Private Familiar Connections Pt 2

[Kyra Perl]

It was more comfortable to have her guide her. If just cause it was hard to muck up if his hand was also on the lever. Her flying earlier today was fluke. There was no way she could replicate that again. She didn't even know how she did it.

But he would take over and land for her. Okay, that felt a little better. Beyond her usual bravado was a massive hole of self-debt. Kyra usually brushed off her lack of confidence with loudness, or chatter, or even lashing out. In front of him, she felt paralyzed. Like anything she'd do would be the iceing on the cake that would make him think badly of her.

And if he was her father?

Her stomach trilled in anxiety, her need for familiar connections her biggest motivator in life. She pressed on wards, the first dot being a straight line. That was easy enough, even for an airhead like her. Finding the accelerator, the weight of their sudden throttle pulled at her muscles. She kept herself up straight, one thing he said ringing through her mind.

"...You been in a lot of space battles then?" The curiosity bubbled from her before she could stop it.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

Watching her as he eased himself into the co-pilot’s seat, most recently the primary person in his spot was Celeste, but Coren had been known to take the seat at times, very, very rare times, he needed a ship to get them in and out of conflict and he was going to be part of the away team. But he preferred to be behind the stick as often as he could. It was his happy place, and during his time with the Galactic Alliance, not the redux version, but the original, he was an Ace a few times over. Even the Tiburons, his squadron, was one of the more famous within that group, even if they folded into the Home Guard, with the Spear.

Making sure the interial compensators were prepped and dialed in, not up to 100% but a bit lower, to give her a feel for the ship, he watched her. She seemed to start taking to it, once she was shown more property and a bit more calmly rather than ‘here you go kid.’ Granted, he taught that way most of the time. Watching the path the ship was taking on his own screen, he grinned. “There you go, get a feel for it, she can take what you’ll throw at her.” Complimenting the girl, he wanted to see how that worked.

“A fair share of space battles. At least an ace a few times over.” An ace, if she knew, was 5 kills per combat engagement. “Flown all manner of craft, X-Wings, Y-Wings, TIE fighters, and a few more rare models. Plus the Rising here.” He said as he ran a hand over one of the blank panels. The next target would have her turning to her left about 45 degrees from straight.

Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra grinned as he encouraged her, noticeably straightening and pressing forward with a little more confidence. Just steering was okay, she guessed. Pretty straight forward, when there wasn't a million asteroids and the Kessel Run baring down on you. It was all those other buttons that got to her. Too many tasks, not enough attention span to go around. She hated it.

This, she decided, was much more relax. She gave a hard turn, yanking the ship a bit deeper than a 45 degree turn. Whoops, whoops, whoops, She struggled to redirect, flailing a bit and sending them left and right, before ending in a wide turn that would eventually complete to send them back on course. She gave a slanted look sideways, her cheeks flushing red.

"Meant to do that."

She steered with a little more intention, no longer yanking on things willy nilly.

"...That's a lot of ships. Don't you get lonely?"

 

[Coren Starchaser]

Working on the instruction of flying was interesting. Being a Starchaser, it meant that flying was in her blood. He wouldn’t enforce that she take to flying as an occupation, but Kaia, Jared and Kinsey had. Kinsey, being his niece, and not one of his own. It was a pretty good sampling along with himself and his sister, could all pilot as if they were walking. But as he watched her, the girl did seem to have an enjoyment sitting behind the controls.

But he could feel a bit of apprehension… Was it the controls, the size of the ship? Maybe he’d have to watch her for a bit longer, especially if he was going to work on a design for her own ship. If she was a Starchaser, it’d be an insult and a travesty to not give her the ability to fly whenever she wanted. Small shuttle maybe? He’d have to think.

As he found himself in the co-pilot seat, he had his hands near the controls, but didn’t reach up, some parents were nervous teaching the younger ones to fly or drive, but not Coren, he had an odd sense of calm with Kyra. “She can take it.” He grinned as she semi-apologized. “Lonely?” He took a second and looked out at the stars.

“Typically I am only in the small craft for short stints, this Tachyon Rising,” indicating the ship they were in, “has always been special for him. My home away from home. Sometimes its lonely, sometimes its filled with life. But you can never beat that view.” He waved his hand out towards the stars with a smile.

Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra looked from him, back to the window he gestured to. She seemed to consider it for the first time-- the stars, the deep dark depth of space around them. She had never really looked at it before. Most of her life had been spent on solid ground, and the times she sat in a seat like this, she had half wild with missions and asteroids and life and death stuff.

... Guess it was kinda pretty.

She relaxed back, then bag on her back shifting with her as the top of her shoulder blades found support against the seat. The next turn was much smother, barely considered as she kept her eyes on the stars.

"I dunno," she finally concluded, looking back to him as she completed the loop. At some point she had stopped looking at the navigation screen and just did it. Something about thinking about it was what seemed to lock her up.

"Sunsets are pretty good. My favorite actually. And the sun." Which the stars were, not that she... connected those dots.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

Worlds had their own unique beauty, desert worlds were dry and harsh, ice worlds were beautiful and sharp, while the more golden worlds, temperate, lush worlds were peaceful, warm, and inviting, but they had one thing that linked them together. The galaxy, space, and the stars, every world would eventually get the night sky, but they wouldn’t always share the pieces that made each world unique. Maybe it was something from the Unifying Force, versus the Living Force, but that was just semantics. Watching her watch the stars, he was smiling.

His family, their family, had found their way off Corellia, and into the stars. But they were always the ones chasing something, The edge of a map, or the next destination. It was part of their blood now, and he knew it even displayed in their abilities, Coren was a navigator, but he could also withstand and bend radiation, which gave him a step up when controlling the Light, and he knew Kaia had her own unique way using the Force.

“It is something I miss when I’m traveling.” He smiled at her, remembering Corellian sunrises, or even the ones over the lava wastes of Sullust. Coren nodded to Kyra though, with a smile. “On Corellia, we have a saying ‘the bigger the galaxy, the sweeter the homecoming.” Watching her. “Meaning, the longer your voyage, the better the feeling of coming back.”

Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

She completed the route, her hands leaving the controls as they came to hover in orbit back over the planet. She swallowed hard, glancing up at him once before training her gaze emptily back to the console. "...are you glad then? To be... to be back... in things..." She clarified unhelpfully. Her thoughts felt thick and slow. Or maybe that was just her emotions. She didn't really like being in his ship. It felt empty... confusing.

Which was just a pretty way of saying that up in depths of space, there wasn't much force-noise to fill her busy mind.

It was uncomfortable. Like meditating. And there was nothing to distract her from her confusion about his presence. "...I dunno how to land," she added, her voice unwilling as she spilled the truth into the air.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

Jedi were a great many things, and one thing they definitely were, were people who needed to keep thinking as well as trust their instincts. Watching the girl who he was pretty sure was his daughter fly, it was almost comforting. “Being back? I mean, the adventure of the Unknown and Wilds was interesting. It is nice to be back in familiar space, it helps to break things up.” The Master grinned at his daughter. “Is something wrong?” Things were always challenging and understanding how she was working was important.

It was calming being in the depths of space, similar to how he felt when he was on the seas of Corellia. It helped to be able to break away at times.

“I can take us in.” The Master smiled. Watching her he looked around. “Are you comforted by the Force more than the absence?” He looked at her as he switched controls to the ship, ready to take her in.

Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

She hadn't really thought of it that way before.

She sat back, then jolted back up, her spine going rigid at her fixed posture. The bag shifted with her for a moment, then fell still as she settled back down. "My-um-my mind is weird," she confessed, tapping her temple once before dissolving into a fidget. She usually didn't talk about it so openly, but she had been exploring the concept of being vulnerable with Caedyn and something about the emptiness of the enviorment up here.

Truths were a little easier to face. Or perhaps just more apparent.

"I hear, like everything." She fidgeted more, the moments of eye contact quick and fleeting as she glanced back up. "Is that the force?" Caedyn didn't have much experience with her abilities, and both were starting to explore the extent of it together.

"Cause then your ship has almost, like, none of it."

 

[Coren Starchaser]

There was a part of him that wanted to be a teacher right now, but with everything that he dropped on her in the past few hours? Well, he felt it may be better if he just allowed her to hear bits of his own… was it wisdom? Knowledge? It was something, right? Maybe she’d take some of it, maybe not, but he was at least putting the energy out into the air that way. “How do you mean weird” He was asking, but soon it came out of her as she was fidgeting. He was paying attention, even if he looked slightly distant for a moment. Scanning her in the Force, to a degree, he was watching her motions.

As a Jedi, he had a few answers for her, some that would make sense.

“Its part of the Force.” He nodded. “Remember, life creates the Force, and makes it grow.” As h e took control of the ship, he was moving it down towards the planet. “Maybe a part of the reason we bring the cats aboard. Can you… sense the relics?” He knew that it wasn’t as fully loaded as before, but there were still quite a few, including one on her, and the one in his own pocket.

Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra's cheeks flushed red at his words, one thought bubbling to mind and falling out of her lips before she could stop them. "You can sense that?"

The weight of the two, on her person and in her bag rang heavy and clear in her thoughts. She shot him a wild look, not unlike a child getting their hands caught in the cookie jar. No... There was no way... Right?

Right??

 

[Coren Starchaser]

The Master grinned and offered a little shrug. “Well, part of it is being a Jedi Master, part of it is that I’m probably your father, but to be honest? I can count the number of cats moving around. And there hasn’t been the second one in a few minutes. Normally they come up here when we revert.” Coren winked at her and laughed. “I bet you felt a connection to her, yeah?” Smirking he grabbed the controls and brought the ship to the surface.

“Can you feel the relic I’m holding? Can you tell what it is?” Watching her, the ship was hitting the atmosphere, it was more a little game. It held the crystal for her protection and maybe a lightsaber some day.

“Do you want the cat?” He grinned. He knew what else she had but he was going to let her feel she got away with that. Didn’t even need the Force to lift it from her.

Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra was too distressed at getting caught to give the artifact a sniff out. She whined, a protective hand going to the bag at her back. It give a final bout of movement, thoroughly jostled from its nap and awoken by the ships deceleration.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she insisted. The cat poked its head out of the flaps, yawning and pulling back as it got a mouthful of red hair. Kyra felt the movement and craned to see it. Crap, her expression seemed to say. She sighed, her shoulders and hand dropping in defeat. "Padawans aren't allowed pets," she grumbled. The attempt had clearly been made before.

Another whine.

"Pleaaaaaaaaase, we don't have to tell anyone!" Never mind how she would keep it with her at Yulas. .... Or sneak it back on her journey with Caedyn. She was so distracted by this, she didn't even react to him proclaiming himself her father. Lookatthat.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

Starchaser was grinning and shaking his head as he laughed. It wasn’t a mean laugh, more just interested and goofing around with her. Playful was the word. He felt the cat moving in the bag but wasn’t upset with Kyra. The Jedi just smiled at her.

He looked down and made a cooing noise to the cat. What he was more finding funny was how determined she was. It was a good thing, but being used against him? Not so much. Still, he was watching her, seeing how she was going to spin it. “I mean, I’m not upset with you. I’d be doing what I could to make the life of a padawan easier on you. And if that means a pet? Then it’d be a pet.”

Or a ship.

“Are you able to… communicate with her? Some Jedi are able to.” He looked at her

Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

She gave him nothing short of a condescending look. "Cats don't speak common." Duh.

It tried to crawl out and she gave another huff, shrugging her straps off so it could spill into the seat that much easier. The other cat came in in that moment, following the pattern her predicted, presumably. It hopped up and began to lick the others head, Kyra left perched on the edge of the seat so they could have their grooming fest.

"S'let me meditate with it tho, that has to count for something! I only meditate with Caedyn." She reported primly, the 'master' title continuously dropped when she referred to him. They were working through stuff, alright??

"Pleeease, they won't even notice! I've had a boy in and nothing- nada! How they gonna see a cat?"

 

[Coren Starchaser]

“Don’t they?” Was all he said. It wasn’t a skill he knew he had, but with her being Perl and Zeltron and a Jedi student. Who knew what Kyra was going to be capable of. It was going to be fun to watch her grow as a Jedi. He watched the other orange cat come in and smirked. They were not quite a bonded pair but were friendly as they had been on this ship together long enough.

“They’d miss each other, but its only true for a Starchaser to have someone that can travel the stars with.” He’d have to work on getting her a ship. Maybe something small, a U-Wing? He’d put some thought into it. But he could reduce the controls needed to fly that ship so she wasn’t so overrun.

The Master nodded. “I mean, it is a good sign you’re able to meditate with her. Why won’t they let you keep her?” As the ship was coming in for a landing he heard the word boy and looked at her. “What kind of show are they running there?”

Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra gave a shrug. "I dunno, it's what Acaadi said." Another padawan, but Kyra sure he was one hundred percent properly informed! Right? The buzzying of life touched her senses as the ground filled her vision, the girl visibly perking against the loud waves of energy she unconsciously picked up and absorbed in her. Beautiful chaos, Judah had once called it.

She bounced a little, thoughts of the next step-- her sister's house-- coming to mind. They were gonna have so. Much. Fun. She stood up, fingers gripping at the console edge in excitement. "Ok, do me a favor and don't tell anyone you brought me here, k?" She chirped, her eyes skimming the docks as the people grew big enough to see. Caedyn had specifically ordered her to try and arrive on her own, without silver help or family funds. She suspected help from .... family was off the list too. That and there was no way she was talking about this yet.

She turned, already intending to leave him just like that and bust towards the door-- as brisk as usual.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

“Well, depending on how things go, I may be around the space of Kashyyyk and Commenor. I could see what I can change.” The Master smiled at his daughter. “Acaadi?” Not a name he recognized. And with him and Kaia working together, maybe he and her could smuggle things in to Kyra. But his first concern was going to be to fix her. Maybe he could find a way to block her emotions. Or at least put up a hunt. There were things that could be imbued. He would make a note of it. Necklace first, maybe a songsteel bracelet…

“Tell? No way. I think I’d have to explain a very awkward conversation you haven’t made a decision for.” His face was remaining stoic, as he didn’t want to drag her into a weird feeling or direction. As she started getting up, the Jedi Master got up from his chair and made a move towards her, grabbing her shoulder a little. “I know you have to get going but, before you leave, I wanted to give you something.”

He reached into his pocket, and pulled out a small pendant, a Starchaser’s Light crystal within it, and the gleam of a little bit of the Force in it. As he held it up with one hand, he kept eye contact as his free hand liberated the hilt from her person, carefully.

Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

Her attention locked on the crystal, nostrils flaring in interest. "For me?" She didn't ask why, both because she simply assumed herself worthy of a present and because she didn't want to hear the answer she sensed from him.

Because she was his daughter.

She blinked this thought from her mind, too distracted to notice the saber part leave her possession. She reached out, her finger tips skimming the pendant. "It's singing," she commented, misconstruing the draw of the crystal as a song in her mind. Same difference. She hesitated, looking up at him. Accepting this didn't mean anything, right? Her fingers pulled back for a moment, but the draw was too strong and snatched it up. The music stopped at once, the girl relaxing as she stroked her finger over the cage.

"...What'd I do with it?" She murmured, her brows furrowed down on the strange object inside. Was that a- Her gaze shot up, this time wide and full of understanding.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

He didn’t particular feel like he needed to give a reason why, not quite yet. She’d get it one day, and he was counting on that. But if she understood, maybe the reminder of the stone would give her something to think about. “Yeah.” A nod and a smile, as she kept her eye on the stone. It was a bit underhanded, but he wanted time to study that and see if it could help him understand her a bit better. He was a scholar lately, what could he say.

As he saw her touch the stone, he was watching the way the Force called from her and the way the stone called to her. As she said it was singing, he nodded. “This is a very special crystal. It is heavily imbued with the light side, and the stone itself? Comes from dying stars.” A bit melodramatic sounding, but it made for a very celestial focused blade, not worried about radiation.

“It’s a lightsaber crystal, but if you’re not ready to construct your own, it can be used to protect you, and help you boost any sort of barrier Force work you do.”

Kyra Perl