"FLIGHT 14-A-NIN TO Ninjago, please step up to the boarding gate. Invreka Airlines is thankful for your cooperation today, and would like to apologise for the late delays with complimentary hot chocolate on board."

Her father pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh, then beckoned the rest of the Garmadon family forward. Astra stopped flipping through a Pod Daily issue on her datapad and passed it to her brother. A few people pushed ahead of them - two girls with bright green and purple hair accompanied by two sets of parents.

Astra moved to flip them off, but Misako held her back and ushered her onto the small passenger ship. Drawing the hoodie closer to herself, Astra boarded the SPS with the rest of the passengers. Her Pa had bought tickets in two rows of two. She was stuck next to her brother for ten hours according to the screen's flashing flight information.

"If the promised hot chocolate doesn't come I'm going to—"

"Eat your eight packs of gummies? Drink your three cans of soda? Chew five licorice sticks?" Astra butted in. Lloyd hit Astra with a pillow and shoved her to the side."I don't wanna be stuck next to you for ten hours."

"Yeah neither do I." Lloyd complained right back. "Do you have my Starfarer comic?"

"Which issue?"

"Number 23."

Astra dramatically grimaced. "You know, I think I might have boxed that earlier this week, sorry Lloydie."

"I hate you."

"Mutual. Pass me a gummy snake."

Lloyd threw it and it hit her head. "Ow. Thanks."

Astra popped in her wired headphones - why did Small Passenger Ships still give wired headphones? - and pressed play on the latest Starfarer movie.

o o o

"Passengers aboard Flight 14-A-NIN to Ninjago, it is my pleasure to let you know that we'll be touching down in approximately half an hour. Hot drinks and dishes will not be served any longer, and in-flight service will stop in fifteen minutes. Have a good day!"

"Lloyd, wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up—"

"I heard you the first time," Lloyd groaned, stirring awake. "Are we landing?"

"Yeah, if you'd been paying attention. Ma says we have to leave the port as soon as possible so you gotta be alert. Licorice stick?"

"What is this, a co-op?"

"With all the stuff they're hiding from us? Who in the Third Moon knows." Astra sighed, switching off her monitor to get everything else ready.

Lloyd shuffled around beside her with all of his bags. A ten hour flight spent cramped in a two person row certainly wasn't fun. Invreka Airlines was a dead cheap flying service but it still did the trick. Least attacks by space pirates or smugglers because all it carried was passengers aboard the SPSs. Astra peeked outside the window for the thousandth time that flight.

Before, all she had seen was darkness. A few glittering stars, some other SPSs and larger ships flying routes similar to theirs, but it had been empty of planets. Astra and Lloyd had flown once before, to Tatooine, which was quite close to Vareena. The similar climates made it easier to adjust to for their week-long stay, but apparently on Ninjago, the seasons were entirely different.

Outside the window now came the first view of their new home. A marbled mess of blues, greens, beige and brown dusted with clouds caught her breath. Astra could even see a strange rock formation in the distance amongst other things. Her eyes felt like they were going sore from trying to cover all the new stuff.

Home, Astra tried to convince herself. But it didn't quite seem like home.

Not yet, at least.

The airport was tiny. If you could even call it an airport. Vareena had a port four times the size of this. The Garmadon family picked up their on-flight bags and double checked that their boxes had indeed arrived on Ninjago and not some planet Nayjane or something. Misako was a flurry of anxiousness as she swept around the port like a mother hen.

"I think we're missing a box of scrolls, Monty could you—"

"I've got them, don't worry Saki. Lloyd, Astra, stop trying to knock each other out and take a lift each to help your mother out here."

"Got it, Pa." the twins drawled, each grabbing a lift as instructed.

Astra flicked the switch on the hire lifts and watched the repulsor motor sputter before actually rising off the ground. Guiding the floating box trolley behind her parents, Astra was forced not to trip every five seconds from staring all around her. Based off the tiny airport, she'd assumed Ninjago was a rural backwater planet, but it turned out the size of the airport was because of the size of the planet itself.

"Ninjago is the same size as Endor. Endor!" Astra enunciated loudly. "Why are we here?"

"Because, reminder, dear daughter, your father is now a professor," Garmadon said just as loudly, craning his neck around. "Just chin up until you see the Academy, okay?"

"Yeah, alright."

"Iskava allou." Pa said softly. Moon rise.

"Binir mynea." Astra replied immediately, a pang in her heart at the Vareenan saying. Stars shine.

"Uncle Monty!" a voice suddenly hollered. "Over here!"

"Wu, long time no see brother." her father clapped a large hand on her uncle's shoulder. The two brothers hugged tightly, stepping apart so Wu could greet Misako.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Tough times, brother, tough times," Wu's smile was nothing less than melancholy before brightening up. "Well, let's get you to the Academy, shall we?"

Wu led the pack of six towards a large hovercraft that was probably made to serve as a school bus, but now had been painted fresh white and given a nice fix up. There were a few other similar buses that were taking others on their flight down different paths. The green haired and purple haired girls from before boarded one, music blasting loudly from their direction.

"The rest of your things are already at the Academy and your house," Wu explained, helping his brother and the rest of the Garmadons load up bags and boxes. Astra and Lloyd hopped in one of the back rows with Morro in the next one.

"You've changed." Astra said bluntly, staring at her cousin. Misako whacked her on the arm with a 'shush!'. "Well, I mean, he has."

Morro stared at her under a curtain of black hair - a few strands dyed neon green. "Nice greeting from you, cuz."

"Still a jerk then?"

"Of course." Morro smothered his laugh as the three of them did the super-duper-Jedi-Force handshake, a series of complicated moves originating from childhood that added on another action every time the cousins met. Morro did actually look different. Last time he'd talked about dying his hair purple, but then Astra had claimed the colour, he'd tried 'emerald green', was stopped by Lloyd, and then settled on a neon green that was now faded against his black hair.

"How's Jedi training?" Lloyd grinned. Morro groaned loudly and dramatically.

"A lot of work. Trust me, you're lucky you don't have to put up with this."

"Show us something using the Force, then." Astra challenged, mirroring their cousin's smug smirk.

Morro accepted wordlessly, raising his fingers ever so slightly to make a sweeping movement in the air. The gummy worm half-hanging out of Lloyd's mouth was tugged to the side slightly, then yanked out and dangled in the air. When she glanced back at Morro, his forehead was beaded with sweat and furrowed with concentration. Lloyd snatched his candy back and chewed on it thoughtfully.

"A Jedi Master could do that without blinking. I'm still a Padawn," Morro defended himself before Astra even opened her mouth. "The new students will have to go through the Initiate Trials before they even get to my level."

"Oh yeah, lucky them." Astra drawled snarkily. "Wait, who's teaching you this stuff?"

"My dad has been this whole time. He says we're getting new teachers in and stuff, and supposedly your parents are going to be teachers at the Academy too."

"I'll believe it when I see it," Astra scoffed. "If they could use the Force, wouldn't they have used it at the farm?"

Morro stared at Astra for a beat. "I shouldn't be the one explaining it to you."

o o o

So maybe Astra had been mistaken calling Ninjago 'rural'. The airport was small, and that was all she had seen in her eyes. She hadn't seen the good quality of the port itself, the freaking suitcase belt, the small food shops and how tidy and neat everything was. Wu guided the school bus down a bumpy path overgrown with tangled weeds, a constant stream of words pouring out of his mouth. His brother and Misako were talking just as animatedly.

Astra hadn't seen her parents that happy. Ever.

Why are they so happy about being Jedi?

Hey, who wouldn't? Lloyd butted in silently. He jerked his head over to the scenery in real life, green meadows that looked painstakingly picturesque and a little too perfect.

I haven't seen them use the Force once. We never talked about the Jedi at home, what you and I know is from school.

Give it a chance.

Yeah well, it's bull if we don't get to attend this Academy. It sucks.

Lloyd nodded, throwing a candy bar at Astra's head, it sucks.

"Can you two not twin talk?" Morro complained. "Your eyes go all weird whenever you do it."

"What'd you mean?" Astra pulled a face of disbelief. As far as she was aware, they looked completely normal whenever they 'twin talked'.

"Maybe I just see it, but your eyes go all misty and stuff, like you're meditating with the Force or something."

"Yeah, right," she scoffed, "Get contacts for your birthday, Vortex."

"Stuff it, Rea."

Astra ignored Morro as he and Lloyd talked, leaning her head against the window sill of the bus. The glass was hot against the beating sun, but the air conditioning seemed to be pulling through as Astra exhaled slowly and watched the countryside morph into something more developed. The pamphlet she'd pulled from the airport's tiny information kiosk (the one which had told her about the Endor/Ninjago phenomenon) didn't say too much about the Academy itself.

Wu would be getting a lot of questions from her later.

Sighing, Astra closed to her eyes to rest. It felt like they had been driving forever up the winding path. Unfortunately, she couldn't have timed her impromptu nap worse. Wu pulled the space bus to a standstill as it whooshed out loudly and lowered to the ground. Everyone hopped out and began taking out suitcases and boxes from the back. Astra was mid-fight with Morro and Lloyd when her uncle cleared his throat. Wu took a step back, spreading his arms towards the biggest building Astra had ever seen.

"Brother, welcome to the Ninjago Academy of Jedi."

A/N: okay, no.3 down! Haven't got much to say - got a french recording to do and ignore until the last second. Im watching the english episodes of season 15 right now and cant wait for the rest! Nya supremacy (although she is having a little problem with her powers, character development) okay post s15 dommie what the fuck i c r i e ddear lord shrek (watch it if yo uhavent)

- dommie out