fh_trips | Washington DC [Sunday Morning]

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field trip 2006: washington dc

Washington DC [Sunday Morning]

After arriving in front of the Air & Space Museum, Veronica passed out maps and told her students, "You can go anywhere and take pictures, but I recommend the places circled on these maps. You're also free to check out any of the museums on the Mall."

[~~please wait for~~ OCD up! All Photography and Flight & Flying students can play in either post. Field trip is Sunday in game, but posts are open for slow play.]

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"A city that takes up an entire planet? That's... wow." Veronica shook her head. "I can't even imagine that."

"It blew my mind the first time I saw it, too," Anakin said. "I was nine and had spent my entire life in the desert. A planet with a trillion beings on it was a bit...overwhelming."

"I bet," Veronica said. "A trillion beings? And they're all part of the government? Is there anyone left to govern?"

"That's just the one planet," Anakin said. "Coruscant runs the rest of the galaxy: a few thousand solar systems and all of the beings who live in them." He grinned. "I guess we should be impressed that it would only take about a trillion beings to rule a galaxy. And most of them aren't directly involved in ruling. There's the Senate and the bureaucracy that goes with it--and the Jedi, of course--and then the beings who support them, but a lot of the beings on Coruscant are just trying to live like anyone else. They run restaraunts and dry cleaners and barber shops and clubs and everything."

He smiled. "Their clintele is just a little more varied than around here."

"Wow. And people talk about overpopulation here on Earth," Veronica said. "Of course, with multiple planets at your disposal, I suppose that's not as much of a concern."

"Hasn't been for a while," Anakin said, shrugging. "I mean, there are some planets that are better to live on than others, obviously, but there's life everywhere--in all sorts of colors and shapes and sizes."

He picked at a different plate. "But enough about my boring life. How are your photography students doing?"

"Better than I expected," Veronica admitted. "A few of them even had displays at the art fair the other day. They seem to be really enjoying the prompts I give them each week and they're getting more creative about photographing them."

"That's good!" Anakin said. "I was afraid I'd be a terrible teacher--I'm not the most patient person ever. But the students are doing very well, too." He grinned. "And the Council has invited them all back to Coruscant to do some real flying." He bit his lip. "Hopefully I've taught them well enough."

"Oh wow! That will be a wonderful experience for them. And you, I'd imagine," Veronica said. "And I'm sure you're an excellent teacher."

"It's hard to teach something that's so instinctive to me," he admitted, taking another sip of water. "But going home will be fun--assuming no one wanders off and gets arrested or something."

Veronica's eyes widened. "Well, we haven't gotten any calls here yet," she pointed out. "So they must all be behaving."

Anakin smiled. "I'll give them a talk before letting them loose on Coruscant," he said. "The beings there can be...twitchy."

"So can the Secret Service," Veronica pointed out. "Um, they're the special police force that protects the president," she explained, not sure if he knew.

"I hadn't even thought about them getting close to the president," Anakin said, looking a little pale. "Though the Chancellor would probably love to meet them." He blushed. "He's kind of my mentor. Long story."

"Is the Chancellor like your president?" Veronica asked. "That would be a mighty powerful mentor to have."

Anakin nodded. "Except he's chosen from the Senate, so more like a prime minister, I guess. He took an interest in me when I first joined the Jedi and has been a good friend ever since." He shrugged. "Jedi don't tend to have many friends outside of the Order, and I don't have many friends in general."

"I think you probably have a lot of friends now," Veronica said. "But I know what you mean. I didn't have very many friends at my old school."

"I have a lot of people who know me," Anakin said, not looking up from his plate. "I'm not sure if they're all friends."

"Around here? There are probably a lot more people that count you as a friend than you think," Veronica said. "It's one of the things I'm going to miss about Fandom when I leave."

"That most people accept you for who you are?" Anakin asked. "Without the baggage or the past or fear of the future?"

Veronica nodded. "Exactly. People here know about things I've done in my past that I'm not very proud of and still accept me. I don't think it's something I'll find anywhere else."

"Hardly ever," Anakin said quietly, lost in his own memories.

"At least we got to experience it for a short time," Veronica said with a half smile. "And we'll always know that there's one place in the universe that we can be ourselves without fear."

Anakin gave Veronica a small smile. "There was," he said, sounding a little sad. "I'll miss it."

"Me too," Veronica admitted. "Will you be able to come back for Homecoming and other special events?" she asked. "Or at least keep in touch through email or something?"

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Re: Have Lunch Somewhere in DC

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Re: Have Lunch Somewhere in DC

Re: Have Lunch Somewhere in DC

Re: Have Lunch Somewhere in DC

Re: Have Lunch Somewhere in DC

Re: Have Lunch Somewhere in DC

Re: Have Lunch Somewhere in DC

Re: Have Lunch Somewhere in DC

Re: Have Lunch Somewhere in DC

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Re: Have Lunch Somewhere in DC

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Re: Have Lunch Somewhere in DC

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Re: Have Lunch Somewhere in DC