Menali-Jay-Abran had one main fault. It wasn't impudence like Jemmiah. It wasn't recklessness like Obi-Wan, or slap-dash casualness like Simeon Cates.

It was self-importance.

At twenty-two, he was the oldest of the padawans selected for today's little trip round the house of horrors, and as such very much regarded himself as the elected leader.

He was remarkably self-assured and confident, almost overly so Master Jinn had warned Obi-Wan on several occasions, but he always seemed to be striving to win approval from others. It was something Obi-Wan related to in his earliest days, but he had matured since then, and couldn't really understand why his joker of a friend hadn't done likewise.

Abran's glittering grey eyes alighted on his group proudly. He'd knocked them silly with his amusing tales of times in the temple. His jokes had been punctuated with laughter from the initiates. His audience loved him.

He was a success.

But still he needed to go one better. What could he do to prove to these children that he had the makings of a truly remarkable Jedi? What could he do to really round off this memorable day, so that they would say in years to come, "Hey that�s Jedi Abran. He's the most talented man in the temple barring none.�

He gathered the kids together, in front of the Wolverassian cannoid enclosure, and formulated a cunning plan in his brain. He knew the perfect way to round off this trip...

*******

"He did WHAT!!!" Jemmiah's copper eyes couldn't have got any bigger.

"He used the force to make them think they were cannoids." Obi-Wan sighed. "Only now he can't stop them from thinking that." He grimaced. "Somewhere in this zoo, making their way to where we are, there's a pack of five children who are trying to select which of the visitors they are going to chase and eat."

"If it's any consolation," Jemmiah offered, "they won't be able to do much more than give a nip to the ankles."

Obi-Wan looked at Simeon. "Sith, I hate today." was all he could find to say. "I don't like to think how Bai and Welasa are dong. It can't be any worse than Commander Emerald and myself."

Simeon seemed completely oblivious to the events that were unfolding around him. He was having far to great a time. He'd just about exhausted his entire repertoire of camp songs, when an idea struck him.

"Thisss," he lisped like a giant lizard, "is a song I'd like to dedicate to my friends of many years standing." He indicated his companions who were staring at him from the bench they were sat on, "Obi-Wan Kenobi, esquire and Miss Jemmiah Gleshan, his good lady friend." He winked. "And I mean GOOD!"

"I'm going to kill him." muttered Jemmiah. She noticed Isadora Lucey glaring at her as if she'd grown horns.

"And so, without further delay, I will sing for all you dear children, a song which my dear friends actually wrote themselves, when they weren't drunk and disorderly, or getting touched up in cantina's."

Now I'M going to kill him, thought Obi-Wan.

"Words by Gleshan and Kenobi, and musical arrangement by Cates." continued Simeon. He swung round to face the kids. "Are you listening? Good, then I give you: THE MASTER YODA APPRECIATION SONG!"

Obi-Wan blanched from his greenish color. "Sith no!"

Simeon continued:

"He's all knowing, he's all seeing;
the best Jedi of them all,
He's perfection in a being,
Even though he is so small.
He speaks a zillion languages,
From Wookie, Talz and Bith.
With his many pearls of wisdom,
He could even charm the Sith!
And the secret of his success,
If you ever ask him why;
He'll put it down to one thing,
He'll say "DO. There is no TRY.
Hail! Master Yoda,
Of his kind there is so few.
That's why you should be wary,
If you're asked to eat his stew!"

Jemmiah couldn't believe what she was hearing. Spotting the second flask of near empty alcohol lying next to Obi-Wan on the bench, she picked it up. Stars, give me strength, she thought as she unstopped it. She sniffed it doubtfully. Simeon had already launched himself into the next verse...

"He could fill a thousand volumes,
With the tales of things he's seen
and I think you must agree,
He's such a lovely shade of green.
History is written
in the lines upon his face,
and he has a little more hair
on his head than Master Mace.
But if he asks you for a favor
then you'd better do it quick,
Because his aim is deadly
with his trusty gimmer stick.
Hail! Master Yoda,
He's the best of..."

Jemmiah felt herself gag. What the hell was this stuff? She put a hand over her mouth and bolted past Simeon behind the back of the Gurnaf enclosure as quickly as she could.

"Jemmy?" Yelled Obi-Wan in concern and started after her.

Simeon stopped, surprise plastered on his face.

"I didn't think the singing was THAT bad?!"

*******

Cut it out!"

The sound of boots slapping down hard and fast against the permacrete followed by a high pitched whining, panting and howling echoed through the rare aquatic mammal enclosure, turning heads and stopping visitors in their tracks. The powerful frame of Jay Abran hauled itself past row upon row of plasti-glass exhibit windows, using his superior speed and longer legs to power himself out of the reach of the little monsters snapping at his feet.

What HAVE I created? Abran wondered.

So much for his great trick with the force. It had proven to be far more successful than he had ever anticipated. Instead of having a last minute laugh with the initiates he found himself being pursued by a pack of five over-excited, not to mention hungry, children. At first he'd taken it as a joke. But not anymore. The bite mark on his wrist was proof of that!

He reached the end of the underground passageway and dove up the stairs, taking them four at a time. The little horrors were less agile, but determined for all that and continued their hunt with dedication bordering on obsession. Nearly there, thought Abran as he hurtled towards the top steps, smelling the fresh air that indicated his objective: FREEDOM.

The path that stretched before him forked into two, and for a brief moment Abran was at a loss which direction to take. The right route led backwards to the Flipperphants and Five-Eyed Whalmerans, whilst the left led straight on towards the Fur-toes, Florriwings and Murrits. Mentally tossing a credit chip he opted for left and bolted as if his life depended on it...

*******

Isadora Lucey watched as Padawan Kenobi tried his level best to make his feet move in the same direction, as he went after his "friend". She'd noticed with dismay the faintest of green tints creeping onto his face, and frankly, you'd have to have been blind not to notice the color of Padawan Cates complexion...it was therefor with considerable satisfaction that she'd seen how thoroughly ill Obi-Wan's lady companion had appeared. She began to hope against hope that whatever it was that had afflicted the two apprentice's was highly contagious, and that her rival might get very sick and possibly even die!

The thought cheering her, she edged away from her fellow initiates and followed the direction that Obi-Wan had taken, at a very discrete pace. Something was going on here, something very secret. And Isadora was determined to find out what!

*******

"It's not my fault!" came the panic stricken voice at the other end of the com-link. "I was joking. I mean, when you say to someone you've never met "Sith, I wish there was a sedative you could give these little swamp-creatures", you don't really expect someone to actually do it! I mean, not ACTUALLY, so that they�re doped to the eyeballs, or so that they can't move a muscle. It's not the sort of thing you'd expect when you go to the zoo, I mean one minute we were having a great time feeding the ducks..."

"Bai, you're ranting," Qui-Gon tried to calm the distraught padawan, "now, just take it easy. Take a big breath."

He heard the exhalation through the com-link. "Good. Now let's start again. You say that the children have been drugged. Yes?"

Bai nodded miserably then remembered that Qui-Gon couldn't see him. "Y-Yess." he gulped.

�Where are you?�

�By the duck pond, where else,� Bai replied sourly.

�Alone?�

�Yes�No. There�s that Alderaani kid that Mater Windu said could join our group.�

Windu and Qui-Gon exchanged glances. �Our missing initiate!� yelled Windu. He snatched the com-link away from Qui-Gon. �What the hell�s that kid doing with you?!! We�ve spent nearly the whole damn afternoon looking for him!�

�You mean I spent the whole afternoon looking for him,� muttered Qui-Gon, feeling his tender eye gingerly with his hand. �You had other more pressing things to deal with.� He smiled sweetly. �Such as getting close to nature.�

�You�re never going to let this one go are you?� groused Windu.

�Not for the next few months, no.� He indicated his facial injury. �Almost makes this worth while.�

Bai gulped. �Y-You mmean that he didn�t have permission.�

�No! Of course he didn�t have permission!� Windu exclaimed, still sore over the Murrit incident.

�W-well�I didn�t�I mean, how was I to�IT�S NOT MY FAULT!�

Qui-Gon frowned. �We really should be getting back to check on the others. We�ll stop by the duck pond on the way back and see if things are really as bad as you seem to think. In the meantime, don�t move, Bai, do you hear me?�

�Master Jinn, I don�t think this group would move if you were to stick a fully-charged lightsabre up their��

�THANK YOU, Bai. I think we get the message.�

He cut off the communicator. Looking down, he saw that Sabra-Ni had slipped her own tiny hand into his, the same way Jemmiah had done when they had brought her back from Nargotria. The first small feelings of guilt began to surface at the memory. Was he really so very angry with her, after all?

�Come on,� he sighed at Mace, waving the little party onwards, � We�re going to see the ducks.�

He was answered by a cacophony of cheers.

�What do we do if things ARE as bad as he seems to think?� grumbled Mace Windu, scratching at his head. He�d felt itchy ever since the Murrit had been persuaded to detach itself from his cranium. The keepers had said that this was due to the substance they secreted to make them stick, but Mace wasn�t so sure. He didn�t think he�d ever get clean ever again. �How on Coruscant do we move five drugged initiates?�

Qui-Gon shrugged casually. �There�s a very good form of free labor going these days, called the �Padawan.� Haven�t you ever heard of it?�

Mace Windu actually smiled for the first time in an hour. �I�m sure Obi-Wan appreciates how much his master thinks of him. Talking of which, have you heard from him at all?�

�No. He�s kept himself quiet so far.� Jinn paused. �I saw Jemmiah whilst I was on my search-and-recovery mission.�

Mace felt the unease return. �Did you?�

�I have the horrible feeling that she might be the reason for my padawan�s lack of communication.�

�Come on, Qui. You�re clutching straws.� Windu spoke carefully. �You said not to get in contact unless it was a dire emergency. Someone missing a head, or a leg at the least.�

�Even so��

�I�m sure Jemmiah�s got problems of her own.� Mace added.

Qui-Gon stopped in mid pace and turned round. �What do you mean?� he frowned.

�Well,� struggled Mace, �She�s going to Corellia, isn�t she? She�ll be thinking about that, not causing trouble for your apprentice.�

�Perhaps.� Conceded Qui-Gon. It occurred to him to wonder how on Coruscant Mace Windu had known that Jemmiah�s trip to Corellia was tomorrow, when a terrible yelling sound interrupted his thoughts.

Running towards them at an incredible pace was Menali Jay Abran, followed closely by his group of initiates, looking almost possessed in their bid to catch their prey. He spotted Masters Jinn and Windu and made hurriedly straight for them, yelling at the top of his voice: �It�s not my fault! I swear IT�S NOT MY FAULT!� He looked behind him at the pack of Sith Hounds closing in. �RUN!� He yelped at the two masters and their party.

Qui-Gon and Mace pulled their party of initiates off the track to avoid being caught in the stampede, as five desperate looking children hounded the fugitive padawan onwards towards the direction Obi-Wan and Simeon had taken. Master Jinn was about to correct the children for their unseemly behavior when his com-link buzzed again. When he did, he heard the somewhat distorted voice of Padawan Cates.

�Massster Jinnn? I jussst wanted to sssing you a little sssong. � He belched slightly, and launched himself into his third rendition of the Yoda song.

�He�s drunk!� Mace was virtually speechless. �Where did he get hold of alcohol in the middle of a zoo?�

Qui-Gon�s face was grim.

�I don�t know. But I think it�s about time we found out.�

*******

By the time Obi-Wan caught up with Jemmiah, neither of them seemed to be in a particularly coherent state, the former bent double having been violently sick only moments before, the latter with his hand clasped to his skull as if in a struggle to keep his balance. His feet didn�t seem particularly interested in following the dictates of his brain, but he reckoned that was probably reasonable, as his head seemed to be working to a different agenda anyway.

He approached his friend cautiously, daring to reach out a steadying arm to grasp her hunched shoulders, and wondering if they might not both collapse in a heap as a result.

�Are you all right?� He winced as his hangover began to kick-in. Whatever Simeon had poisoned him with had worked very swiftly. They would need a miracle to hide this little incident from Qui-Gon.

She slowly turned to stare at him, shaking, her hand resting on her stomach as if fearing another attack of nausea. �All right?� She couldn�t believe what he�d said. �Do I look like I�m all right? Well, DO I?�

He attempted to placate her by sliding his arm round her shoulders, but she was having none of it, and shook him off as easily as if he�d been made of air. �Let go.� She hissed at him, before jogging a few steps away.

�Jemmy?!� Obi-Wan called.

�Forget it!� She shouted over her shoulder, and continued to walk away towards the mock-farmyard in the children�s area.

Obi-Wan struggled to think what to do. Vaguely, his foggy brain told him that leaving the drunk and disorderly Simeon in charge of ten young children was possibly not the smartest thing he�d ever done. On the other hand, he had promised to speak to Jemmiah regarding her departure to Corellia, and something warned him that if he messed this up now, he might never get the opportunity to sort things out. Whilst his mind was telling him to go back to check on Simeon, his legs had already gone off in pursuit of his friend.

Thank-you, legs. Obi-Wan thought groggily.

Jemmiah had reached the barnyard. There seemed to be nothing but stray feathers and vast quantities of straw as far as the eye could see, but she decided it would do very well until her stomach quit griping at her. She sat down next to the wooden wall, folding her legs underneath her. The straw felt warm. What she wouldn�t give to just go to sleep and wake up in four months time!

Her solitude was disturbed, as she knew it would be, by the unsteady figure of Obi-Wan. He rested his head momentarily against the open doorway, then seemingly gathered his wits and lurched over towards the lone figure huddled in the straw. She looked so young, he thought, almost as how he remembered her when they�d first met. Steadily, he lowered himself to sit beside her. Jemmiah didn�t even look at him.

�Feeling better?� He asked hesitantly, after he thought a seemly amount of time had passed without discourse.

�Some.� Was the only answer he got. He stared at her. �You don�t look too good, if you don�t mind me saying.�

She faced him again. �What do you expect? There was Cherryblade in that stuff wasn�t there?�

He looked surprised. �Sith, Jemmy. Not you as well!�

�I am SO allergic to Cherryblade. I�ll be sick all the way back to Evla�s apartment.� She looked hopefully at him. �Maybe if I die they won�t make me leave tomorrow.�

Obi-Wan looked at her intensely. �I think we�re all going to be pretty sick. Simeon looks like a tree frog, and I think it was whatever was in that flask that caused it.�

She considered. �Great. So I get to be green as well as ill, yes?�

He shook his head. �I�m nowhere near as bad as Simeon, but I didn�t have all that much. How much did you take?�

�Hardly a mouthful�, she said ruefully, �and I brought it back up anyway.�

�You should be fine, then.� He smiled. �Simeon�s the one that�s going to have to explain why he looks like a walking color chart.�

She gave a quick laugh, careful of her sore stomach muscles.

�What are you going to do about��

�Corellia?� She finished. �What can I do? I have to go. The settlement that awarded my custody to Evla stipulated I have to go for four months every year until I reach eighteen.� She reached over and raised his chin so that he was staring directly at her. �And as you well know, my seventeenth birthday was only three weeks ago.�

He smacked his hands against the floor in frustration. �No! Nobody has the right to make anybody do something they don't want to."

She shook her head sadly. �It�s no use Ben. Through my own stupidity I�ve managed to get hitched to the greatest chinless-wonder that ever inhabited the Corellian Star system.

�But he tricked you!� Obi-Wan�s voice began to waver. �You said��

�He got me drunk. Yes.� She said simply. �I�m not proud of it. He�s got witnesses who said they heard me agree. And under Corellian law that�s more than enough.� She began to quake at the thought. �And he�s already let me know that he�s going to hold me to it.�

Obi-Wan refused to believe it. It was all so wrong. �Just don�t go!�

�We�ve been through this before. Look what happened.�

�There aren�t any vases here.� Obi-Wan raised his eyebrows.

She smiled briefly, but it was like the sun hiding amidst the clouds. �If I don�t do what he wants he�s going to tell Rufus Merdan where I am, and where Evla is�I can�t have that hanging over me. You know what will happen if Merdan finds out where I am. Do you think he�s forgotten Nargotria? He�ll have me killed!�

She had always been frightened of that, Obi-Wan thought, even though the chances of Merdan looking for her, let alone discovering where she had fled to were extremely remote. The number of times that Qui-Gon had got up to comfort her when she had awoken screaming during their nightmare journey from Nargotria�she obviously was still terrified of the idea, even after seven years.

�I have to go.� She repeated.

Obi-Wan shook his head. �Qui-Gon will help. You should tell Evla��

�NO!� She sounded stung. �You promised me, Ben. You said you�d tell nobody about it.�

�Qui-Gon will be able to��

�NO.� It was said with conviction.

For a minute neither of them said anything. They just sat fidgeting and staring numbly at the walls in the barn.

�I�m not exactly thrilled about all this. I�m far too young to get married.� She found herself laughing at the absurdity of it all.

�How�s the stomach ache now?� Obi-Wan said eventually.

�Better. No twinges.� She sighed. �I haven�t been as sick as that since��

�The last time you and I had a quiet drink with Simeon and Jay Abran.� Obi-Wan finished.

She tried to shift her legs, which had been folded underneath her for what seemed like hours, and gave a cry of discomfort as cramp spiraled up her limbs.

�Sith, that hurts!�

Obi-Wan reached over. �Easy. Take a few deep breaths. In�.� He watched as she did as instructed, and her tried to ease her with the force, �Out��

�I�ve got cramp, Ben, I�m not having a baby!�

He laughed, rubbing her legs to try to get the circulation back� and then somehow, they ended up in each other�s arms. Just holding each other.

�I�ll never be far away.� He promised.

She just smiled.

*******

Isadora Lucey had watched in hawkish interest as the young couple had made their way, first one and then followed shortly after by the other, into the barn in the children�s corner.

Interesting, she thought.

Trying to make certain that she wasn�t detected, she carefully made her way round the other side of the barn. The first thing she felt was a wave of misery, from both padawan and girl. But also a feeling of resignation. Isadora�s first thought was that she was about to witness the break up of the relationship she so disliked and so she crept slowly round until she was directly against the opposite side from them. Now, if only Padawan Kenobi didn�t sense she was there� she settled down against the wall and put her ear to the timber.

�NO! � You promised me, Ben. You said you�d tell nobody about it.�

There was a muffled amount of conversation.

�I�m not exactly thrilled about all this. I�m far too young to get married.�

Married?

�How�s the stomach ache now?�

�Better. No twinges�I haven�t been as sick as that since��

There was more muted speech between the two, which Isadora strained to hear. She pressed herself as close as the wooden slats would allow.

��having a baby!�

Isadora moved away swiftly, in complete shock. So that had been the big secret! She wondered briefly if she should tell Master Windu when they got back to the temple�and then she had an even better idea.

She would tell Master Jinn instead!