Playlist:

❶ "Ahch-To Island"—The Last Jedi OST

❷ "The Cave"—The Last Jedi OST

❸ "Lesson One" 0.01-1.16—The Last Jedi OST

❶ As Master Luke hiked across the meadow, Naluma took the datapad and a canteen of water to a sunny patch of grass. After adjusting the brightness on the device, she initiated the diagnostic tests.

Let's start with Galactic Basic—always my best subject in school.

Her fingers flicked over the touchscreen at lightning speed until she finished the exam. I've still got it. As for the one I missed, who has ever heard of a retained object? Wouldn't you rewrite the sentence in active voice?

She continued with history, cultures, sciences, and mathematics. She scowled when she saw her scores. What did I expect? Haven't studied these topics in quite a few years—and I don't even remember learning half it.

Next came the vocational tests. She started with the one for survival skills, finding it was not a question-and-answer test, but a live-action game that tested application of her knowledge. She scored high marks in that area.

After reviewing the remaining categories, she selected the field medicine module. This should be easy. Just recertified two rotations ago.

The next test covered weapons, from identification and usage to maintenance and disarmament. Eh, guess it could have been worse. Just so many non-Republic weapons.

Four tests remained: navigation, programming, political protocol, and electronics/mechanics.

She marked off navigation as no prior experience. Master Luke already knows I can't fly. And is driving a speeder really navigation?

She was tempted to mark off the other two as well. Better not. I should at least attempt the others.

Throughout the etiquette test she shook her head awake and answered blindly. This is such a boring subject. I hope Master Skywalker doesn't expect me to spend weeks learning this nonsense.

She barely passed the programming segment. 'Bout what I thought. Haven't coded in years. Languages have changed.

❷ The electronics and mechanics test remained. She closed her eyes and settled herself with the Force. She expected this exam to be an emotional roller coaster. During her military career she had avoided these areas—too many painful memories from her apprenticeship.

Naluma froze, unable to tap the test open. Naluma, you can do this. No one's around.

When the datapad shook in her hands, she meandered around the field until she found a shady spot. Except for the dropping cones, the evergreen provided the perfect location. It supported her back and provided some shade for the display. But, best of all, no one was going to creep up on her here.

Her hand hovered over the datapad, but she could not touch it. Her chest constricted and her breathing grew shallow. Inside. I need to be inside.

She scrambled onto the shuttle past a beeping Artoo and locked the ramp. Once she was on her bunk, she activated the program. She took a deep breath. "Well, here it goes."

She remembered more from her apprenticeship than she had thought. While her circuit-reading skills were abysmal, she was actually pleased when the pure electronics portion finished.

Now, onto the mechanics section. Identification of different parts of ground, air, and space units came up. Diagnostic problem sets followed. Last came the "hands-on" repair modules, which combined both the electronics and the mechanics at once.

By the end of the test, she smiled in pride as well as relief. I forgot how much I like mechanics. Something great about figuring out a piece of equipment, making it work again

❸ Once she had completed the tests, cabin fever set in again. She stowed the datapad in the main compartment and exited the shuttle.

Might as well stretch out the knots in my back and practice my PuHa exercises. Haven't done those since Felucia. Oh, how I wish I could have done these in the military—but not with all those idiots harassing me. 

She undid her hair from the flat wrap, letting the length flow below her shoulders. Her sable hair glistened in the sunlight and swayed in the mild breeze. Naluma pulled her whole spine up like a puppet and then let it relax into the opening position.

She commenced the exercise, concentrating on each form, waiting until the previous form was solid before moving to the next.

Yet, something was different this time. The Padawan became one with the movements, allowing the Force to flow through her as she moved, invigorating her.

When she neared completion of the cycle, she sensed Master Skywalker approaching in a speeder. Recognizing his approach with the Force almost broke her concentration. She struggled to conclude the sequence.

After parking the speeder near the nose of the shuttle, he hopped out and watched her performing the exercise a few meters away.

Her skin prickled as his laser-focused eyes settled on her. She wasn't sure if she was bothered or flattered. I wish he would stop looking at me like that. She twirled her hands in front of her extended leg before stretching her arms from ground to sun. Yeah, right. You're into it, Naluma. Stop denying it.

Her face beamed at the end of the cycle. She remained at peace and sensed the Force connecting them. His aura glowed brighter. They stood in awkward silence for a long moment.

Luke widened his eyes. "What was that? I've never seen anything so beautiful before."

"PuHa. A custom from Felucia, my home planet. We use it for core strengthening as well as flexibility. It's been a long time since I've done it." She took a swig of water from her canteen. "What you saw was pretty bad. I'm rusty with my forms."

"No, not at all." The Jedi Master smiled as his eyes twinkled.

She gazed at the ground between her boots, trying to hide her shy smile.

After another awkward moment, Naluma broke the silence. "Where'd you get the speeder? Steal it?" She shot him a playful narrow-eyed gaze.

Luke laughed. "No, Madine loaned it to us. Help me with the supplies, would you?" He retreated to the rear of the military-grade speeder and pulled out a crate of supplies. "Artoo, got your parts here."

The droid rolled over the grass to the speeder and grabbed the parts with his pincher arm. He rolled back to the port-side stabilizer and continued his work repairing it.

Naluma snatched the other crate and hauled it up the ramp.

Luke motioned with his head to the crate in her hand. "New uniforms. Change into a service uniform while I put these things away."

"Yes, master."

In a few minutes, Naluma bound her hair back into her rectangular bun and changed into the new steel-gray service uniform. The tunic and trousers sported the same cut as her military uniforms but were a dark gray instead of olive drab. The color brought a luster to her black eyes. She admired herself in the mirror, tugging on the tunic and smoothing out the collar

Did you know ...

● Luke technically didn't steal the shuttle. It was Vader's. He used it to escape the Death Star and inherited it. But stealing a shuttle from the Death Star is a much better story.

● PuHa is based on Tai Chi Chuan. The word means "power" in Comanche

Tell me what you think ... 

● What can we tell about Naluma's past from her reaction to having to move inside for a certain portion of the test?

● Do you think the natural chemical sparks between the two are going to cause problems in the Master/Padawan relationship? Why or why not?