Private Familiar Connections Pt 2

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra gave him a small look, not baring the same confidence he did over her abilities. She had gone from boastful to reproachful all in the blink of an eye. The quick shift of emotions was no doubt hard to read, but to those that knew her, they would have seen it coming.

She really didn't want to look foolish in front of him. He was cool, and his confidence had a natural air about it that she could only try to emulate. Still, he proved stubborn in his resolve, not moving a muscle and waiting expectantly for her to sit back down. She did so, her shoulders slumping in a defeated huff.

"But-"

“You don’t need to think about what you’re accessing, this is a Corellian ship, if I know your mother at all, you’ve been in a few. And you’ve got the Force. You already have all the tools you need to fly.”

She gave a sigh that could only be read as 'fiiiiiiine', the girl giving an unwilling glance back the controls. If he had tried this with her during their last encounter, he probably would have gotten a fit and an overly frustrated padawan. Kyra struggled with the force-- a facet to her training that Caedyn was only just beginning to crest with her.

But Coren's directions reminded her a little bit of something Caedyn had said to her, and it helped calm her down and give her a feel for what he wanted her to try. The force guided things, right? She supposed if she could just... tap in and... feel it out again?

The silence was long, the girl clearly struggling within herself. But something changed, marked by the sudden flow of the force ebbing around her. She squeezed her eyes and reached her fingers out. They flickered quickly across the switches, part of her guessing, the other part of her digging into what felt right.

This seemed like an awfully risky way to fly a ship. What if you guessed wrong?

But truth be told there was very little guessing to it, the force guiding her to push the last lever. The ship's thrusters flared in response, a sudden jump sending them on the right path without a hitch. She peeked through her lashes, braced for impact.

"Quickshootanythingintheway."

 

[Coren Starchaser]

When he had Kaia and Jared, he made sure that their caretakers knew to throw the in the cockpit as soon as they could. Jared took to fighters, Kaia took t freighters and shuttle craft. He claimed himself as the patriarch of the family, even if there were more and more Starchaser popping up, but he made sure the ones he could speak with, could fly some form of combat sortie. And that also translated to any students he had. Before the current foundation of the Silvers, they had worked close with the Levantine Sanctum, and Starchaser, along with Merrill had been flight instructors.

And if this kid was going to be taking a ride from him, well, he was going to do what he did to the Perls, all of them, and parent the frell out of them, and learn them some flying. He blinked as he looked at her, taking a second to try to translate what the Force was telling him about her. Shaking his head, he brushed it off for a moment. As she sighed, he grinned. Kids today, they needed to learn to fly.

Starchaser knew that if you were calm and at peace, at east in your head, you could reach out to the Force during anything. A firefight, lightsaber battle, SSD falling on you while Carnifex and Raaf looked you in the eye. It worked for Coren, but he was a Starchaser, reaching out to the Light in the Force, the part some called Ashla, was as easy as breathing. But the thing that made him calm here?

He knew that his ship could take it, and he’s be able to respond just as fast to fix something as she broke it.

“Nothing is in the way, open your eyes kid.” He could feel a bit of rumble, as the ship was leaving atmosphere, out to the blackness of space around Kashyyyk.

Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra peeked .... then perked, her expression lighting up as she found them hitting open space without a single rock in their way. "Whoa," she breathed, "Take that Acaadi, study my ass-" Her musing broke off, her attention turning back to the man sitting before her. "Does that work with holotests? Cause I could suuuuuuuuuuure use some force help with history 101- ugh. That was cool!"

She jammed curiously at some more buttons, trying to manually discover their uses. Without technical knowledge, she had no clue what she had done. But in front of the control panel for the first time, without someone standing tensely over her shoulder, she began to flip and flicker different things. The ship shuddered and jerked hard, a siren blarring in protest. Kyra panickly reset the lever, jamming a few things backwards until it settled down. She looked at Coren, shoulders tense and eyes alert.

"...Whoops."

She slowly pulled her hands back, expecting immediately to be chastised and kicked out.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

As she seemed to relax for a moment, the Jedi Master couldn’t help but grin outwardly. There was that piece to everyone… that unbridled joy that seemed to come when they were operating a vehicle, or doing a sport that had them moving faster than their own legs could carry them. And that was what was going on here. A bit of joy from flying, as soon as she finally recognized it. “I think even my Jedi students had to study history. Though, my students never spent too much time on it.” He, on the other hand, was chasing the history down actively.

Coren reached up and tapped a button to turn the sirens off. “No worries, that’s just the shields.” He looked over at Porter, and the droid beeped. “Seems like your nav charts are accurate, had the droid double check them. We’re ready to go.” He indicated the four levers that will launch the ship into lightspeed. Before she was able to hit it, the ship adjusted and realigned for the jump coordinates.

“Ready whenever you are, Captain.” He definitely needed to learn her heritage, who was her father?

Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra grinned at him, the title much more appealing than the 'annoying' joke of before. With an enthusiastic salute, she jammed on the levers, sending them jumping into hyper speed and onto the first leg of their journey.

Practically all on her own.

She flopped back into his seat, eyes wide as the stars streamed by them in a streak. Adrenaline pumped through her, a bit of a thrill found in succeeding in a task others would have absolutely expected her to fail. "No one's ever let me in the pilot seat before," she confessed, a bit of revere to her tone. She tilted her head, comfortable in that chair as she regarded him with easy sense of happiness.

The air around her seemed to shift and churn, her content nature bleeding out into the force around her. The aura was tangible, and in many ways infectious. She pulled up her legs, her arms laying comfortably over her knees.

"You're so cool. Why can't you be my teacher?"

 

[Coren Starchaser]

See, this was what everyone needed to experience at least once or twice. Flying a ship and launching it to light speed. Setting the course and all that was more a test for him to her. Even if he’d never announce it, well, maybe to Joza, but even then, he wouldn’t say everything that was in his mind as to the why. When she announced that she’d never been in the pilot seat before, he nodded.

“I may have to mention something to Caedyn, get you in one of the Academy Network’s trainers.” They had a few, or at least they did before he left. Even if they just got her into a freighter, he’d purchase it for her. He had enough room on his repurposed Venator. Coren had parts, he had been selling goods that he hauled into the known galaxy, the ones that were of historic value, not the ones of Force value. He was keeping those.

With the way the galaxy was, he had to do something, fighting wasn’t working. He could protect everyone, and protect the knowledge, it just had to be done in a different way. The ship had a number of Force artifacts within it, but he was reaching out to her.

“I think your mother would kill me… But…” He looked at her a bit more closely. “She never mentioned who your father was?”

Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

Oh no, not another trainer. Kyra's expression froze, the idea less exciting than he might expect. It took her a moment to realize that the word trainer wasn't synonymous with torture. And maybe if the session went a little bit like today.... well maybe it wouldn't be too bad. She relaxed back at this consideration, a bit of that smile entering her eyes just as he seemed to be considering her with more intent than usual.

"What?" She asked lazily, feeling a strange tug of the force between them.

“I think your mother would kill me… But…” He looked at her a bit more closely. “She never mentioned who your father was?”

She laughed, though her chest twinged with bitter pain not often brought to light. "No." She flopped back into the chair, looking away. ....Only to arch her back and look right back to him, wrinkles building up around her eyes and lips. "...Why?" She asked carefully, the fact that he knew her mother from that time coming to mind.

She sat up straighter, turning to face him in full as a burst of energy hit her.

"Do you know him? Was she dating anyone? Are you still friends?"

 

[Coren Starchaser]

Well, sometimes you needed to walk before you could run. It was not normally Coren’s style, he had it that Kaia and Jared were in TIE fighters before they were teenagers. But if Kyra was not his… well, it wasn’t his place to strap her into an X-Wing or some other fighter and say ‘good luck’ while following from a retrieval shuttle. It could work, he’d have to check with Caedyn.

At least maybe. “You’re turning… seventeen…” A quick mental note of where he was in the galaxy, who he was with… Sithspit. Hopefully she wasn’t good at reading facial features as he looked back at her, and let the other questions come. “I mean, if she was dating someone, they’re probably closer to you than you expect.” He squinted his eyes again, the Force washing over him, washing over her. Her eyes… that was what he kept coming back to. And she passed the navigation tests.

“So, you can fly, and navigate, any other techniques with the Force, some your mother can’t explain?” He was wondering if she could throw Force Light around, or if she had a special focus in creating barriers, but for now? He was just fact finding. Her answers really didn’t matter, he had it in his head what the truth was. It was a bit shocking, but … did Joza know? She wasn’t that much of a party Zeltron, was she?

Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra sat up a little straighter, his line of questioning strange to say the least. Why was he so uncomfortable? She couldn't read expressions, but she could read emotions. The wariness he felt rubbed off on her. She regarded him with that same look of unease.

He must know her father, she assumed at once. Typically, Kyra was like a shark to blood when she sensed someone had what she wanted-- unrelenting and starved for the result she craved. But she had been learning a bit about herself over the past year at Silver Rest. And about others as well. Sometimes, tact was better than blunt force trauma. She forced herself to sit back and relax her shoulders, hoping to eek out the answer when his guard dropped back down.


His question barely reached her, her thoughts running away from her.

"-they’re probably closer to you than you expect."

Damian Starchaser ?

Her gaze slid to him, distracted as he sat there waiting. "What?" She echoed, already racing back to recall his words. "Oh. Um. Well I can do all sorts of things." Her mind quickly discarded the mundane. Barriers, her mother taught her as a child. They were second nature and hardly impressive. Telekinesis-- a given for any jedi. Empathy, telepathy, he would already have experience this with her. She strove to reach for the big stuff-- her crowning achievements. Problem was, they were all accidental and not a result of any skill at all.

But he didn't need to know that.

"I fought off a sith once. Broke ones mind-- and melted another! He tried to blast me and my friends, but I stopped him! Tele-teka-tentetnumis-isis... It was a baaaaaaad idea..." She mused, her voice growing sober and drifting off. Bad experience too.

She fell silent.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

He was starting to feel that he knew the answer to the questions in his mind. He knew what he was going to find out from her answers. Watching the Zeltron with those familiar blue eyes, he was mentally counting backwards. It would make sense… But why wouldn’t he have been told? Joza knew him. That was probably why, but he was doing alright with Kaia and Jared at that point… still… Time, and carbonite. It was hard to keep it all straight.

Still, his question remained, but it was to buy him time. And to see where her mind went. Did it go to him, did it go to someone Joza may have mentioned? He fell into the Force, his eyes never really leaving hers, not in some intense way just watching and listening. As the Force moved, there was the bit that seemed to talk about training with her mother, barriers, TK… that was just surface stuff, but when she mentioned fighting off a Sith… that was when he turned to face her more forwardly. That was a Starchaser move.

And using Tutaminis? “Tutaminis?” He offered with a smile. “Why was it a bad idea? You can take what they are throwing to destroy and use it to protect…” Or in his case, to give the Sith one hell of a sunburn. “Do you know how to release the energy you pull in?” Hopefully she was given at least some outlet. Some used it for telekinesis, some for illusions, there were a number of ways. But that too, was also a Starchaser skill.

"I've fought my share of Sith, and many using that same technique, it helps to empower the Jedi in the darkest of times."

Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

What? You could?

"...No," she admitted, her voice growing tight. "I ate it." Housing the energy of a sithlord inside of you was hardly a pleasant experience. Despite countless cleansings, a part of her never stopped feeling hollow and tarnished after that. Like Praz's energy had seeped into the cracks of her and sucked out her soul. That last part was an exaggeration on her part, but the fear remained. It stirred inside of her, a little bit of darkness that she unwittingly harbored.

The thing about empaths-- they absorbed what you put out. As they as Kyra chose to give him a place in her mind, that darkness stirred.

"They hadn't taught it to me yet, alright?" She nearly snapped, flailing at him in embarrassment. "I was just tryin to protect us-- the whole place came down on his. We were buried in rubble. I dunno. I was just tryin to do barrier but it wasn't enough. " Don't judge! Her energy clearly said, flustered and sharp.

"I'm sure we'll get to it eventually. I'm moving on up," she lied. No way in hell he could know about her near expulsion or poor marks, and no way would she tell him! This stranger was cool!

She'd be the same.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

Not… a very good move, but a strong one. He knew that there were a few who could do that, he could for a time, but then he felt like an overcharged blaster and needed to release the energy somewhere, typically upon thine enemies to blow them to tiny bits, in thy mercy. But she was going to need to make sure she addressed that. He knew what happened if you were not prepared… “Have you… visited anyone in the Rest about that?” He was learning more and more about healing, one of the prime uses of the Force for a Jedi. Perhaps he could do something…

“You reached out like that to protect yourself?” His eyes wide. A good wide. “When you reach out to the Force in the right times, the right mindsets as it were, the results can be… wild.” Light, healing, teleporting for him at times, though that seemed to ramp up when he was around Carnifex.

He didn’t doubt she’d get there, but what she was saying… It made perfect sense. “You’ll get there, I’m sure Caedyn is being a great teacher, but there is nothing better than someone who knows the exact set of skills you’re working with. Someone like… your father.” He stated.

“Like me.” And that was when it seemed to all click into place, click and lock. She had to be. He was going to have to talk to Joza.

But this girl, she was definitely a Perl, and definitely a Starchaser.

Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra blinked hard, her response falling out of her mouth and dissipating into dust. Her mind reeled, trying to process-

Of all the times she thought of this moment, and by gods they were many, she had imagined all the different ways she would address the man revealed as her father. None of those daydreams happened, the girl instead staring. Her thoughts did not move forward. A voice in the back of her head perked up, scoffing at her-- screamed at her-- kicked for a response because force woman, here was your chance!

But he might had been a trandoshen stalking forward to kill her on her first ever mission. She froze.


"I'm -I'm sorry- what?"









"You dated my mother?"

 

[Coren Starchaser]

Coren wasn’t the most… tactful. Ask anyone who was on a military operation with him. His primary sidearm was a scattergun. He came in loud, he attacked and he faded when the fight was done. But there was never any sneaking around where he could get the drop on someone. Watching the younger Zeltron, he knew what he said, he knew how he said it, but it was out there.

It didn’t feel wrong. It felt accurate, he’d have to see if Joza knew. Or if this was something he was learning and Force help it, he hoped he wasn’t wrong. Another Starchaser… He’d have to explain this to Celeste, but clearly… Seventeen. It wasn’t like it was he went out of his way to do something wrong. Hopefully his wife would understand. And she was with child. Two, he thought. Still..

Biting his lip, he looked at her. “Technically?” It was a fling, he didn’t think it even lasted three months, intense and clearly physical… He couldn’t be mad though, not at her, maybe at himself… But he… wasn’t.

He was collected.
Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

"....Ugh!" No, no, No! Do NOT give her those details! She knew how babies were made and NOPE. Her mother. ...Her father. Her gaze slipped back to him, her childish disgust turning into a wash of vulnerability. Her throat grew tight, those blue eyes looking at him closer than she ever had before. His nose.... They shared the same nose. And the height of their cheeks. ...Eyes.

She swallowed hard, a bit of moisture building on her lashline.

"Really?" She asked, her voice small. "Cause I've really, really wanted a dad. Yula said I was a clone baby, but if you really-- my mom-- and--" Deeeeep breath in and out. Even as she asked it, she felt it to be true. A weird pull of the force, more pronounced the longer they both focused.

She couldn't help but to reach out with her mind, sensing for the truth to his intentions. They shared the same trepidation and sense of wonder. The same surprise. The same hope. Her voice broke through, resonating in his being.

'...Dad?'

 

[Coren Starchaser]

No, he didn’t go into detail. Was she more empathic than he thought? Did she know where his mind was? Oh that was not what he intended. He wanted to keep that bit private. He may have been a short attention spanned man for a bit, but he was better now. He didn’t wish any ill will towards Joza Perl but he also should probably pay her back for a ship. Would she take a check that he would get Kyra her own? No self-respecting Starchaser deserved to not have a ship.

He watched her, seeing the same features she saw, and especially the eyes. “Yula is… Yula. Shouldn’t trust her.” He loved that Perl, but she did get on his nerves because every time she showed up, he was in trouble with Joza. Still, maybe that had to do with the fact they were always in a war zone. He watched her, feeling her caution. Should he reach out, touch her arm?

Hug her?

And when she said Dad, it didn’t feel off putting or odd… It felt right? He moved how he was, to sit besides her, rubbing her back awkwardly, gently. “Are you ok?”

Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

Was she okay? Was she okay?

She tossed herself into him, careless to her to her age or the strength it would take as she tackled him in the copilot seat. Her arms wrapped tight around him, her world spinning. "I'vealwayswantedadad," she confessed, as if they were pets or toys would could acquire on special events. He was the rarest acquisition of all.

His shirt grew wet under a bundle of tears, the girl simply happy and showing it in a tight hug she'd have to be coaxed to release. She fell backwards, into her seat, her body numb as vital questions about her life were answered. Many more popped up, bubbling to mind as they both took a moment to recollect.

"But my whole life- you've been -- I've seen you before! Have you always known?" She asked, her voice small. If so, there would be a reckoning to answer-- a hole in herself no explanation could excuse. "Where have you been?"

 

[Coren Starchaser]

Really, he was asking because he had no clue. Was she fine? Was anything ever really fine? The Starchaser watched the younger Zeltron and could feel things just starting to well up, and spin. As she slung her arms around him, his own wrapped around her. He couldn’t help but feel like a terrible human, but the way she spoke, it did bring a small smile to his face. A soft one, but a smile. And he still wasn’t sure what was going happen.

Watching her, feeling her tears, he remained, probably for one of the few times in his life, the birth of Jared, finding out Celeste was pregnant, the loss of Omai Rhen and Jaius Sovv, he was silent. Trying to smile, but not knowing if that felt weird, he was just watching this Perl… this Starchaser. He swallowed as she asked the hard questions, the ones he didn’t want to answer.

She deserved the answers. But the escape pod was right there…

No, he was Coren Starchaser, Jedi Master, General of the Sullustan Home Guard. “I had suspicions. When I’ve visited the Silver Temple… or when news reached me about your mother. I’m sorry.” You know, I was a little busy ending the One Sith and defending the Alliance. “I… I felt the galaxy needed me. And I wasn’t certain.” He had to weigh certain things. And this was one of the reasons that being who he was… it hurt others.

He shook his head. “I’m sorry.”

Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

The world whalop.

Her skin prickled, a wave of adrenaline so strong it hurt pumping through her body.

He.

Knew.

Her heart stuttered and thumped irradicatly in her chest, heard inside her ear drums as a wash of pain rippled over her. She jerked back, her expression contorting.

He knew.

Her breath grew quick, catching as her shoulders heaved. She no longer looked okay. He had left her. He knew her sisters. She had seen him before, she could recount-- Spent time with her sisters! And her - and he-


“Kyra, please tell me you’re not my passenger.”


“I… I felt the galaxy needed me..”


Rage boiled over. The force flowed around her, coiling into her form as her hurt bleed into the air around them. She contained all the fire and fiery of her mother in that moment-- her temper realized through and through. Her fist clenched into a tight ball. She lashed out, the force empowering the movement and moving with her.

"I needed you!"

 

[Coren Starchaser]

He suspected. But he knew what was going to happen. He knew there was no winning in this one. And it made him feel terrible. Was that something she would want to hear? The Master could feel the … was it rage? He wasn’t sure. The displeasure, lets go with that, in the younger Jedi – His daughter – and took it upon himself. He was not really the empath one, but he knew how to heal, he knew how the Force worked. If he could try to pull that away… No. He wasn’t getting out of this one.

Coren tossed a look to Porter who scurried away to jack into the ship from an auxiliary port. What, Coren thought seeing the stars could be romantic at times, so he made it possible for his droid to not be there. Apparently, it worked when wayward children that he suspected he had but didn’t know about were here.
As she was flashing through what he said, he felt pain in his own recent memory. Not my passenger. He was being playful, or at least it was his intention. Truth be told, he should have been excited. What if this was his daughter? And she IS! And now he was excited, but then? It was a jab at her mother (who he totally got with by the way, Kyra being proof!)

He got to his feet, not to defend, not to approach her, just because if she was going to hit him, it deserved to be however she saw fit. He say rage. He wanted to sap it away, but she needed this.

“I know. And I failed at that.” He wanted to make things right, but interjecting that here? Would it really be the time?

Kyra Perl