Playlist:

❶ "Rey's Theme"—The Force Awakens OST

❷"Departing Coruscant"—Attack of the Clones Extended ST

Naluma's eyes snapped open and her heart thumped. Where am I? She thrust her hand under her pillow. Panic rose when she could not find her knife. She curled up in a ball and scooched against the corner of the bulkhead. The smell hit her first—rocket fuel, wet paint. Then the utter silence. Her breathing calmed as it all came back to her. The shuttle. Master Skywalker.

The chronometer on the wall glowed 0400 in blue digits. Still on military time. She sighed. No chance I'm getting back to sleep. Too bad I can't go for a run. Guess I can eat breakfast and clean this ronto pen. She chuckled. Who would have thought I would ever volunteer for sanitation detail? If only the guys could see me now.

Old habits die hard, though. After breakfast, she located the cleaning supplies in the equipment locker where R2-D2 was charging. With a bucket and a scrub brush, she attacked the refresher unit.

When Naluma finished the shower, she moved into the head. Her stomach churned at the putrid smell. Now she knew why even Master Skywalker had cautioned her. After a couple of hours of scrubbing and many refills of her bucket, it was clean enough that even a senator could use it without cringing.

Naluma devoted the next bucket to the deck—from the galley to the cockpit. He must be a sloppy cook—what is this stuff on the galley floor? She scrubbed harder before moving to the jump seats. Ugh, what is underneath this cable hook? Gross! Didn't they clean this the last time someone spewed in here?

By the time she had reached the last corner of the main deck, Master Skywalker banged his gear locker in his quarters.

He greeted her from his door. "Good morning, Naluma."

She shot to attention and saluted him with scrub brush still in hand. "Good morning, Master Skywalker."

"At ease, Padawan."

She transitioned into the military parade rest position.

He grinned. "Relax, Naluma. And you can call me 'Luke.'" He nodded at the scrub brush in her hand. "Carry on."

"Yes, Master Luke."

"No, just 'Luke.'"

"Whatever you say, master." Grinning, she returned to the deck.

Luke grabbed some cereal from the galley with blue milk. He stood in the galley hatch munching on his breakfast. "Thanks for cleaning up in here, but I didn't expect you to do it."

"Yeah, but my military training wouldn't allow me to leave it like that." Naluma looked up from her work. "Plus, what else was there to do? Can't leave the shuttle."

"I expect you to be great at shielding by the end of the day, so you'll be off the shuttle in no time. In the meantime, as soon as I finish breakfast, want to go for a run?"

A bright smile crossed her face. "Yes, master." Anything to get off this ship. I'd even run a fartlek in full field pack right now.

After stretching, Master Luke lowered the ramp. He had changed into black PT sweats.

Naluma donned her regulation PT greens, sans insignia.

R2-D2 rolled out, heading toward the malfunctioning port-side wing.

Luke listened to a few of his beeps. "I'll grab some from the quartermaster later. Just make do with what you have right now, Artoo."

He started them off at a decent clip up the trail behind the shuttle. It led to a rocky crag overlooking a sprawling valley on the other side. However, instead of taking the path down to the valley, he stayed on the ridge.

"Where are we headed?" Naluma asked between strides.

Master Skywalker motioned to the peak in front of them. "There."

She looked at him with a glint in her eye. "Last one there, makes lunch."

"Deal." He took off ahead of her.

"Cheater!" She increased her pace over the rough terrain.

❶ The trail narrowed, leaving room for only one person to traverse the rocks and dirt at a time. Naluma's eyes raked the landscape ahead, searching for an opportunity to pass. Every time the trail leveled off, it was not wide enough to overtake him.

Finally, as the trail widened on the peak, she raced ahead of him and claimed victory. "Winner!" She bent over and panted to catch her breath. Her mouth dropped at the sight of the expansive view across the valley below them.

Master Skywalker huffed behind her. "Peaceful, isn't it?"

"Yeah." Naluma gasped for air. "Ready for a rematch on the way down?"

"Not yet. Do you sense the Force up here?"

"Yes, it's different—stronger," Naluma said with ragged breaths.

"Sit. Let it flow through you." Luke sat cross-legged on the rocky mountaintop. "Become at peace and let it flow."

They sat for over an hour, communing with the Force and letting it work between both of them. Naluma reveled in the new sensation, allowing the Force to energize her and to weave her into the Force-bond with Luke.

After lunch, they returned to shielding exercises. She drew a parallel to her military training and target practice. The more she practiced the sooner the Force would be second nature to her—like breathing.

As she inhaled, she sniffed warmed moss emanating from Master Skywalker. At once, her mind returned to the run earlier that day, the sun baking them on the granite mountain. She reached out with the Force and opened her shields, luxuriating in the bond they shared.

❷ His smooth voice yanked her from her vision and broke the connection. "Okay, you're blocking passively, but now I want you to block an active thought being placed into your mind. Draw more of the Force to you and use it to support your defense." Luke buffeted her with a slight attack.

"Good, you held. Try it again." He continued with an even firmer attack.

One, two, three. She succeeded with each thrust.

However, on the fourth attempt, he broke through with little effort. "Excellent."

"But I failed." Naluma's shoulders slumped. I might as well quit now. Can't get anything right.

"I may not have been using my full powers on you, but you still held out longer than I expected today. Patience, Padawan."

"Yes, master." She lowered her head and stared at the deck plating. "It's just ... I'm giving my best effort, but it's not coming as easily as I expected."

"Give it time."

She lifted her eyes but pressed her lips together.

"When you first started strength training, did they put the 25-kilo plates on the bar the first day?" He tilted his head and raised his eyebrows.

"No, of course not."

"Same here. You're building your strength, and you are actually building rather quickly, so just relax." He patted her arm and smiled. "If I'm ever upset with your progress, I'll tell you."

Naluma glowed with the compliment. Craving his respect, she purposed to work even harder at mastering these skills.

Luke pursed his lips for a long moment. "All right, let's try something new. This technique requires you to follow an honor code."

Naluma pushed her hands in front of her. "I am nothing but honorable, Master Luke. I'm sure my service record will prove that I—"

"Relax. I'm sure it does. I wouldn't have selected you as a Padawan if I didn't believe you were honorable." He waved his hand at her. "It's just that Jedi don't make a practice of going around reading people's minds without their permission. But we have other methods available without violating their privacy: body language, observation, Force-signatures, and emotions."

Naluma leaned in, absorbing his instruction.

"First, I'm going to teach you how to identify Force-signatures. As you encounter other people, you will notice that each person has an aura, each one a different color and even a different signature vibration. We'll start with mine. Close your eyes and open yourself to the Force. What do you see?"

"The back of my eyelids." An impudent grin answered him.

"Use the Force to see around you, goofball."

A few seconds later, her face lit up. "Wow! You are a brilliant blue." She gasped before continuing. "How beautiful—almost blinding."

He squirmed. "All right, how about yourself? This one's a little trickier because you'll be looking from the inside out."

"Hmm, dark purple, maybe indigo?"

"Yes, that's you. Now that you can identify yourself, you can also identify when someone else is influencing you. Watch as I insert my mind into yours again—don't actively shield this time—and do your best to maintain neutral thoughts." After a moment, he said, "Relax. Don't fear. Trust me."

"Easy for you to say. In the military, fear is a healthy motivator." She initiated her relaxation technique. Before she had finished, she could detect Luke in her mind. She kicked him out with a strong push. No, siree, you're not getting any more of my thoughts—especially not the ones ...

"Good. Very good. So, now that you have this new ability, what are its applications?"

"I would also know where people are in a battle—would eliminate ambushes—even if I can't identify which aura is which. And, like last night, I won't have to fear an intruder if you come in late again." She grinned. "Is this a passive or active ability?"

"A little of both. You can actually block it if you need to, but I find it helps me to have the input at all times." He tilted his head and smiled. "Since I left Tatooine, my life has never been what you would call 'normal,' and a little bit of warning in any situation is a good thing. But, actually using it for identification of the non-Force-sensitive is nearly impossible. The stronger the Force is with them, the brighter it shines and takes on different shades."

He held out his hands and levitated his datapad from the galley. "But enough of Force-work today. As a Jedi, you'll also need to know more mundane things. Your service record doesn't tell me everything, so diagnostic testing this afternoon."

After he moved his fingers across a few pages, he handed the device to her. "It'll take a few hours. No pass or fail. Complete it the best you can. Any questions?"

She hesitated. Might as well ask him. Worse he could say is "no." She looked him in the eye, becoming lost in them once more. "Master, may I work on this outside? Going stir crazy staying in here."

"No problem. Just stay close to the shuttle. Wander too close to the barracks and the voices might overwhelm you again. I don—I mean, you don't want that to happen." He rose from the deck before continuing. "I'm headed to the quartermaster for supplies. Bring me a set of your service uniforms, will you?"

"Why?"

"You're a Jedi, not a solider anymore. You need a new uniform," he said. "Need anything else? Any food you prefer?"

"Master, chow is fuel for us soldiers—we're not supposed to enjoy it. And trust me, the army would burn water if it were possible. "

He chuckled. "Right. Ronto strips, stimcaf, and something sweet."

She opened her mouth.

"Shielding, Padawan." He tapped the screen and smirked. "Do you have a datapad?"

"No. We were only issued them on an as-needed basis."

"Well, you need one now. I'll pick one up. Having an open credit line from the Senate can be handy." He winked at her and then scurried across the clearing toward the base. 

Did you know ...

● In the military, you get to scrub, cook, and even dig graves—all on the same day sometimes.

● Luke has always had a warm personality, connecting with other people instantly. This could be either an inherited gene or something the Force assists him with. My bets are that he got his warm personality from Padmé.

Tell me what you think ...

● What would you be thinking as Luke left, considering Naluma felt she had failed the last exercise?

● Why do you think Naluma continued to call him "master," even though he wanted her to call him "Luke"? (And, no, this has nothing to do with bondage.)