Private Idle Hands

[Jacen Voidstalker]

Coren Starchaser knew the starlanes. When you wanted to put some distance between yourself and the Galaxy it helped to have a friend who knew them. After the crash he had carried her for two straight miles. The pain she limped out of the carriage with from the crash was nothing compared to what she still held onto.

Jacen cast a glance towards Serya. She looked small in the chair. As if she had retreated back into herself.

The terrain below turned bright green. The old abandoned temple was deep in the forest. He tried to crack a joke about his landings. Nothing.

He didn't know how this reflected on them both. The way she was hurting with the blame she placed upon herself. The lack of what he felt, after every tragedy he had walked away from.

—

"You should sleep," he muttered.

She just made a noise back at him. The girl was hunched over a book. The lamp was faint enough that her face and the pages of the book were in a halo of light against the evening darkness.

"I'm going to bed soon."

Barely even a sound.

Jacen didn't know what the time was but the book would surely be devoured by morning, paired with a set of tired, hungry eyes imploring for a replacement. There wasn’t that many texts on an icey lump like this. Of all the things he had hunted over his life, he hadn’t foreseen it to be books.

-

The log didn't move. Jacen looked down at it and then up at Serya. He could feel the intensity of her concentration and yet the small log didn't even tremble.

The ground shook. There was a hiss as loose earth rained down behind him.

Jacen turned sharply to see an entire felled tree lifting from the ground. It had been dead for some time, the movement revealing rows of mushrooms that had made the trunk their own.

It wobbled in the air and fell. It immediately started to roll towards them. Jacen swore under his breath at her ambition and reached out to stop it before it could run them both over.

He sighed as it settled, turned to deliver at least some minor admonishment. Instead he found Serya on her side. The colour had drained from her face.

-

Shuttle fuel had a particular kind of smell that seemed to pain the back of the throat. Jacen stepped out from under the shuttle, closing the port. Once a week he had come down here and made sure all the systems were working.

Today was different. He was genuinely getting the shuttle ready to depart. Not only had they run out of books, but it felt like time to go.

Jacen made his way back up the hill, wiping the spilled fuel from his hands with a greasy rag.

"We can head off at first light tomorrow?" he called out to his apprentice - for that was how he saw her now. "You don't want to experience my night flying."

Serya Talith

 

[Serya Talith]

"...Are you sure that's wise?" She had once been eager to set back off into the stars. Now she hesitant to leave the save little haven he had carved out for them.

They were there for many reasons, but one in particular left her shifting uncomfortably.

"I still don't have the best control." She didn't look up at him as she said this, her guilt slowly healing into a wound of frustration. Lives were lost because of her. It had been everything he had warned her of. She didn't want to repeat it again. She gingerly unfolded the edges of a recent book, her thumb ironing out the marks left from her page keeping.

"Besides. We still don't know who attacked us, why- or where they are. What if they find us again? What's so wrong with here?" She wrapped up, her voice tight as she shrugged at the point.

She glanced over at him, gaze skimming down to his greasy hands.

"You hate flying."

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

"I do hate flying," he replied. Jacen knew that it was an excuse around the fringes of the reason she had already given. "But I hate landing more than taking off."

The weight of the train crash sat heavily on her shoulders. He had come to terms with the fact that he had been too excited at the proposition of a new and talented student. Maybe he had been a little soft in his warnings, but he could never have anticipated the attack.

"Your control is much better, but you're right about those who attacked us."

Attacked her. They might have tried to block him off, but it was definitely her that they had been after. Jacen frowned, and not for her worries, but for another line that would never quite smooth out of the pages. How many bookmarks did he have to make?

"After this much time, if they haven't found us then they don't have a trail to follow. Galaxy is a big place."

 

[Serya Talith]

Serya's throat bobbed, her attention locked in a hazy blur on the pages.

"I still dont understand why we need to leave. We've been perfectly fine here." She flipped the page as if she was reading it, the nervous tick barely soothing her.

"There's food. I can hunt now. Our hut doesn't leak anymore, I finally found the quickest path down to the river." In the few short months they had spent here training, Serya had built a home. It wasn't conscious, but it had fallen into place bit by bit. Every normal that they reestablished helped her moved on from the events of that day.

She felt like she understood herself better than she ever had before. But take this place away-- throw her back out into the big galaxy-- and the questions that had been haunting them came rushing back to her.

It frightened her.

And Fear would only make it happen all over again.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

Jacen drew in a slow breath through his nose. He hadn't seen her quite this vulnerable for some time. He would not regret what he had done, the situation he had placed her in. There was still a pang of guilt deep down in his gut.

"We can't stay here forever Serya," he said softly. Calm, but insistent.

"If you remain afraid of yourself, of what you can do, then no amount of isolation will keep everyone safe. There will always be you and the harm your fears can do to yourself.

"We need to go. We'll be safe and around friends. I promise. Your talents, the Force, they can do great things. Do good things."

He paused, wiped the last of the grease from his hands and tossed the cloth over his shoulder.

"And if that doesn't work for you, I'm sure I can try some other speeches too."

 

[Serya Talith]

"I'm not afraid," came the retort, the teen looking over to his feet... but not to his eyes. Her lips grew pursed, her tension pulsating through her body. Well that was a lie, she acknowledged.

She took in a deep breath, consciously trying to wipe it away. The book snapped closed. She sat up, her arms crossing. She saw his reasoning, she just didn't trust it. It. The galaxy. And it, being herself. But if he was sure this would advance them... she would at least try. She trusted him most of all.

"Are we going back to that friend again?" She considered him and his words for a careful moment, then murmured shyly, her head tilting, "Will he have more books?"

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

"Is Coren Starchaser a man of many books?" Jacen mused. "I think he has always been the more...practical type. I don't actually know," he admitted.

A knowing smile graced his face. The first sign of a secret kept for a very long time. Not just from her; from everyone.

"A book can only contain so much. A holocron however..."

Jacen let that word hang in the air, an obvious target for follow-on questions.

 

[Serya Talith]

Serya slowly raised a brow, sensing his attempt to entice her. She resisted off principle. He just wanted to get her to agree to go off planet. In her book that was called bribing. She didn't bite-- she wouldn't. She wasn't going to be baited into being excited about taking risks.

It was just a book. Except... he made it sound like something more. A bigger book? A colorful book? A book with moving pictures? The curiosity pinched. Her eyes narrowed, her attempt to feel him out causing nose crinkles.

"Fine, I'll bite," she exploded in a puff of air. Damn him. She started jamming her small pile of belongings into a fur bag. It was one of the dinners they had secured together. The shop bag had worn on her months ago.

"What's a holocron?"

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

Jacen could be very patient when he wanted to be. This was one of those times. He knew that he was, in a sense, manipulating her. He knew that she knew that too.

One of the worst aspects was fear was that it could be a self fulfilling prophecy. Those mistakes that you most feared were the ones you were destined to make. Walking was a simple act any human could do endlessly without falling. Yet when people were focused on not tripping, because they were being watched, they tended to trip.

"Imagine a crystal that you can fit into the palm of your hand. Well, they are more like a shape made of crystals. It knows what secrets to give out, based on how strong in the Force you are. Imagine that you could fit the combined knowledge of some of the most powerful jedi masters in history into one of these holocrons.

"All in the palm of your hand."

 

[Serya Talith]

Her eyes widened incrementally with each reveal, her response tempered by stubbornness alone. "Those sound powerful," she finally commended, meticulous movements tying off her bag.

She pursed her lips, considering him for a long moment. "This Starchaser, he has one?" She snuffed, feigning indifference. A solid yank finished her bag, the girl standing.

Truth be told she had nothing else. What else was there to need?

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

"Coren? No...me. I have one of the most sought after holocrons in the Galaxy."

It was getting a bit weird, he decided, if he was so desperate to come across as impressive to just this one student.

Jacen decided that it was probably because he didn't feel he had given a good account of himself. So far he had chased down a street rat, been beaten up by some thugs and shown her how terrible he was at landing a shuttle.

"We will fetch it on the way."

 

[Kyra Perl]

.

 

[Serya Talith]

A burst of excitement pufted through her cheeks breaking the façade as she scrambled forward. For the first time in months, Serya approached the ship. Not only willingly, but with a spark of pure excitement for what laid awaiting.

Shame on you Jacen. Total bribery.

She knew the drill, even months later. Secure ally your belongings. Buckle up. Stay quiet. His fear of flying did not inspire confidence, but not even that reached her now.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

"This should be it," Jacen said.

The ship had dropped out of hyperspace. That had emerged into empty deep space. Nothing but darkness and stars.

Jacen looked out of the window as if he would be able to see it. He couldn't.

"Just watch now."

They weren't looking for Coren's ship. Thar was the next stop. He pushed a button on the console to send out the recall signal.

There was a small flash of light. The first thrust of an engine that hadn't fired for years. Jacen was glad it worked. The small pod vanished from sight until it was right alongside them. There was a soft thud as it reached the shuttle.

Jacen opened a small door to access the venting tube and reached out. Stepping away, he held out his hand.

It was more than he had described, the great holocron. An intricate frame of bronze around the crystalline structure. It looked empty when in fact it gained libraries worth of information.

"Don't drop it," he said, holding out the great holocron.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

The One Time Grandmaster was out aboard the Oasis, looking for his answers. He had a number of Jedi and loyal explorers, people who were looking to bring Light to the galaxy. The ship, backed up by a few smaller ships, and a pair of Liberator Cruisers, was making its way through the galaxy. His trusty freighter, the Tachyon Rising was at his disposal today. He was making his way back towards the Oasis.

Hunting holocrons was something he was working on, relics, and mysteries of the past. A few trinkets from one safe house were aboard the ship, and in order to secure them, it meant getting to the Oasis. With Sullust out under the Confederacy’s jurisdiction, the Sentinel camp had gone to ground, and the pieces of history were moved. Coren’s family’s ship, the Dawn Treader had many of them, and was deep within the Rift.

The Oasis had another job, and the new team, the Tide of Light, would choose what to bring to Kattada and what to keep on the move. As his freighter pulled out of hyperspace, seeing the Oasis and a few of the E-Wings that came to greet him.

“Tachyon Rising, transferring the landing codes now.” He smiled to himself, it would be good to be back aboard. They weren’t far off of Jedha, but not close enough to be stumbled upon.

Jacen Voidstalker
Serya Talith

 

[Serya Talith]

Serya cradled the holocron close to her chest, unwilling to let it go as they pulled off and away. She sat in silence, as she was ought to do lately, its metal warm and alive under her finger tips. She didn't know how to use it, but that was just fine. Soon, they'd reach this Coren. Soon, they 'd be safe again. And then she'd have all the time in the world to dive into its depths.

“Tachyon Rising, transferring the landing codes now.”
​

Seyra glanced up, her numb but shifting in her seat.

"Is that it?" She asked, breaking the golden rule of no talking when im landing, as they pulled in. A spark of anxiety grew in her chest, a wary look leveled at the screen.

"It doesn't look very ... incognito."

Coren Starchaser Jacen Voidstalker

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

Jacen decided that it didn't count as a full rule break. The ship filled their viewport but they were still a distance from the landing bay.

"That's a mon cal cruiser, over a kilometer long," he said, reading off his instruments. "I reached out to Coren and go the coordinates but he was not very specific about the ship we were meeting on."

He looked from one end of the ship to the other. Typical mon cal design, hard to fathom how it was put together. It was more like art than functional design.

"When I start swearing at the idiot waving glowsticks at me, then it's time for the no talking rule," he said as they approached the open bay. His readouts showed the pair of fighters circling around behind them.

Fortunately there was plenty of space in the bay. His face was screwed up in intense concentration right until the moment he swore loudly and reached over to drop the landing struts. That would have been messy.

The shuttle touched down. Their cockpit directly facing Coren's freighter.

"Just drop that in a bag out of sight and we'll go find Coren."

 

[Coren Starchaser]

The larger ship was definitely not something that was easily hidden, but if the call was from a Jedi, and from a Voidstalker, well, that was one family Coren Starchaser knew he could put his faith in. And with the Tide of Light group, well, he needed Jedi he could trust. The ship would soon leave from this dark landing and pop off into the relative safety of hyperspace and the Unknown Regions. The relics out there were great, and he had a feeling with the help of new arrivals, the rewards would be just as well.

As his freighter landed, Coren began powering down and turned to Porter who whistled he’d take care of the rest, as the new shuttle would probably be looking for him. Coren offered a nod, and sent a quick message to Celeste Rigel that he was safe aboard the Oasis and would swing by their quarters soon. An old friend had arrived.

Stepping down the gangway, he watched the shuttle touch down, and couldn’t help but grin. He wondered if Jacen had one of the holocrons with him. He knew the man could be trusted, but was a bit unsure as to why he was coming out of the woodwork now.

And who the other was…

Jacen Voidstalker
Serya Talith

 

[Serya Talith]

Serya made quick work of tucking the bag into an electrical panel, the lose bolts allowing it to peel open just enough to hide her things. Old habits died hard, but perhaps he would appreciate her paranoia here. No one was finding his precious holocron there. No one.

She scattered after him, apprehension in her gut as she glanced over her shoulder's for the cockpit's window a final time.

"I hope you're right about all of this," she murmured. The dark-haired teen walked slowly down the ramp, her movements tight and wary, as if she was descending into a sith pit itself.

For all she knew now a days, she was. How silly she would feel when looking back in the future. She didn't speak, golden eyes flickering to Coren, then Jacen, then back to Coren again. She didn't settle, going back to their basic lessons of intent and probing the space for signs of danger.

Jacen Voidstalker Coren Starchaser

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

Jacen laughed warmly at the sight of Coren. They had not always seen eye to eye. Seeing him was also a reminder that almost everything they had done had come crashing down.

They had, at least, for a long time sent the Sith scurrying to the darkest corners of the Galaxy.

"Coren, Serya, Coren, Serya. She's agreed to be my student for a while," he introduced.

With a wave of his hand he encompassed the entire ship.

"And what the feth is all of this then?" he asked through a grin.