Jal forced a smile onto its face and stepped into the garden. “Good afternoon, Dignitary Tripathee,” it said.

“WHO IS THIS?” The visitor shrieked. “Don’t tell me that random people are going to be greeting me all day!”

Jal stood immobile. A slew of unpleasant words flew around in its brain, but it was so shocked it didn’t know where to start.

“Bikram, “ Sage Elvan said calmly, “I’d like you to meet my apprentice, Jal Jomari. Jal is also the person in charge of the Foundation Garden.”

“Dignitary,” Jal spoke gently, “It’s a great pleasure to have you here. The temperatures here are not as warm as usual, and I’ve begun to move plants indoors for the cold season. Yours are flourishing in various spots throughout the building.”

“There are indoor garden spots?” Bikram was incredulous.

“I have created some large mobile planters and placed them where everyone can enjoy them. One is just around the corner.” Jal led the entourage to a small lounge.

“Oh, my! You are taking fantastic care of them! I haven’t seen a Golden Trailing Ossier in bloom since I was a child. You must have found the perfect soil mix.”

“Soils in the container are from six different sources. It is a beautiful result. Well worth the effort. Most of your gifts are in this location. A few are in a sunnier spot on the other side of the building.”

Bikram motioned to several young men carrying plants. “These are a gift to the foundation as a thank you for handling the situation with the Oterans. I am hoping you will take these plants and seeds and eventually give a plant to each member of the delegation that worked with us.”

“It would be my pleasure.” Jal and the young men stepped into a nearby lounge to discuss the names of the plants and their care. When they were finished, Jal returned to Sage Elvan’s side and spoke to it quietly.

“Jal Jomari,” the Nobelan leader addressed it as the young people rejoined the group, “I hope you will forgive me for shouting at you earlier. It was unacceptable.”

“I accept your apology,” Jal smiled. “It must be exhausting being in a different world and not having a quiet place to retreat to. Refreshments will be available shortly in the Dishabe Lounge. There is a small suite down the hall, if you would like to rest for a bit.”

“Oh,” she sighed. “A nap would be wonderful. I must meet with the Oteran Emissary shortly. Perhaps later.”

“You have an appointment with Sage Elvan later,” her aide reminded her.

“Would you excuse me for one moment?” Jal slipped away from the group and went to Sage Elvan’s office. Jal picked up a tablet, then went to Sage Elvan where they looked over the upcoming schedule.

A moment later, Jal approached Bikram’s aide, Nela. The two of them stepped to one side and compared schedules. It took only a few minutes before the announcement was made that refreshments were ready. As the gathering moved into the lounge, Nela said to Bikram, “I’ve taken the liberty of adjusting the schedule. After you meet with the Oteran Emissary, you’ll have time for a nap.” Before Bikram had a chance to object, Nela told her that the meeting with Sage Elvan had been changed.

“It was that young man, wasn’t it? Jal?” the elderly woman asked.

“It was. Jal gave me this too.” She showed the statesman a small packet. “It’s tea. A nice cup of tea and a nap will be perfect before the formal dinner.”

***

Master Barloch thrust his sword at Jal.

Jal fought the urge to run. Jal saw the instructor lift his heel as if he was going to step forward. Their weapons clanged loudly as Jal swung its weapon in an arc as hard as it could. Barloch’s sword flew sideways and slashed into the mat.

Barloch retrieved the weapon. “Why did you make that move?”

“I saw you glance that way.”

“What?” Barloch looked at him in bewilderment.

“Your eyes went left so I guessed you were going to step left. I was correct.”

“I never did that!”

“You did,” Jal remarked. “You do it consistently. I’ve been watching you and testing out my hypotheses.”

“I’ll keep that in mind in the future. Let’s move to the trampoline. Have you been practicing?”

“Every day.”

Barloch began to bark out commands and Jal went through them with some difficulty. It consistently forgot to tuck its chin down. “Jal, do you have a helmet to wear when you’re practicing?”

“A helmet?” Jal looked around the gym. “No one else uses a helmet! Why on earth would I need a helmet?”

“Students who are as tall as you have an inclination to knock their heads on the frame.”

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“Right,” Jal said in disbelief. “Let me guess. Master Elvan called you and told you that I’ve knocked myself out several times, and what could you do to help me not get brain damage?”

“Um, well, ah,” Barloch stuttered.

“Is there something else I could do instead?”

“I suppose you could use a shielding charm.”

“You must be kidding. That’s a defense charm. It’s not like the trampoline is attacking me!” Jal chuckled. “Have you ever had a student that needed a helmet? And where would I get one? What kind of helmet? One for riding on a single speeder?” They both chuckled. “You’ve never had a student with this problem. Admit it.”

“You’re right.”

Jal laughed. “Next you will tell me to wear a fencing helmet.”

“There you go!”

Jal’s high trill of laughter echoed off the walls and everyone turned to look. “Why don’t you just say that I need a bigger trampoline?”

“Yes, I recommended that to Sage Elvan.”

“Thank you. I’ll try not to knock my head on it.”

Jal stepped back as Barloch demonstrated a new move for Jal. With his sword in one hand, Barloch sprang to the side, turned, then spun and stopped. “Come closer, Jal.”

“No way! Not if you’re going to do that! That would cut me in half at the waist.”

“I want you to do it, but we’ll replace the actual sword with one of these electronic ones.” They switched out the weapons and faced one another. “I’ll demonstrate the move again, and you can show me your defense.”

As Barloch jumped to the side and tried to slash at Jal, Jal jumped and kicked Barloch off balance. They bounced apart and Barloch tried it again. This time, Jal tripped him. Barloch hit the surface and Jal kicked the weapon off the trampoline, then held its sword to Barloch’s neck. Barloch rolled over slowly, as if he were done. He suddenly grabbed the top of Jal’s sword and yanked it from Jal’s grasp.

“That is ridiculous!” Jal said. “You wouldn’t be able to do that with a real sword.”

“Keep talking. You’re losing this round, Jal.” Barloch turned the sword around and slowly stood up. He swung it at Jal’s leg. Jal jumped and somersaulted over Barloch’s head. A moment later, the sword was on the mat next to the trampoline and Jal was sitting on Barloch’s stomach.

“Who’s losing?”

“You have got to stop doing that!” he yelled at Jal. “You won’t always be able to use brute strength to respond to a situation!

“I didn’t use my strength. I merely kicked the sword out of your hands!”

“If that wasn’t strength, then I don’t know what was!”

“I don’t understand what you want from me. I did the maneuver that you just did. I jumped, spun, and knocked the weapon from your hand.”

“You need to think about your attitude about fighting. You consistently make moves that seem violent and out of control.”

“Has Jal hurt you, Zarlesh?” Sage Elvan asked as he came from the sidelines.

“No.” He repeated what he had just told Jal.

“Out of control?” Sage Elvan couldn’t make sense of this observation. “I’ve never seen Jal be physically out of control. Why are you saying this?”

“Jal doesn’t seem to be able to do anything without using its strength.”

“I’m not certain what you mean.”

“When I show Jal a move, such as one to kick, it kicks as hard as it can.”

“Isn’t it supposed to?”

“No, it’s just a simple kick!”

“It looked like a simple kick to me,” Sage Elvan observed. “Jal, does this remind you of Master Gahani?”

“Yes, she always told me to ‘hold back.’ And even when I didn’t do something half as hard as I could, she would still get mad.” Jal turned away.

“Just a minute, Jal. You’ve been lifting weights at home, right?” Zarlesh asked.

“No.”

“What about doing calisthenics?”

“No. I run. I use the trampoline. I climb the rope at home daily.”

“We still have thirty minutes. Let’s do a strength test.” For the rest of the session, Jal lifted various types of weights. When it was finished, Zarlesh punched the final button on Jal’s profile. “Jal, you are nearly twice as strong as I am. How can that be? Are you taking a nutritional supplement?”

“No.”

Sage Elvan looked at Jal, then at Barloch. “Jal, please get cleaned up.” Jal went off to shower, and the two men walked toward the office.

Zarlesh was puzzled. “I’m going to be honest with you, Sage Elvan. Jal presents a certain challenge. It’s easy to forget that it’s only six. I look at it and expect different skills.”

“Talk to me about what you expect to see. Are there more things it could be working on at home?”

“I’m sure that it had a fairly typical childhood. I simply need to remember its age.”

“Jal’s only been in my household for a year, Zarlesh.”

Zarlesh looked at the sage. “If it’s been with you a year, then it will be leaving soon.”

“No. It’s not.” Jan glanced at its time piece. “Let’s talk again after the Nobelans have returned to their planet. I’m tied up with this group, but I sense that this conversation needs to continue. Would you please think about this some more? Jal didn’t have a typical childhood. I don’t know what its development was like as an infant and a young child. Maybe I need to do things with it at home, but I don’t know what. In a regular school, it would learn these physical training skills in a class. I don’t recall those classes. Jal needs physical training, and I thought this would be the best thing. Maybe I’m putting it at a disadvantage. I remember playing ball, but that’s it.”

“There are all kinds of things you can do together that would help Jal’s skills. I’ll see what I can come up with so Jal can learn to use its strength to its advantage.”

***

Jal stood at Sage Elvan’s side, listening to the diplomats discuss the proposed trade agreement between Zobela and Zuphreon. Its eyes skimmed over the crowd watching for Dignitary Tripathee. When Jal saw Nela enter the room with Dignitary Tripathee just behind her, Jal put its hand on Sage Elvan’s arm. “She’s here.” Jal gasped suddenly as pain shot through its stomach.

“What is it, Jal?”

“It’s nothing. I thought I saw someone that I knew,” it lied.

“Thank you, Jal,” it murmured. “Excuse me,” Sage Elvan stepped away from the group and Jal followed. “Good evening, Bikram.”

“Sage Elvan! I had the most wonderful nap. Jal, that was a delicious pot of tea. Thank you so much!” She smiled at Jal.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it. It’s one of my favorites.” Jal stomach suddenly hurt so badly that it nearly doubled over. Jal stepped back, as it had been taught, so that the diplomats and visiting dignitaries could visit. It tried to listen as Sage Elvan spoke.

“Jal, thank you for rescheduling the meeting for tomorrow,” Nela approached Jal. As Sage Elvan and Dignitary Tripathee moved through the room away from Jal, the pain in its gut lessened.

“You’re welcome.” They talked for several minutes about the schedules and the busy itineraries their masters kept. “Nela, I have two questions for you. I hope you don’t consider it a breach of protocol.”

“I try not to get too caught up in protocol, Jal. What are your questions?”

“Is everyone in the Nobelan group that’s here today of the same race?”

Nela looked around the room. “Yes,” she said finally.

“Is Dignitary Tripathee ill, Nela?”

“I don’t think so.”

“I think she should see a doctor, Nela.”

“I don’t know a doctor here.”

“How long will it take you to get home?”

“Seven of your Zuphreon days.”

“Would you give me one moment? Please?” She agreed to wait for Jal, who then spoke to Jan and returned. “Let’s walk outside for a few minutes.” They walked into a small garden. A short time later, she went back inside. Jal stood outside and pressed the button on its communication device.