I have some things to tell you guys!” Jeri said taking another sip of her java. She glanced up and saw only one of the three men in the room. She handed her mug back to Arista and was on her feet in an instant, but her unused legs failed her. Rissa had moved when she jumped up, which left Kaidd as the closest person to her. He slipped an arm under her to stop her from falling. He kissed her lightly on the lips and pulled her into a tight hug.

“I had almost given up,” Jeri whispered.

“The almost counts a lot though,” Kaidd told her with a laugh. He helped her back into the plush lounge chair and returned her cup from Rissa. Jacy returned a couple of moments later with two more mugs of espresso.

“Did you have a nice leave from the air force?” Jacy asked.

“Oh yes, though the heated pool in the resort was highly over-rated,” Jerika said with a laugh.

“Good to see you up and moving,” Tarrius said with a laugh.

“You suck!” were the first words Jerika said to him. Tarrius wasn’t sure he had heard her right.

“Excuse me?” he asked.

“You’re too tall and my neck still hurts!” Jeri said, looking up as much as she could. Tarrius nodded thoughtfully and kneeled down.

“I’m Tarrius, nice to meet you,” he said holding out a hand.

“I’m not that short,” Jeri said taking his hand and looking down at him. “But thank you.” Kaidd laughed from just behind her. It was late afternoon and Jerika had insisted on going out and stretching her legs. They all had a big breakfast and Kaidd agreed to show her around. In the beginning she had let Kaidd help her around, but she was doing a little better as she went. He had introduced her to Keegan, who was amused by the soap operas that came on one of the two stations they received.

While Kaidd and Jeri went for their walk, Skye decided to take the others and hide for the day. They left Tarrius in bed sleeping, hoping Gyren wouldn’t notice. But once Tarrius woke up, he refused to stay locked in the small room he and Jacy shared.

“You can come with us if you want, we’re just trying to stay out of Gyren’s sight,” Kaidd said.

“That name sounds familiar, who is that?” Jerika asked as she walked slowly through the Victorian gardens.

“That’s Satan's nephew. He kicked him out of hell cause he was afraid he’d take over,” Tarrius said earnestly.

“I see!” Jerika said. “doesn’t tell me who he is though.”

“Satan’s nephew!” Tarrius reiterated.

“Gyren is the ‘headmaster’ of this small academy. He’s supposed to be in charge of training everyone, but instead he leaves that up to me, Skye and a few others.” Kaidd said. “As for being Satan’s nephew... I really wouldn’t doubt that.”

“I think I heard Xockus say his name in passing,” Jeri said.

“That’s likely. We are getting ready to fight a war with him,” Kaidd said.

“War’s nice... not really, but it’s a good population control!“ Jerika said nodding. The two men laughed.

“Xockus will still be trying to get you guys. Until then, he won’t start any type of fights. Which is good because we need to find more people,“ Kaidd said.

“Yeah, we lost some coming into the atmosphere,” Tarrius said.

“That’s horrible! What happened? Did anything happen to you guys?” Jeri asked.

“We made it out fine. a little bruised from a rough ride, but that’s about it. We went through some micro-meteors.” Kaidd explained.

“How many people were lost?” Jerika asked.

“Forty-three people made it out of fifty-nine,” Kaidd said quietly.

“Oh.” Jerika was quiet for a moment. “Was it a set up?”

“I wouldn’t doubt it. But we have no way to check now,” Tarrius said.

“We’ll find out in time if it was,” Kaidd said.

“Well I’ll go beat it out of Xockus right now! I know where he is, let’s go!” Jerika said.

“I don’t think we’ll be going anywhere for a while. Besides, you need to get your strength back,” Kaidd said placing a hand on Jeri’s neck. Jerika sighed in defeat and nodded.

“So where’s everyone else?”

“They leave to train. They go to other areas of the property. Once you reach a certain level, you can train by yourself,” Kaidd said.

“We’re on our way to the labyrinth aren’t we?” Tarrius asked looking around at the topiaries.

“That’s right. That’s where Skye took the others,” Kaidd said.

“The labyrinth?” Jeri asked, curiosity peaked.

“Right there,” Kaidd said pointing around the large oaks. Jerika’s jaw dropped as she saw the border of the labyrinth.

“I guess when the hotel was in business, years ago, they created the rose bush labyrinth. Just something else to jack up the price of the rooms,” Tarrius said.

“And I thought I was cynical! This is awesome!” Jerika cried as they walked through the stone pillars. There was a brick walkway in between the perfectly placed and trimmed rose bushes.

“Jacy, Rissa and Jaden insisted on cleaning it up once we found it.” Tarrius said.

“And you were out there the whole time helping,” Kaidd said with a grin.

“Decided to join us did you?” Arista asked from her perch. She had somehow managed to get on top of the dried out fountain that was in the middle of the labyrinth.

“Of course. Think I’d pass up this part of the tour?” Jeri said looking around in wonder.

“Watch the bushes!” came Jacy’s shrill cry. Jeri jumped back as the bush in front of her exploded as someone came tumbling through.

“Ow!”

“I told you to stay away from the bushes!” Jacy said taking the long way through the maze. Jerika gave her a funny look when she turned the corner. Tarrius reached down and helped his brother to his feet.

“It’s not like I tried to throw myself through the thorns,” Camron said as he brushed himself off.

“Could have fooled me!”

“You’re too clumsy to practice in here anyway,” Tarrius said wiping a streak of blood away from Cam’s cheek. Jerika looked at Tarrius, then back down at Cam.

“This is Cam, my brother,” Tarrius said turning Camron around to face Jerika.

“We met last night,” Cam said.

“Alright, where did you go,” Doanee asked... “there you are!” she said poking her head through the trampled bush. She stumbled through and looked Cam over. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” he said wiping at his cheek again.

“Let’s clean this up,” she said pulling out a clean pad and some alcohol from the pouch she wore around her waist.

Cam was about to argue, but he really didn’t feel like making a scene with everyone around. Doanee glanced over at Jeri and smiled as she cleaned the cut on Cam’s face.

“My name is Doanee,” she said.

“Jerika, but you can call me admiral,” Jeri said offering her hand once Doanee had finished.

“Alright admiral, welcome!”

“Thanks!” Jerika saw Tarrius talking to Jacy. Curious as ever she walked over between them and put her arms around their backs. Jacy was able to cover her pained expression with a startled look. Tarrius however, straightened and gasped.

“So how do you like it?” Jacy said catching Jeri’s attention before she looked up at Tarrius, or at anyone else who all wore sympathetic looks.

“It’s nice! This part is anyway. What were the two of you whispering about over here?” Jeri asked.

“We were just discussing training techniques,” Jacy said truthfully.

“Huh?”

“Jacy is training Cam,” Tarrius said, finally regaining his composure.

“Oh... poor boy,” Jerika said and grinned at Jacy’s hurt expression. “Any idea where Jaden is?”

“Um... a couple ideas, but we’re not going there,” Jacy said.

“Why?”

“Cause Hinshof is missing too,” Arista said with a laugh.

“Okay, I don’t think I want to know,” Jeri said.

“Thanks, we really don’t either,” Kaidd joked, kicking back on the edge of the fountain beside Skye.

“So this is where we train...” Jerika said looking around the small courtyard.

“No, we’re just hiding,” Kaidd said with a grin.

“Huh?” Jerika asked.

“I’m kidding. Yes, this is our personal spot,” Kaidd said.

“So let’s start training! I need exercise!” Jerika said bouncing around. “I want to know how to read peoples minds and lift things up in the air! I now have the general idea of it all cause of spying on Xockus for so long, but now I want to do it!!!”

“Who do you want to do?” Jaden asked in shock as she and Hinshof entered the courtyard.

“I know, I know! ME!” Hinshof repeated raising his hand and jumping up and down.

“Um… No...” Jeri said staring at the man strangely.

“Jeri, meet Hinshof,” Jacy said.

“He’s Jaden’s double, only male,” Arista added.

“Hello there. You must be Jerika,” Hinshof said kissing her hand.   

“No! I’m the lion tamer from the traveling circus!” Jeri said.

“Midget from the circus she means?” Jaden corrected.

“How about both, that way she still gets respected.” Hinshof said.

“That... that was just too funny. Mmhmm...” Jerika said nodding.

“You have no idea how ecstatic I am to meet you at last! You see, we have heard nothing except how they were going to go rescue their Jerika. And now that you‘re here, they can finally shut up!” Hinshof said.

“Is that a royal we?” Jerika asked.

“Collective we think” Jacy said from the side. The two girls exchanged sly grins.

“Is it just me, or didn’t we already use that joke?” Arista asked.

“Yes, but it’s a good one!” Jacy said.

“You mean I made an old joke?” Jerika sighed.

“Um... alright.” Hinshof said, confused.

“Don’t worry about, just smile and nod like always,” Jacy said. Hinshof shrugged and complied with her. Jacy looked over at Cam who looked like he had something on his mind.

“Hey Hinshof, what’s that on your neck?” Kaidd asked curiously looking over at the Englishman.

“I bit myself shaving!” he snapped, impulsively rubbing a hand over the hicky.

***

“I don’t understand how they got away so easily. I thought you said that everything was taken care of. I thought you were going to stay there personally and watch over her.” Xockus said casually from his seat behind the large desk. Jorn stood nervously under Xockus’s cold gaze.

“Everything had been taken care of... I was only away for a moment...” The younger man pleaded.

“Well it’s obvious that that moment was all they needed! It’s no real loss, but I’m extremely disappointed in you Jorn. I would have thought that you above all people would value security.” Xockus said.

“No real loss?” Jorn asked cautiously.

“Not really.”

“How is it not a loss?” Jorn asked.

“Because where ever they are, at the moment, they are together. Of that we can be sure of!” Xockus said.

“But don’t we need them separated?” Jorn asked. ”Isn’t that going to be the easiest way to get them all?” Jorn asked.

“Yes, and I have made plans for that. It will take some time for them to completely flourish, but it will happen.”

“How can you be so sure?” Jorn asked, drawing a dangerous glare from Xockus.

“Because I know how Skye thinks! And I know Gyren will leave the decisions of what happens to the girls up to Skye!” Xockus snapped. “Now... if you don‘t mind, I do have a president to influence.“ Xockus said getting up and walking around the desk. “Come my young ‘intern’, I’ll let you in on my little plans as we go to our meeting. And remember, not a word of this to him. I don’t think Mr. Clinton would be too willing to help us if he knew it was just to capture four teenagers.” Xockus smiled coldly at his apprentice.

“What ever you say,” Jorn said, bowing graciously.

***

“Are you sure you read it right?” Tarrius asked his brother evenly.

“Yes I’m sure! I think Gyren is working for this Xockus guy!” Cam said.

“Cam, when I said I wanted you as a spy, I didn’t mean an actual secret agent! Do you have any idea how much trouble you’d be in if you got caught?”

“Yeah, I saw what happens when you screw up!” Cam said.

“I’m serious!”

“Exactly!” Jaden snapped as she walked in the dining room. Tarrius and Cam were hunched over one of the tables and looked up at her. She hadn’t caught any of the conversation, but felt she should add her thoughts.

“What do you want?” Tarrius asked.

“Well, at the moment I want to know what you two are whispering about!” Jaden said pulling a chair over and sitting at the table. Tarrius looked at Cam then back at Jaden.

“Cam’s our official spy now,” Tarrius said. Jaden raised a curious eyebrow at the boy.

“Oh really! And what juicy tidbits do you have for us?” she asked.

“I found a letter on Gyren’s computer,” Cam said. “It was from Xockus.”

“Do tell!” Jaden said leaning foreword. Cam closed his eyes, remembering what the letter.

“It said, ‘I congratulate you Gyren, on doing a wonderful job. Your girls took mine away right under Jorn’s very nose. I have to admit though, it was a rather stupid move on your part, because it will only be a matter of time until I get them all. Take good care of my other young apprentice, I think my current one will soon be meeting with quite a tragedy‘.... then of course he signed it and stuff.”

“Wow.... nice!!” Jaden beamed. “Quite a slap in the face to Gyren.”

“I think Gyren is working for Xockus,” Cam said.

“I don’t think so. Why would Gyren have wanted to get Jeri back if he was working for Xockus,” Tarrius lied.

“I want to know who the ‘other young apprentice’ is!” Jaden cried.

“It’s probably Jerika, or any of you actually. He intends to train you himself.” Tarrius said.

“True... I guess,” Jaden frowned.

“I’m with Jaden, I think it means more than that!” Camron said. Jaden smiled proudly and stood up.

“Alright, good job little spy! Now leave!”

“WHY?” Tarrius demanded.

“Because, we’re going to teach Skye and Keegan English and we need the dining room!” Jaden announced.

“Why can’t we stay and help!” Tarrius asked.

“Um... um...”

“I’ve known him longer,” Tarrius said.

“Um... alright, you can stay!” It wasn’t long until Kaidd and Doanee dragged in Skye, and Hinshof, Joel, and Iris dragged in Keegan. Neither one was told that they were going to learn English in a day, but they both agreed once the room full of people insisted.

“How’s it coming?” Jerika asked walking into the large dining room four hours later.

“Slowly but surely,” Hinshof said with a sigh.

“It’s a lost cause, I keep telling you guys that!” Iris said getting up from the table.

“It’s not! We can do it, we just need a little physical encouragement!” Hinshof said.

“I’m not sleeping with you! And I give up.” Iris sighed and walked out of the room. Tarrius and Doanee burst out laughing at this.

“Yeah, she’s not sleeping with you!” Jaden snapped defensively.

“Thought I’d try again. I figured maybe time would have softened her up,” Hinshof said.

“I think that woman’s oblivious to time. She’ll never change!” Tarrius said. The few people who hadn’t been with them on the first trip looked between the two men in confusion.

“Inside joke,” Kaidd said from his seat. “I don’t think you want to know.”

“I wanna know gosh durnit!” Jerika said.

“No...” Hinshof said.

“Please?!” Jerika pleaded.

“Come on guys... it’s killin us!” Joel added.

“You can’t just make an inside joke and not explain it!“ Cam cried.

“That’s what inside jokes are!“ Tarrius reminded him.

“He has a point,“ Doanee added. She was sitting next to Skye on the couch in the very back of the dining room. He was looking back and forth between everyone blankly while Keegan just kind of ignored them all.

“Don’t defend him!” Jaden said.

“Yeah!” Jerika agreed with a shrug.

“Are they still trying to teach them English?” Jacy asked coming up with Arista.

“They’re both very pigheaded and don’t want to listen to what we’re telling them,” Hinshof said.

“He probably understands everything your saying and is plotting revenge for that pig-headed remark as we speak,” Arista said.

“Do you understand us yet?” Jaden asked, drawing another blank look from Skye.

“We’re lucky we kept Jerika away from him, every other word would be a cuss word!” Tarrius said.

“Hey, I can’t help it!” Jerika said. “I don’t cuss THAT much!” The others chuckled.

“I think you need to give us a few minutes with him. He can stand to learn some colorful words!” Jacy said.

“Oh will you all stop. If you had your way he’d be going around like Spock did on Star Trek” Doanee said.

“Yes!” the four girls and Hinshof said. Jacy and Jerika walked over to where Skye was sitting on the couch. Jacy stood behind him and whispered something in his ear.

“[Now say that k, just like I did],” Jacy so that he could understand. He looked at her for a moment then turned to the others.

“Hello, how are you...” he said carefully with a shrug. Jerika, who had placed herself right in front of him looked shocked. She covered her breasts with one hand and smacked him with the other, storming out of the room. Everyone, even Kaidd and Doanee were on the floor laughing as Skye looked around, stunned.

“[What... what did I say? What did you have me say?!]” He accused Jacy. No one could answer him from laughing so hard.

“[I thought you said it right kid, but I‘m still learning myself!]” Keegan said laughing.

“This.... this is Star Wars. We’ve told you about it, now, you get to experience it!” Jerika said forcing Skye and Keegan into a seat while Kaidd flopped down comfortably in a lounge chair.

“I got the popcorn!” Jaden said laughing evilly as she came into the great room. She placed the pop corn down on the coffee table and sat on the floor in front of the TV.

“Okay guys, now take into consideration that my grandfather is the reason this was created!” Joel said nodding.

“Joel, can I just say that I love your grandfather!” Arista said taking a handful of popcorn.

“Alright... it’s starting!” Jacy said waving a hand to silence the large group that had gathered for the movie. They still had to translate a lot for Skye and Keegan, but other than that the showing was enjoyable.

“[It’s so strange watching this… movie. The facts and everything run so close to real life. Who made this?]” Skye asked.

“What does he mean so close. Isn’t it real?” Arista asked.

“[A lot of it is very real. You see my grandfather majored in history and sociology before he got stranded here. Well once he did, he took a bunch of odd jobs to make a living. He happened to meet George Lucas one day in a hospital and told him about this,]” Joel explained.

“So it is true…” Cam said.

“[Well Lucas of course was really out of it when he heard the story. So a lot of the facts he had to replace with his own imagination. All of the names were changed of course…]” Joel said.

“To protect the innocent naturally,” Jerika added.

“[He also had to add a lot to make the story interesting. No one would have been interested in the textbook history,]” Joel pointed out.

“So how close is Star Wars to real life?” Jerika asked. Joel sat there and thought about it for a minute.

“[It’s probably at about a thirty degree angle to reality… not quite parallel, not completely false either,]” Joel said.

“[You know… I remember watching the boring history holo’s in school. Now if they had been like this, I think I would have paid more attention!]” Keegan said thoughtfully.

“[More attention to Princess Leia anyway right?]” Hinshof asked him. Everyone laughed at Keegan's agreeing nod.

“Who does Keegan remind you of?” Jaden asked.

“Well, he spends a lot of time in the cockpit, or working on the ships we brought here... so Han!” Jeri said cheerfully.

“What about Tarrius?” Arista asked.

“What about me?” he demanded.

“Well, he’s tall.... has a lot of hair.... CHEWIE!” Jerika cried happily. Everyone laughed, except for Tarrius, who only glared at her.

“Skye?” Jaden asked.

“Well Luke of course!” Jerika stated matter of factly.

“Well what about me?” Kaidd demanded.

“Mine!” Jeri said with grin.

“Character wise!” Jacy amended.

“Um.... Corran!”

“Who?” Hinshof asked.

“Someone from the books!” Arista told him.

“I can see Kaidd as Corran. And it would fit cause you’re like Mirax,” Joel said. Jerika just grinned at the remark.

“What about Gyren?” Tarrius asked.

“Jabba the hut!,” Jerika said.

“Yeah, fat and annoying!” Hinshof laughed. “What about Iris?” Everyone looked around to find that she had left early.

“Salacious Crumb,” Jacy said quietly.

“Just as annoying!” Jerika said.

“No, how about a mynock... irritating creatures that can suck the energy from anything!” Tarrius said, bringing another round of laughter and applause.

“[The rebellion happened what, a hundred years ago Joel?]” Kaidd asked.

“[That’s right, just a little over,]” Joel replied.

“[Too bad the idea of a single government never stuck around,]” Kaidd said.

“You mean there’s no New Republic anymore?” Arista asked. Joel and Kaidd exchanged amused looks.

“[No, the Republics started to fizzle out about sixty years ago. Since then there’s been nothing but separate system governments, sometimes no governments at all,]” Kaidd said.

“So what’s everything really called?” Jacy asked.

“[Well… Jedi is the same… that was a simple word and it’s relatively universal so Grandpa didn’t bother changing that,]” Joel said. “[The force is known as Chan’lia, the planets I’m not about to get into. It shouldn’t be too much of a difference to confuse you all. And if there is something that you don’t recognize once you get out in the universe, then we’ll always be there to set things straight.]”

“Well I like calling it the Schwartz personally, anyone have any problem with that?” Jerika asked earnestly. There were a couple of defeated sighs, but the rest was laughter.

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