Diebin flinched as the door from the hallway swung open with a loud crash.

“I need to talk to him,” Emmy growled, marching toward the General’s door.

“Hey! You can’t go in there,” Diebin exclaimed, pounding her fist on the very solid wood desk.

Emmy spun quickly toward Diebin, requiring that she readjust her tiara on her less than perfectly coiffed hair. “And why not?”

“You have to tell me what it’s about first,” Diebin whined, bouncing in her chair.

Emmy placed her hands on her hips. “He called Caeryn and Shana ‘Wenches’.”

Diebin scampered up over the top of her desk, rather skittishly feline-like in her black leather as papers flew out of her path. She landed on her feet....and then fell to the floor as her spike heels wobbled underneath her. Scurrying back up, she ran past Emmy, bashing the General’s door open and stomping to his desk.

“You called them WHAT?!” Diebin yelled, flailing her arms around.

The General calmly looked up from whatever it is a Jedi General President of a Ho school does and gave Diebin The Look through his wire rim glasses, his forehead wrinkling slightly as his eyebrow raised.

“Eep,” Diebin added.

“Listen you,” Emmy said to the General, grabbing Diebin’s arm and forcing her into a chair before she buckled. Then she plunked into the chair next to her before she did the same.

“Pardon?” the General said, still giving them The Look. This was going to be easier than he thought.

Emmy straightened her tiara to give herself a more dignified air. “Dande is a Wench. You can call her a Wench ‘til the cows come home if you want to. But WE are NOT Wenches.”

The General leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingertips together.

“Don’t give me that look,” Emmy said.

“Eep,” Diebin said.

“Baby, Babydoll, Babygirl, Grrl, Lady, Dame, Chick, Seductress, Goddess, whatever! Those are all fine! But never, ever call us Wenches!”

“Ho,” Diebin said.

“Huh?” Emmy gave her a rather agitated look.

“You left out Ho.”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Yes, you did.”

“I don’t want him calling me a Ho.”

Diebin gave Emmy a look that implied blasphemy.

“I call me a Ho, you call me a Ho, but He. Aint. Callin’. Me. A Ho.” Emmy jabbed her index finger in the General’s general direction with each word.

“Since when?” Diebin asked, rather indignant.

“Since fo-evah.” Emmy said. “Wake up, girl.”

“Ladies, please,” the General said. “I am truly sorry that I have offended you. It shan’t happen again.”

“Good,” Emmy said primly. “My work here is done.” She turned and walked toward the door.

“I really don’t see what all the fuss is about,” the General mumbled.

Diebin sprang from her chair, not tripping over her spike heels this time. “Before you end his life,” she said, holding her arm straight out at Emmy who, in characteristic Taurus fashion, was snorting smoke and burning the General with her beady little red eyes. “I have prepared something in anticipation of this occasion.”

~*~

Emmy sighed and slumped back in her chair, lazily resting her head on her shoulder as Diebin enthusiastically stood behind the General to properly explain her newest PowerPoint presentation flashing across his computer screen.

“Hey, Em, can you see okay?” Diebin turned the General’s monitor a little more trying to give her a good view.

“Mm-hmm, sure, fine,” Emmy said.

“Alright, now this,” a particularly ravishing photograph of Dande and her harse – different than the picture used for Diebin’s first presentation – flashed on the screen, “is a Wench.”

“Yes, I believe I understand that part,” the General said.

“And these,” a list of nicely bulleted and justified text appeared on the screen, “are the traits of the Wench. First and foremost, Wenches are devoted servants of your late Master Qui-Gon.”

“Alright.” The General nodded as he studied the screen through his wire-rimmed glasses.

“Basically, as this list shows, Wenches like to serve and spoil their Master….and then they thud. In a nutshell,” Diebin said.

“Now, Ho’s, on the other hand,” Diebin clicked the mouse and a blurry picture of her head appeared on the screen.

“Nice shot,” Emmy said.

“Hey, I was pressed for time,” Diebin said.

“I could have given you a picture of me.”

“I didn’t want a picture of you.”

“Nyeh nyeh nyeh NYEH nyeh nyeh nyeh nyeh,” Emmy eloquently responded.

“Now THAT,” Diebin said, pointing at Emmy, “is the first difference between Wenches and Ho’s. Ho’s have serious attitudes.”

“Yes, I know,” the General grumbled.

“Oh, you love it,” Emmy huffed.

The General tried not to grin.

“And Ho’s never, ever thud. We swoon…we may even flatline dead….but we don’t thud. We’re either awake through the whole glorious experience….or we’re flat out dead,” Diebin explained.

“And I wish you wouldn’t do that,” the General said. “It is rather distressing.”

Diebin patted the General on the head. “Now for review.”

“Isn’t that the same slide?” Emmy asked.

“No,” Diebin said with some annoyance. “It’s the review slide.”

“So basically,” the General said, “Wenches live to serve their Master while H— you Grrls….”

Emmy smirked.

“….live to give me a hard time.”

“And other hard things,” Emmy purred.

The General shot Emmy an interesting glance and then looked at Diebin. “And I shouldn’t call you Wenches because it will be a tropical day on Hoth before you ever cater to my every whim and fall at my feet.”

“Exactly,” Diebin said with a grin.

“You will simply swoon, if the mood suits you,” the General said.

“Or go ‘nnnnggghhh’,” Emmy moaned deep in her throat. “Or perhaps ‘nnhgghh’,” she whimpered breathlessly and then lightly chewed on her lip while giving the General her own Look.

The General cleared his throat. “Right.” He gulped. “That sounds fine by me.” He tugged at his collar.

Suddenly a voice growled from the reception area. “Maintenance.”

“Shit!” Diebin exclaimed.

Emmy jumped up. “Maintenance? Die, why the HELL did you order maintenance??”

“I didn’t!”

Emmy ran toward the door.

“I did,” the General said.

“You what??” Diebin said with much exasperation.

“Well, you yelled at me the other day for not being able to do anything on my own…so I called maintenance myself. The light is buzzing. It is quite bothersome. Show him in,” the General said, turning his attention back to whatever it was a Jedi General President yadda, yadda.

Maul glared at Emmy as she came running out of the inner office. She grabbed him by his overalls and kept on running out into the hallway. Not wishing to tear his stitches, Maul obliged and ran with her.

“But—“

“Quiet, Vocab Man!” Emmy ran straight down the hall with Maul in tow, her tiara making an impressive show as it sat happily on her head.

Suddenly, a fragile waif in a breathtaking gown of layer upon layer of translucent, whisper-soft rose glided into the hallway, seeming to float like an angel.

“Shit,” Emmy muttered under her breath. She looked back and forth quickly and found the door to a broom closet. She shoved Maul inside and slammed the door.

Luckily, Dande’s eyes pooled with perpetual tears, so she really didn’t see much of anything.

“Hey, Dande,” Emmy said casually.

“Oh,” Dande said softly, disturbed out of her reverie. “Hello.”

Emmy leaned against the door of the broom closet and crossed her arms, simply nodding at Dande.

“I like to walk,” Dande said wistfully. “out along the moors in the evening air,” she turned her head to gaze out the window.

“We don’t have moors.”

“Sometimes, when it’s very quiet, with just the wind to speak to me….sometimes I hear him….a whisper….my love’s whisper on the wind.” Dande sighed and placed one hand over her heart and the other on her stomach.

“Tasha!” Emmy yelled with glee as she saw her round the corner.

“Hi!”

“Tasha, your….your cat is in the closet!”

“Huh? Wha—“

Emmy grabbed Tasha’s arms and shoved her in the closet. Emmy coughed loud as much clamoring ensued.

But Dande didn’t notice as she continued to stare out the window. She was startled out of her daydream when Emmy clapped really loud.

“So,” Emmy said, rubbing her hands together. “Lunch?”

“Oh,” Dande whispered. “For the baby, yes I will eat.”

“Great, let’s go,” Emmy said, tugging on Dande’s arm as a primitive howl bellowed from the closet.

“By the way, I love your tiara,” Dande said, her eyes wide as she admired the sparkling crown. “It reminds me of the shimmering sea that my love and I—“

“Don’t even think about it, sister.”

“Oh.”