Playlist:

❶ "Marion's Theme"—Raiders of the Lost Ark OST

A few days later, during the same Galactic Basic class, Naluma received a priority call. "Excuse me, class. Please complete the review exercises on word usage. If you finish before I return, read the next section, and be prepared to discuss the material."

Naluma rushed to the study to take the call, one of two places secure calls could be answered. Kallay and Kalder had installed the best anti-espionage equipment available. 

After sealing the study and activating the equipment, she answered, "Master Fau, Jedi Academy."

❶ "Naluma," the voice breathed on the other end with longing.

"Oh, Luke, I didn't expect to hear from you so soon." The peace that had eluded her for so long spilled over her on hearing his voice.

"Me either, but I'm not complaining. Mission ended early."

"Favorably?"

"Not really. Still status quo." Luke's voice betrayed a slight irritation.

"When will you be home?" she asked with a catch in her voice.

"Not for a while. Senate report." He groaned as he said the last words.

"Too bad," Naluma said with a seductive voice. "You're going to have to wait then."

"You're not?" Luke asked with a glimmer of hope brightening his voice.

"No," she said with dejection. "But I can't wait for you to get home so we can try again."

"I'll be back as quick as I can." Luke bit on his lip before continuing. "How's everything else going?"

"A few problems with the Padawan. Driving me nuts mostly."

"How?"

"Being kids. Pranking the teacher and then covering for each other. You know—stuff every teacher deals with."

"I'm sorry. Anything I can do?"

"Besides strangle our nephew? No. And, believe me, I almost Force-choked him when I found out he gave other Padawan drugs to induce vomiting to get out of an exam."

"Naluma," Luke said with admonishment. "They shouldn't have been able to even get to those drugs."

"Relax, someone smuggled it out of Field Training, not the infirmary. I wasn't sure it was Ben, but no other Padawan is so deceitful. Problem is, I could strip the evidence from their minds, but the kids know I won't violate the honor code. They're getting away with a lot because of that."

You're doing great Naluma. Don't let it get to you. If they continue this nonsense, it will affect their grades and we can hold them back a semester. You might want to ask them during the next class if they think that that would be funny, and remind them that Jedi never ever prank."

"I took away the whole class's R&R for a week and Ben's for a month. Assigned extra lessons instead."

"That didn't go over well, I bet." Luke chuckled at Naluma's solution.

"No, it didn't."

"Anything else going on?"

"No," Naluma said. "No, wait, there is. Twenty new Padawan arrive in six weeks. The quartermaster won't fill our orders because we've blown through our budget already, and the 'freshers have been out for the last three days. Can't find what's clogging the line. Not to mention we've got a broken cabinet in the science lab now." She sighed. "Can you get our budget extended for the extra personnel while you're at the Senate? It's not only consumables but also fixtures. We've never had this many before, and I'm not even sure where I'll put them."

"Twenty?" Luke asked with worry.

"Overwhelming, isn't it?" Naluma sighed at the thought. "I'm going to need at least one more full-time teacher—no, make that two more. With the problems I'm having with these second-years, I could use all the help I can get."

"I'll see what I can do. We need to conduct formal reviews for the field Jedi anyway when I return. We can use that for our selection process."

"Yeah, but I don't want the Jedi who aren't ready for solo missions training the next generation of knights. If their partner ends up training, they need to work on advanced skills," Naluma said with an edge in her voice. "Maybe we can work out a quarterly rotation or something."

"Good idea. Let's discuss it when I get back. Transport's ready to depart. Gotta go. Love you, Luma. See you soon."

"Not soon enough. Love you more," Naluma said right before he disconnected the call.

Did you know . . .

● Luke and Naluma have been married for about a year now.

● We see another indication that the Jedi Order is not always successful in their missions with this chapter.

● The Senate is starting to wonder why they are paying the Jedi all of this money if they aren't getting the desired results.

Tell me what you think . . .

● What was Luke asking when he said "You're not?"

● Why do you think Naluma is stressed and how do you think this will affect the Jedi Order and their marriage? [There is more than one answer.]