Log Date:
	6/1, 6/3, 6/4/97

Log Cast:
	Paul Nighman, Shenneret Veery

Log Intro:
	Shenner and Paul's first few days on Corellia have proven to be less 
than easy for Paul, due to the uneasy reunion he's undergone with his father. 
Dr. Xavier Nighman has demonstrated more than once that he seems to strongly
disapprove of Paul - and that he finds Paul's relationship with Shenner
especially suspect, particularly after Paul deliberately skips his first
appointment to meet with his father about the Mandalorian artifacts he needs,
and after Dr. Nighman finds Paul and Shenner entwined in one another's arms and
kissing passionately the morning after a traumatic night for Shenner. When Paul
and Shen showed up later that same morning, after visiting the young Corellian -
Trace - who had saved Shenner's life and gotten himself wounded in the process,
Dr. Nighman tries to disown his son. Shenner bursts into a wrathful speech in
Paul's defense - and after she leaves the two men, expecting the father to
apologize to the son, Paul vehemently disowns his sire. Later, although he does
not tell Shenner what happened after she left his father's office, the girl
senses that he is deeply troubled.
	On impulse, to celebrate both his birthday and Shenner's, and to mark 
his 'rebirth' without a father, Paul encourages Shenner to exchange presents 
with him. Shen gives him a necklace with a holo of a red-tailed hawk; Paul, in
return, amazes her with the gift of an elegant velvet dress, and then takes her
out for an evening of dinner and dancing. Overwhelmed by the most romantic night
of her life, Shenner curls up with Paul in the single bed in the room they've
obtained in a local inn managed by an old friend of Paul's family.
	But Paul is still deeply troubled by the events involving his father...
and still worried about Shenner herself.

----------
His eyes flicker open ... for about the fifth time that night. It's at least 
  daylight now ... the last four times it was still dark. Lying still for a 
  moment, Paul tries to ascertain where Shenner is in relationship to him, and 
  after a moment it is clear that she is pressed up against his back, one arm 
  draped loosely over his torso. He buries his head back into his pillow for a 
  moment. At least this time it was the light that probably woke him, not the 
  dreams. Sighing deeply, Paul considers the fact that Shenner managed to 
  survive the night nothing short of a miracle. Somehow she had managed, with 
  all of his thrashing, to remain not only unscathed and undisturbed, but also 
  glommed to his side during the entire ordeal. Of course her presence hadn't 
  made getting -back- to sleep any easier ... especially when she made those 
  soft little satisfied noises in the back of her throat. That isn't a thought 
  that needs repeating, and Paul quickly pounds his pillow with one hand, 
  settling back down to, if not sleep, at least rest.

Shenner makes another of those satisfied noises as Paul settles down again, 
  her arm lifting slightly to curl better about his torso; she does not, 
  however, wake. Her presence at Paul's back remains soft and warm and mostly 
  unmoving.

Her hand on his sternum is quite distracting and Paul considers removing it 
  for a moment ... or doing something else that isn't terribly wise, but 
  instead just shuts his eyes, letting the weariness that is lingering in his 
  system take over, hoping it will let him sleep.

In the silent room, slowly, it begins to grow brighter; after a time, 
  Shenner's mind begins to rouse up first before the rest of her does. 
  Memories of the previous night linger on her consciousness, and as she 
  realizes that she's curled up next to Paul, the resultant rosy glow in her 
  chest nudges her the rest of the way into awareness. "Mrmm."
Shenner lifts her head slightly, and murmurs, "You awake, Paul?"

It's a strange half sleep state that takes over Paul's mind, his rambling 
  thoughts turning into rambling dreams, half real and half imagined it seems. 
  He rises, walking down the hallway with Shenner following close behind, the 
  hall gets darker, smaller, the pathway more uncertain when suddenly there is 
  a suspicious creak, followed by an even more suspicious groan, like the 
  protesting wail of cifcats right before the floods come and wash out their 
  holes. Turning back to Shen, he pushes at her yelling, "Get the hell out, 
  it's gonna give!" but she doesn't leave his side, clinging to him. "Damnit 
  Shen, I said run!" but she turns green green eyes to his, wide and 
  imploring. "I ain't gonna -leave- ya Paul! You said you wouldn't make me go 
  ... ya promised!" Dragging a hand through his hair on a soft curse he looks 
  up and the ceiling buckles and shimmies in a way that it is not supposed to. 
  He lunges forward, trying to drag Shenner with him, to cover her from the 
  impending downfall, but the entire space implodes unexpectedly and Paul 
  cries out as a sharp pain pierces his side. Blinking, he opens his eyes and 
  starts screaming for Shen, who is nowhere in sight. Only huge amounts of 
  rubble surround him. He tries to rise and finds himself completely paralyzed 
  ... and reaching back with one hand he touches a beam that has pierced 
  through his back. Scrabbling desperately at the debris, Paul feels tears 
  streaming down his face ... and then his father's voice cuts across his 
  efforts. "Well, what did you expect ... she doesn't respect her elders, she 
  didn't listen to you or me, and she hadn't enough common sense to save her 
  own skin." Paul turns to his father in horror. His dad leans over and offers 
  Paul a hand. "I'll save you and take you in again, cripple though you are, 
  if you'll just come to your senses and realize that I've always been right 
  ... you're just a no good thief and a disappointment as a son ... never 
  wanted you to be born in the first place. You deserved to come to this bad 
  end." The hand extends outward, offering life at an insane cost, and Paul 
  starts to reach for it without thinking before jerking his palm back, 
  screaming, "No!" ... and he is fully awake with a spasmodic jerk.

Shenner is there, now, sitting up and watching Paul with concern etched in her 
  face. "Paul?"

Paul rubs his face in dismay, a small after tremor skipping through his 
  system. He rolls over onto his back and looks up into Shenner's fretful 
  features, but he is still shaken by the dream, not quite certain that it 
  -was- a dream, even though logically it had to be ... but emotionally it 
  still rings as truth in his mind. He blinks hard, trying to clear his 
  thoughts, to orient on reality. He reaches up to touch Shen's cheek, which 
  feels real enough to him. "What?" he rasps softly, uncertain if she had 
  asked him something or not.

"Are you okay? I woke up, and you were mumblin', and then you yelled," Shenner 
  observes solemnly. Indeed, her cheek feels real, and she looks real enough 
  with her hair sleep-rumpled, and her form even more delicate-seeming than 
  usual in the nightgown she's wearing.

The idea of being wakened with a kiss crosses Paul's mind, as his eyes take in 
  Shenner's charmingly disheveled appearance. The hand touching her face 
  shifts to cup her cheek, his fingers locking lightly against her jawline. 
  "Bad dream," he replies huskily. "I'm fine," he assures her.

Smiling a little at that, Shenner tips her head slightly towards Paul's hand, 
  even as she lifts her own to brush his hair back from his brow. "Okay... you 
  wanna get up, then?"

"No," is his automatic reply, and rather in line with the "being alone" faux 
  pas of the previous night. The dream leaves a palpable need within Paul, as 
  well as a palpable fear. He just lays there, his hand trailing down her 
  throat slightly, as the heightened sense of unreality slowly begins to 
  dissolve.

Perhaps the girl senses something of that in Paul's expression, for she peers 
  down at him searchingly for a moment. Then she simply begins to stroke his 
  forehead, slowly and repeatedly, drawing her hand from his eyebrows back 
  through his hair in gentle sweeps.

His hand continues to drop down, skimming her throat, gracing her collar bone, 
  and then settling its warmth against one of her hips. It's been long ... 
  maybe forever, since anyone has touched him with such a simple tenderness. 
  His eyes flutter closed at her gentle, soothing touch. He releases a soft 
  sigh, and when his eyes open again, they are dark and intent.

Shenner's breath catches a little at the descent of Paul's fingers; her own 
  pause once in their stroking of his hair, and, under his scrutiny, she 
  offers a tiny half-smile.

The edges of his lips quirk upward, and unconciously he presses gently aginst 
  her hip, his hand responsively caressing in conjunction with her hand at his 
  brow.

Shenner considers a moment, and then slides back down under the covers, moving 
  to nestle herself against her pillows, in a good position for keeping up 
  rubbing Paul's hair. This puts her face closer to his, and she smiles at him 
  wordlessly.

For awhile, Paul just closes his eyes and relaxes with the light caresses 
  across his forehead. He finally reaches up with one hand to capture 
  Shenner's wrist in mid-pass, and bringing it to his lips he presses a kiss 
  to her palm before releasing his grip. "Thanks," he murmurs gratefully.

"Thanks?" Shenner murmurs, looking amused. "For rubbin' your head?"

Paul continues to hold her hand, dropping it to rest against his chest, 
  covered by both of his. "If that's all you think it was, then you either 
  need some serious lessons or you don't know your own strength," he murmurs 
  affectionately. How to put into words the fact that her touch - because she 
  meant it, because she cared, because she would have done more had he asked, 
  and because she had done this small thing without him having to ask - had 
  touched him? He squeezes her hand between his own, wondering briefly if he 
  truly is making more of this than he should.

Lying there on her side as she faces Paul, Shenner blushes a little, her gaze 
  dropping down to where her hand is being held; in that instant, she looks 
  ever so slightly unsettled, before she lifts her regard back to Paul's 
  features, giving him a lopsided little smile along with it. "Well, any time 
  you want your head rubbed, you just say so, pal..." she answers.

Lifting her hand once again, he presses a light kiss to her knuckles and 
  replies, "Deal," before returning her property by releasing it and sitting 
  up in the bed, flipping the covers off of his body. "Okay, I've slacked off 
  long enough ... I'd better get to work I think. How about some breakfast?"

[And later....]

Breakfast, to Shenner's vague dismay, turns out to be a rather short affair -- 
  at least for Paul, who commandeers a sandwich and a mug of something hot to 
  drink from the inn's kitchen without paying very much attention to what he 
  gets, claiming that he wants to get right to work. Hopefully, she'd asked if 
  she could help out somehow -- only to be told no, a pleasant enough but 
  clearly distracted no, with a suggestion that she get out and enjoy the day. 
  Not exactly sure whether she wants to do such a thing by herself, Shenner 
  nevertheless is anxious to refrain from intruding on Paul... so she goes.
_Nothing to it, you've done this alone before, street rat_, she tells herself, 
  grabbing her wooden flute and hitting the streets of Coronet, more with 
  exploration than anything else in min -- but the girl keeps a sharp eye out 
  for possible places to busk. She gets a few curious glances from passersby 
  at the flute-bag dangling off her shoulder; once, when a curious older woman 
  asks her if she can actually play the thing, Shenner promptly obliges with a 
  melody that earns her two credits. Before she knows it, Shen has wiled away 
  her morning in exploration; by an hour or so after noon, however, she's 
  ravenous, and she heads back to the inn, hoping for lunch with Paul.

Breakfast was something of a disappointment ... they were down too late to 
  have "proper" breakfast, with muffins, fresh fruit, coffee cake, and their 
  choice of eggs any style, bacon, pancakes, waffles, the works. In fact, he 
  was lucky that Li Hua was even willing to fix them up something, Mrs. Tsuma 
  having left for her daily shopping. Li Hua gave Paul a wink and had admitted 
  to telling her mother that he hadn't come "alone" which was probably the 
  only reason Mrs. Tsuma hadn't gone up to his bedroom and knocked down the 
  door. Paul had the decency to blush.
With that anticipation left unsatisified, Paul realized that he had been 
  wasting too much time on frivolities ... where were his priorities anyway? 
  On introspection, he realized that ever since he had left Calamari, he had 
  become increasingly lax and undisciplined. No more. As of today, things were 
  going to be put into perspective. He spent his breakfast considering how to 
  proceed with the artifacts. He faintly recalled that Shen had asked him if 
  she could help, but remembering that she was to a certain extent the cause 
  of his dillydallying, he told her no, and then to lighten the blow had 
  suggested that perhaps she should get outside, have some fun, explore a bit. 
  Begging for another cup of coffee from Li Hua, he then happily ensconced 
  himself in the hotel room. After a few hours, he had moved the chaise lounge 
  out of the room, and borrowed an old worktable from Li Hua. The artifacts 
  were all unpacked - the larger pottery pieces lining along the window, the 
  smaller pieces on the table, and the computer taking over one of the bedside 
  tables. There are now small tags on each piece with various notes scrawled 
  on them, the computer is chirping every couple of seconds, and a printer is 
  spitting out papers and reports. Paul is in heaven.

Into this particular little corner of paradise bursts an enthusiastic Shenner. 
  "Hey, Paul, I found a little cafe that's doin' a special on nerf steak and 
  pastries, you wanna go out for some" -- and Shenner's voice changes pitch in 
  mid-sentence, as she freezes by the door, seeing the transformation that has 
  swept over the room -- "uh... lunch...?"

Currently reading through a scientific paper, documenting theories of race 
  origins and their diaspora, Paul barely looks up at Shen's entry, only to 
  return his attention to the paper in his hands. He is leaning back in a chair 
  that he also riffled from somewhere. Absently he murmurs, "...back so soon?" 
  before something catches his eye, and he comes forward with a slight slam of 
  the chair, scootching over to the computer and typing in furiously a request 
  for data on the pottery designs and techniques of the Hovitos, frowning 
  slightly as the information doesn't magically appear on his screen after 
  making his request.

_This,_ thinks Shenner with a furrowed brow, _does not look like a man who 
  wants some lunch...._ Nevertheless, she plasters on a smile and says 
  brightly, "It's after thirteen hundred, Paul -- are you hungry?"

Paul doesn't even look up from the computer to answer her. "No, you go ahead 
  without me." The information comes up, and Paul reads through it briefly 
  before requesting the image downlink ... pieces of pottery, with detailed 
  annotations in a corner window, come up, and Paul stares at them hard, but 
  then shakes his head as he reads something about the techniques used in 
  building ... they look fairly similar to the ones sitting on the floor, but 
  Paul's face only registers a dead end.

Shen tries not to let her face fall too obviously. "Want me to bring you 
  anything?" she ventures.

This doesn't even get a verbal answer, just a monosyllabic grunt, in the 
  negative.

Oh. Uhm. Okay. _Nope, definitely not a man who wants lunch..._ Trying not to 
  consider the corollary that Paul doesn't seem to want her around, either, 
  Shenner decides to console herself with the rationale that this _is_, after 
  all, Paul's job. So. "Okay, well, I'll be back by dinnertime, okay?" And she 
  slips out again, intent on having one of those pastries even if she _does_ 
  have to eat it alone, but maybe he'll want one later, so she'll bring one 
  back....

"Right, dinner," Paul replies to an empty room, not even noticing that Shenner 
  has stepped out. He leans back in this chair again and reaches for the cold 
  cup of coffee ... his fifth since this morning, tho' he isn't counting. He 
  drinks down the bitter cold dregs with an ironic measure of relish before 
  placing the empty cup near the computer. Rubbing his eyes, he reaches over 
  to the wand piece, peering at the linking point curiously and wondering 
  where the rest of it is. He then returns to the computer. _Time for a break_ 
  he thinks to himself. For anyone else this would mean going for a walk, 
  taking a nap, reading a good book. For Paul it means language lessons. His 
  time on Tatooine had driven home just how poor his speaking skills were. He 
  definitely needed to practice. Staring down at the tubular object in his 
  hands, he makes a mental note to learn how to read and write Mandalorian as 
  well. He hits the keyboard, placing it into audio mode and begins to run 
  conversation drills with it.

                               Day 1: Dinnertime                              

How to kill the afternoon, though? Shen frets about it for a time, and, 
  deprived of Paul's constant company, she finds that she can't stop thinking 
  about him. Memory of the previous night dancing with him -- and of the feel 
  of his hands, not to mention the rest of him, against that wonderful dress 
  he'd bought for her to wear -- still resonates in her mind, at odds with 
  this suddenly distracted, thoroughly absorbed individual she'd left in the 
  hotel room. At last, she settles for acquiring a late lunch/early dinner, 
  after wandering around long enough to turn up a local library; fetching the 
  promised pastry for Paul, and hoping he'll be more sociable this late in the 
  day, she returns once more to their room.

There are a lot more papers ... and they're everywhere. There are color images 
  in front of certain pottery pieces, annotated with Paul's illegible scrawl. 
  There are scientific papers galore, all printed out so that he can have them 
  at a moment's notice, without the hassle of calling them back from memory, 
  and the luxury of being able to compare several papers at once. At the 
  moment he is standing over an electron microscope, staring down at a small 
  piece of equipment, his face intent and with a sheen of astonishment 
  gleaming in his eyes as he straightens for a moment.

Oh dear. Thinking that Paul looks even less interested in food than he had 
  five hours ago, Shenner strives for another cheery tone as she pipes upon 
  her entry, "I'm back, Paul -- dinner time, you hungry?"

Straightening, he runs a hand through his hair and blinks at Shen. "What? 
  Already?" He peers down at his chrono and frowns, as he obviously took it 
  off during some point of the day, and now it's vanished, most likely under 
  some stack of papers. "Ah, I think I'll just see if Li can send up a 
  sandwich or something," he mutters distractedly, finally finding his chrono. 
  "Damn, I'm too late," he growls in mild annoyance. "Well, I'll just go there 
  tomorrow, it can hold till then," he reasons with himself under his breath.

Observing this, Shenner blinkblinks. Oooookay, no dinner, time for Plan B. She 
  holds up the sack with the still-warm spiced pastry within, and offers, 
  "Brought you somethin' -- it ain't much, but if you want a sandwich to go 
  with it, I can go get one...?"

Pausing on his way to pick up the latest printout, Paul turns and peers into 
  the bag, sniffing appreciatively. "Oh, nyah, this will do ... just needs a 
  little coffee to go with it." His eyes peek upward and he grins, giving 
  Shenner a quick friendly peck on the cheek before picking up his mug and 
  heading for the door. "You're a life saver," he notes as he passes her on 
  the way out.

Relieved that Paul appears to remember where the door is located, and even 
  more relieved to see him smile, Shenner perks up and follows him out of the 
  room, intent on getting _her_ dinner. She can't help but wonder, though: _Is 
  he gonna do this all night?_

                              Day 2: Up All Night                             

Sitting in the window, his legs bent and resting against the other side, Paul 
  pulls his glasses off, letting them drop to his lap tiredly, as he rubs his 
  eyes. The dawning light illuminates his reading, and for a moment, he allows 
  it to distract him long enough to give his eyes a break. He reaches blindly 
  for the coffee cooling on the sill, cupping it gratefully in his hands 
  before sipping at it. He then leans his head back against the window frame 
  for a moment, turning his head to watch the sunrise, his features softening 
  as he allows himself, for a brief respite, to not think about the artifacts 
  and papers surrounding him.

Lying in the middle of the bed, Shenner sleeps rather more restlessly than she 
  had the night before; the coming of the dawn casts a glow across her face as 
  well as the words under Paul's scrutiny, and the girl fumbles around a 
  moment before mumbling, "Paul?"

Paul turns as he hears his voice, reaching somewhat awkwardly for his glasses 
  and putting them on, looking down at the paper again, as if he had been 
  caught neglecting his duty or something. He murmurs softly, "Over here," and 
  firmly squelches a guilty sensation ... as if his presence, or rather the 
  lack therof was responsible for Shenner's agitated sleep. He frowns at 
  himself, disparaging the very idea that he could mean that much, make that 
  great a difference. _Get over yourself, Dr. Nighman, and get back to work_

Rubbing a balled hand against her right eye, looking rather more like a child 
  than she'd probably like to admit, Shenner mumbles, "Didn't you sleep?"

Paul lifts his glasses casually, as if he had never deigned to take them off 
  in the first place. "Uh, here and then," he lies easily, "wasn't tired." He 
  strengthens his resolve, as it is obvious that Shenner's presence -is- the 
  distraction here, his first reaction a strange mix between tucking her back 
  in and telling to to go back to sleep and crawling into bed with her and 
  snuggling for awhile before going to sleep with her. He adamantly forces 
  himself to focus on the paper in front of his, holding it up closer to his 
  face.

Shenner lifts her red head from the pillow and peers over at her friend. If 
  the girl is deceived, she gives no sign of it, as she asks with what sounds 
  like an attempt at a casual tone, "So... how's it goin'? You got another 
  busy day comin'?"

Flipping a page of the document, Paul nods, keeping his eyes deliberately 
  trained on the paper before him, though the words seem to have a habit of 
  blurring and sliding around. "Heading over the University library to pick up 
  a few texts and papers this morning, then I'm going to see if a biochemist 
  and an engineer I know can meet with me this afternoon to help me answer a 
  few questions ... and of course I got to spend some time getting all this 
  reading done," he mutters, with a casual gesture around the room. There must 
  be at least fifty different scientific papers lying about. "Yeah," he 
  finally sums it up. "Busy."

"Anything I can do?" the girl asks. Is that hope in her voice?

Busy trying to read the slippery words that seem to slide over the page, Paul 
  drops the paper heavily and looks over at Shen, taking off his glasses with 
  one hand and rubbing his eyes with the other. His clean shaven face from the 
  night of their birthday celebration has now gotten a days worth of growth on 
  it. "I'm sorry," he mutters, "What?"

"Anything I can help with?" Shenner repeats patiently, sitting up now, fully 
  awake.

For a moment Paul thinks about just telling her no, when his eyes cast down to 
  a huge list of books that he needs to get from the University library. He 
  stares at it for a moment and realizes that this is a perfect opportunity to 
  get some time to himself ... if he sends Shen to do this, he'll get a lot 
  more work done. In addition, it will take her at least twice as long to get 
  all of the stuff, buying him some more time alone while letting her feel 
  like she's being useful. "Sure," he replies, swinging his legs out of the 
  window and then stretching his numbed muscles. "But it's too early yet to go 
  to the library ... why dontcha get some more sleep first?"

Shenner brightens a bit at the notion of a way to actually work for her title 
  of 'assistant', but her green eyes peer shrewdly at the Corellian. "I could 
  ask you the same thing... you sure you're okay?"

_When the coffee stops working, you try the shower_ Paul considers tiredly. 
  "Yeah, I'm fine," he murmurs, "just need a quick shower and some caffiene, 
  and I'll be like a new man," he assures her as well as himself, stumbling 
  slightly on his way to the bathroom. He pauses briefly and gives Shen the 
  best cocky grin he can after nearly thirty hours with little to no sleep. 
  "After all, why do you think they call it a "refresher"?" he asks her 
  teasingly, and with that, he disappears behind the door.

Shenner watches him go, her brow furrowed. _I guess he knows what he's doing,_ 
  she thinks, but the back of her mind doesn't believe it....

                         Day 2: Missives and Messages                         

It takes Shenner much longer than she'd expected at the library to get all the 
  books she needs; fortunately, most of them are on holodisc, and easily 
  portable in a single carisak. While she's at the library, she detours, 
  inspired by the texts she's picking up for Paul, to find anything she can 
  get about Mandalore and its recent history; by the time she returns to the 
  room, late in the afternoon, she's laden with not only Paul's requested 
  volumes but two simpler ones for her own study as well, and feeling uplifted 
  for having accomplished something on Paul's behalf.

The room is completely silent for a change, which is somewhat eerie, as lately 
  it's been full of computer noises, printer noises, and Paul's muttering 
  velvety gravel voice. Things are still fairly disarrayed, although it 
  appears that Paul made a fatal miscalculation ... he stretched out on the 
  bed to read one of the documents. The paper is still in front of him, held 
  in his loosened hands. His head is propped up by a pillow, so that he didn't 
  have to hold it up ... in fact, if it weren't for his closed eyes and slower 
  breathing, he might still be reading the damn thing.

The sight of him is enough to bring a lump to Shenner's throat. Setting her 
  finds from the library down in the best place she can find, she tiptoes 
  across the artifact-laden floor to get to the bed; there, she pauses, and 
  studies Paul's sleeping features. Her own soften, and with exquisite care so 
  as not to wake him, she teases the paper out of his hands and lays it on the 
  computer nearby. Then she leans over, places a gentle kiss on his brow, and 
  finally tiptoes out of the room; Li Hua had a HoloNet terminal, she'd 
  discovered. It was time to send a letter to Jessalyn.

                         Day 2: Shenner's Message to Jessalyn

	As the holo rezzes into life, a somewhat sheepish-looking Shenner
	can be seen contained within the picture. Her hair has gotten longer
	and fuller, with a hint of wave to it, and even more weight to the
	forelock that droops over her left eye. She purses her lips unsurely
	for a moment, before cracking a lopsided smile and speaking:

	"So, uh, hi Jessalyn... I guess I should say first that I'm sorry I
	didn't send you a message before now. I ain't exactly the best of
	correspondents, and I guess I been pretty busy too, and from what I
	hear, so've you.

	"I hope you're okay? Luke took off offa Tatooine so fast that we
	really didn't have much time to find out what had happened, but I
	guess since you and Paul talked after we got to Corellia, you must
	be okay... I hope you ain't hurt or anything..."

	The girl chews her lower lip on its right side for a moment, then
	with a mixture of uncertainty and curiosity in her green eyes, she
	goes on, "Paul says that you found out that you got the Force. Like
	Luke." Something in the young redhead's face suggests that she has
	not the slightest idea how to grasp this concept, but she is clearly
	trying. "Does this mean you're gonna learn how to be a Jedi? And...
	well, I guess I'd be kinda scared and thrilled all at the same time,
	but I hope you're okay with it, you know what I mean?"

	Shen frowns a bit at her burst of rapid words, then blows out a
	breath. "So, uh, anyway. I guess Paul probably told yah what all we
	did on Tatooine... uhm, he's lettin' me be his assistant and he's
	teachin' me a little bit about first aid and how to get around in a
	jungle, since that's what Mandalore is like. Or at least, he was
	teachin' me that. He's kinda real occupied right now, see, 'cause
	we got hold of a whole buncha artifacts from the University and he's
	studyin' them like crazy, he's been in our room for the past two days
	and ain't stopped workin' except to chug down coffee every so often.
	So I'm kinda hangin' out and tryin' to study stuff too, like math and
	a bit about archaeology and astronomy and music..." Shenner
	half-smiles, as if embarrassed to admit that she's doing anything
	intellectual. "I kinda guess Paul's spurred me into it, but don't
	tell him I said so."

	Again, the girl pauses, her expression flickering a bit at the
	mention of Paul. More shyly, she goes on, "Paul bought me some new
	clothes on Tatooine... a few shirts and a pair of breeches... and he
	got me a new blaster and a medikit too. And then we got here to
	Corellia... and we decided to celebrate our birthdays, see, 'cause
	he turned twenty-nine and he has this thing that does somethin'
	called carbon dating and it says I'm eighteen now and that kinda
	reminded me of when my birthday is, so we got each other presents."
	At this, Shenner actually blushes, her features oddly softening.
	"Paul, uh, got me a dress."

	Shenner's holo-image considers, green eyes dropping downward to
	something off-camera; she looks fidgety, then, as she continues,
	"I ain't... scared of bein' a girl no more. Paul's kinda helped with
	that, too. But I guess now that I ain't exactly Shenner-the-boy, I
	ain't exactly sure who Shenner-the-girl is either so I'm still tryin'
	to figure all that out. Would you... mind too much if I... asked you
	about... girl stuff, sometimes? I don't really know anybody else _to_
	ask, see...

	"Anyway... so, we're on Corellia and we're stayin' at an inn now,
	it's called 'Kind Hearts and Coronets'" -- Shen reads off an address
	and a contact point for the HoloNet -- "and we're probably gonna be
	here until Paul's done researchin' so if you need to get in touch
	with either of us this is where we're gonna be. I been in and out
	of the room, doin' buskin' and gettin' disks for my datapad and
	such, but I'll be sure and make Paul check his messages if you wanna
	send him somethin', or drag him off the nodes he's studyin' if you
	wanna call us on the Net. I hope you're okay, again, and, uh, talk to
	yah soon."

	With another shy crooked grin, Shen leans forward in the holo-field,
	as if reaching for the transmit button; with that, the image winks
	out.

                            Day 2: Language Lessons                           

Waking abruptly, Paul was baffled to find the paper he was reading was gone 
  .... and even though he was now awake, he felt rather ill, as if he'd been 
  eating poorly for awhile. Of course, it never occured to him that he had 
  been eating poorly for awhile. There was probably more caffiene than blood 
  in him at the moment. Peering at his chrono he estimated that he'd been 
  asleep for about three hours ... just enough to make him feel really tired. 
  The research was driving him crazy - he felt like he was just turning over 
  and over again in the same ruts as other historians and archeaologists - 
  working with too little and assuming too much. _Go back to the beginning_, 
  he advised himself, and dragging himself upright, he forced himself to sit 
  in front of the computer again, staring hard at the Mandalorian text 
  displayed there. Trying to learn their written language was proving to be 
  quite difficult. It seemed that there were variations on it due to caste as 
  well as planetary geography. Still, language is very much the root of the 
  culture, and you could learn a great deal by studying it. So, instead of 
  focusing on what he didn't know, he decided to spend the evening focusing on 
  something that he did know ... or at least that he would eventually, given 
  enough time and determination.

And down in the lobby, sighing to herself, Shenner turned away from the 
  HoloNet terminal and the message she'd fired off to Jessalyn, wondering if 
  she dared return to the room to check on Paul. It was getting late -- surely 
  he needed food, she thought to herself. Or at least peace enough to nap to. 
  Her thoughts were full of Paul again, especially after composing that 
  latter; she hadn't dared speak of her feelings to Jessalyn, not yet, but 
  they were there and present and couldn't be denied. Those feelings at last 
  prodded the girl to venture into the inn's kitchens, looking for Li or her 
  mother, hoping to find hot food to take up to Paul.

The kitchen is silent and empty, no wonderful scents or enticing aroma's waft 
  from therein. It looks cold, dark, and sterile in the dim light.

No dice. Shenner blows out a breath, then, and braves a return to the room, 
  thinking that she'd haul Paul out for some fresh air -- surely it'd do him 
  some good! Food in his belly and a fresh breeze on his face, and then she 
  could let him return to work...

Hunched over the computer, his eyes focusing sharply through the lenses of his 
  glasses, Paul mutters in Mandalorian softly, all the while staring at the 
  screen. Using a pen pad instead of the keys, he practices making the short 
  elegant brushstrokes that make up the written language of this culture. As 
  he types, the computer merely monitors, showing him corrections side by side 
  to his markings as it registers his mistakes. Paul bites back an oath and 
  copies the subtly different marks, adding the small upward quirk that was 
  missing from his first attempt.

"Hey, Paul, break time," Shenner pipes expansively as she arrives in the room, 
  making a careful course to him through the artifacts on the floor, and 
  waving a hand to catch his attention. "How about it? Walk down to the cafe 
  with me, get a sandwich, something to drink?"

Paul flashes Shenner a baffled look as she breaks his concentration. The 
  computer chirps at him in remprimand, as his hand slids off the tablet, 
  making an incorrect mark for the word "together", and he just blinks for a 
  moment before removing his glasses and placing them on the table next to the 
  computer. He thinks about answering, but his tongue feels thick, and his 
  mind is whirling in Mandalorian. Without thinking he says to her, "lomyniya' 
  ventrs redav, steggun lomyniya ... duomham ty esor nnylf?" in Mandalorian.

The girl blinks, three times, before peering closely at her friend. "Uh, Paul, 
  try that again. In Basic," she cajoles, then catches herself. "Never mind. 
  Come down to the cafe with me? Food and a walk'll do yah good, pal, whaddya 
  say?"

Paul's eyes shift back and forth between the computer and between Shenner. He 
  seems pretty torn. Part of him is desperate to stop, exhausted and worn out, 
  but another less rational aspect of himself keeps insisting that he can't 
  stop, that he can't let Shenner hinder him from his obligations, that if he 
  goes with her, it will somehow spiral out of control .... but even as those 
  thoughts run through his mind, he realizes that they are not quite sane 
  ones. It's almost like being asleep and dreaming ... he somehow knows that 
  he is dreaming, that he is being delusional, and yet he can't seem to stop 
  himself from believing anyway.

Putting on an expression she hopes is enticing, Shenner reaches for Paul's 
  shoulder, intending to coax him to get up out of the chair. "Come on, pal," 
  she prompts. "It's a real nice night! I even picked out the other Four 
  Brothers."

Now he knows that he is delusional, as Shenner's words make absolutely no 
  sense to him. He frowns hard and runs a hand through his rumpled hair. 
  "Whose four brothers?" he asks haltingly, in confusion. The words come out a 
  little disjointed as he tries to think and speak in Basic instead of 
  Mandalorian.

"Uh, you know... Selonia? Drall? The other planets in the system?" Shen's brow 
  crinkles and she peers closely and worriedly at Paul, before glancing at the 
  bed. "On second thought... why don't you lie down? I'll call out for some 
  food, if you want." _No way am I leaving. He looks awful!_

Air? Oxygen? Real food? Paul tries to recall the last piece of real food that 
  he ate, but somehow all he can recall are endless cups of coffee and that 
  funny danish thing that Shen gave him ... which tasted kinda funny, so he 
  only ate about half of it before throwing the rest away .... when was that? 
  This morning? Last night? Heck, what -day- is it? Blinking hard, Paul rises 
  and takes a few faltering steps before he gets his rhythm back and reaches 
  for his jacket and the hat. "Okay," he warbles, "out."

From the look of him, to Shenner, Paul looks like he needs to be down rather 
  than out, but that he's actually opted for one of her two choices heartens 
  her. "Out," she agrees, and once she's actually coaxed him out of the room, 
  she leads him down to the cafe she'd found, considering her plan. Get him to 
  park at a table. Let him eat real, hot food. Get something besides coffee to 
  drink. Get some fresh air. Get his eyes on something besides the computer 
  and the artifacts -- .oO (Not me, he doesn't have to look at me, dammit, 
  Shen, this is no time to be selfish!) In short, to get him Away.

Paul stands at the door, somewhat unsteadily, waiting unconciously for Shen to 
  lead the way, since his mind is something of a blank. Mandalorian facts, 
  words, images keep whirling around and around, as if he'd used one of those 
  sleep learning enhancement devices that were banned when he was in high 
  school ... he recalled using one once for a test in Kubazian language and 
  culture and being completely unable to speak in any other language for the 
  day after ... and then not being able to speak a coherent sentence in Kubaz 
  for the following week. It scared him so badly he swore he'd never use the 
  damned thing again.

Out, then; Shen, walking, keeps glancing over her shoulder at Paul, anxious to 
  make sure that he's still following. _Am I making a mistake? Should I make 
  him lie down instead?_

The lanky Corellian seems to be able to keep up with her just fine, his stride 
  lengthening fractionally. Once outside, he takes several deep breaths, the 
  night air biting his cheeks lightly and helping clear the muzziness from his 
  thoughts. His mind is still crowded, but the haze that he felt he was 
  looking through eases and clears. He turns his head from side to side, and 
  occasionally up, following Shen without question, word, or thought as to 
  where they are going.

Shenner's intended destination is a small cafe a few blocks from the inn; 
  there, the young man on duty apparently is starting to recognize her by 
  sight, for the bardling is hailed with a smile and a wave as she brings Paul 
  into the place. "Evening, folks," the boy -- pleasantly homely, in an 
  un-Corellian sort of way, though he speaks with a Corellian accent -- greets 
  them. "What'll it be?" Shenner puts in an order for two hot sandwiches and 
  fruit juices to drink.

Paul looks up blearily, and again, without thinking replies, "nigricy nairm, 
  njard vi." in Mandalorian.

The homely young man blinks askance at Paul, and Shenner eyes her friend a 
  moment before deadpanning to the youth, "He's had a long day." Obtaining the 
  sandwiches and juice, Shenner nudges Paul to a table and puts the food 
  before him. "Here, pal... eat, okay?"

Paul frowns at the sandwich and picks it up. "But Shen," he nearly whines, his 
  expression plaintive, "I wanted some coffee ...." He looks to where the 
  young waiter has gone, frustrated more by the fact that the young man didn't 
  speak Mandalorian, rather than the fact that he didn't place his order in 
  Basic, or even Corellian.

"You can have some later," Shenner promises blithely. _Much later. Preferably 
  after you're not about to keel over,_ she adds to herself, then settles in 
  to inhale her sandwich.

Although he could have sworn that he was starving just a few minutes ago, the 
  sandwich looks strangely unpalatable to Paul. He picks it up again and takes 
  a tentative bite, chewing slowly, methodically, but not with much enthusiasm.

"Paul," Shenner asks, peering across the table at him, "you okay?"

Trying to eat with a little more interest, Paul nods affirmatively, not 
  wishing to distress Shen, and also not wanting her to hassle him. He takes a 
  sip of the fruit drink and considers that it would be greatly improved if it 
  had a little alcohol in it.

Shenner is done with her food long before Paul has finished his, and the girl 
  watches him worriedly as he picks his way through it. "So, uh, how's your 
  studyin' goin' anyway?"

"Fine," he mumbles between bites, having absolutely no interest in discussing 
  it further. He feels completely saturated at the moment, but unsatisfied for 
  the most part. Frowning, he takes another bite of the sandwich before 
  putting it down and standing up idly, looking about the cafe.

It's a simple little place, sparsely decorated, meant to be cozy and homelike. 
  No other customers are around at the moment, and the homely young man 
  hovering in the vicinity returns attention to his presence by calling over, 
  "This mean you'd like your check, folks?"

Paul looks at the young man blankly for a moment and then back over to Shen, 
  to see if she is finished with her food yet. "I'm all done," he replies 
  hesitantly, even though half of his sandwich is still on the plate. "I would 
  like a coffee though," he adds hopefully, "or do you have espresso by any 
  chance?"

Shen's food is gone, and she frowns at Paul's unfinished sandwich before 
  deliberately smoothing her expression out. She finds herself about to mouth 
  "No!" at their waiter, but in time she catches herself. _He can take care of 
  himself, remember?_ But it's still with a worried eye that she fishes 
  credits out of her pocket to cover their bill, while the waiter heads off to 
  fix Paul up the requested beverage. "How d'you like it?" the boy calls over.

"Hot, black, and in a large cup to go," he replies succinctly.

Such a coffee is produced, but as it is, and as she and her tall companion 
  depart the cafe, Shenner can't help herself. She has to ask, "This mean... 
  you're gonna stay up again?"

Paul looks down at Shen's face, trying to understand the secret meaning behind 
  her question, but in the end he shrugs, taking a sip from the cup and 
  sighing softly, like an addict getting his much needed fix. "Dunno ... for a 
  little while at least ... see what comes up...."

"Well, okay.... but you oughtta get a good night's sleep tonight, yah know?" 
  Shenner says as they approach the entrance to the inn, her tone earnest, her 
  gaze, too, when she glances sidelong at the Corellian. "You been at this for 
  two days straight, Paul."

_Two days? No, that can't be right_ Paul enters the Inn, flinching slightly at 
  the bright entryway light for a moment until his eyes adjust. However, he 
  isn't in the mood to argue, so he just nods, murmuring, "That's nothing," 
  which is quite true. "Besides, it's important Shenner," and with that he 
  cracks a crooked grin, recalling Jessalyn's disbelief and horror at his 
  little obsession that goes by the name of science. "Trust me."

It does not exactly make Shenner feel better to discover that even when he 
  looks like hell, Paul's smiles cause nervous little pulses in her insides. 
  At the foot of the stairs she pauses, unable to keep herself from 
  half-smiling in return. "I do," she affirms. "Just don't wantcha, I dunno, 
  gettin' sick or somethin'?" She says this in a small voice, as if concerned 
  she might be rebuked, but her gaze is unhesitant.

That touches him, and Paul finds that it takes a concerted effort not to kiss 
  the delicate redhead standing next to him at her caring confession. He 
  smiles at her warmly and in a deep amber tone he replies, "Yes Mom, no 
  puddles," with serious deliberation.

On the scale of Paul Nighman Smiles, that one jolts rather higher, especially 
  when combined with Paul's rich voice. Shen blushes a bit, and issues a soft 
  self-deprecating snort before nudging Paul's shoulder, pointing him at the 
  stairs. "And wear your rainboots, squirt!" she rejoins lightly, comforted.
Up in the room, Shenner grabs her nightclothes and vanishes off into the 
  bathroom, emerging after a short time, ready for bed. "Don't stay up too 
  long?" she entreats of Paul, when she climbs under the blankets.

Paul settles himself in front of the windows again, the brief amount of time 
  out having refreshed him enough to tackle the huge amount of research yet 
  again. He begins to read again, allowing the light breezes from the window 
  to waft across his form, helping to keep him alert and focused on the words 
  in front of him. He peers up at Shen when she scrambles into bed. "Okay, I 
  won't" he assures her, unaware of the fact that he is lying between his 
  teeth. He gives her one last smile before a startling fact jumps up in the 
  next page, catching his eye and drawing his attention downward once again.

[To be continued....]