CONTINUED: First Time for Everything

[Zechs Merquise]

With the trip basically over, Zechs let out a nice long yawn. An XJ wasn’t his choice of fighters. It also made a terrible bed, crib, and oven. He preferred a nice Eta-2 or perhaps something more along the lines of a gunboat. Those were rarer to see amongst the chaos of war these days. He really should do something about changing that.

Yet Zechs wasn’t a pup anymore. He was more of an Old Man Zechs now. He’d probably find a bald spot or grey hairs if he looked. He didn’t. He had better things to do like nap. His ranch was calling him home, but there was something about Chiss cooking that told him to stay away.

Chiss really loved their subtle spices. It was almost like they weren’t even there.

[Ordona Vandorak]

Ordona relaxed as no proximity alarms started beeping and her sensors returned only the blips in their own convoy. The hokey religion bit is working, she thought with a smile. She rose, stretching her legs while the navcomputer worked to calculate the next jump coordinates. There was minimal chatter between the ships and Ordona found herself grateful for that. Quiet contemplation was something she didn't get enough of lately, and she vowed to renew her dedication to making time to meditate. The old maxim about waiting to find a perfect time instead of creating it sprang to mind.

The computer chirped, and Ordona settled back into the seat. Doubling checking the coordinates, Ordona pushed her Action V into hyperspace. As soon as she was awash in the mottled colors coming in through the viewport, Ordona rose again. It was difficult to find room enough in the cramped cockpit. Soon though, she had settled into a slow, graceful dance that was part Sith martial art, part Jedi meditative yoga. She had to modify some of the forms to fit in the confines of the ship, but she was able to work up a good sweat, nonetheless. She sank into the flow of the Force, a small smile coming to her lips as she continued through the various forms.

It feels good to be doing something again, was the last thought she remembered before she wiped her mind clean and entered a deep, meditative trance.

[Annan Rainwalker]

Those 0400 Galactic standard hours could not have ended any sooner for the Rainwalker. Zulara was one of the dearest people in the world to him, but this constant abuse of her genetic link to him was honestly becoming the bane of his existence. Ani sighed, as he switched off the comms and pushed back against his seat, remembering his younger days. Most of his memories were pleasant, and Zulara was in almost all of them, until she had left suddenly when they were 14. Yet there were painful ones, as Ani's trip down memory lane led him to darker parts of his childhood...

'~ gone~?'

'~ live in you~'

'And when you're gone?'

'You are a part of me, hmm? So, I'll live in you.'

His expression soured, the words flashing across his reminiscing mindscape as randomly as the clouds of hyperspace. Those... he did not remember ever exchanging such words with anyone. But they seemed to have come to his mind, almost as if a long forgotten, distant memory, and yet they evoked such strong bittersweet feelings, his emotions dancing between sorrow and cheer.

<“Lord Poggle, we are exiting wiperspace! Our destination is approaching! Long live the Separatists! Death to the Clones!"> O.M.5's modulated voice broke him out of his reverie. Not unlike himself, his droid too was still stuck in ancient war that had ended decades ago.

The console of the Mesudiye beeped at the same time, and all of Annan's concerns about any long forgotten memories were forgotten themselves. The signal was of exiting hyperspace, and considering this was their last nav point, Annan activated the channel to Zulara, as O.M.5 took over the co-pilot's controls. In the pilot's seat, the Rainwalker mimicked his first-ever built droid.

The Mesudiye exited hyperspace a moment before the Mahmudiye, and seeing their destination in sight, Annan and Zulara silently steered their freighters towards the Hanger. With no interference of any kind, the Padawan thought, this was another job well done.