Private Lost Hyperlanes

[Juno Sabat]

Jorus had offered, at least once, to train her in navigating with the Force. The magnitude of the event was not lost on her. Jaxton had mentioned he was the one who first traveled the Mara Corridor. She tried to contain her excitement, but if Jorus looked down he would notice her feet had a bit of shake to them.

"That would be wonderful. What should I do to get ready?" She asked, then stood, and then her stomach echoed throughout the galley. She then remembered she had been in the Mark 32 for ten hours, on world for some time since then, and had only eaten a rationbar in that timeframe.

"Maybe we can find some fish!" She tried to speak in an excited tone that made it a comment rather than a question, hoping not to delay the boat ride.

 

[Jorus Q. Merrill]

"There's plenty of fresh fish in your future, but it's getting dark out there."

Jorus rubbed his knees and got up. A locker yielded two packets of tomo-spiced Karkan ribenes. He pulled the tabs that heated and rehydrated the food in seconds, and showed Juno where the utensils were. For his part, he dug in with his multitool.

"Food first, sleep first, help yourself anytime. I'll take you out on the water tomorrow. You ever sail, analog? Or use a boat with an engine?"

 

[Juno Sabat]

Juno would have preferred to go sooner, but the thought of food and sleep were enticing. Juno took the ribenes without protest. She took the utensils and dug in with barely tamed enthusiasm.

"I've been on the water once, at Arda." She replied. "I went looking for Seydon, but ended up trying to track down a Bryna'dul experiment." She took a bite and chewed a moment.

"It wasn't the stars, but it was something close. Something different." Juno said before a yawn escaped her mouth.

"Anywhere in particular I should set up for the night?"

 

[Jorus Q. Merrill]

Jorus gave Juno Sabat a five-minute tour of the Gossamer's nearest vitals: 'freshers, terminals, bunkrooms, emergency exits. In some configurations, a Lotekk DST like this could evacuate small planets. Just now it was only set up to bunk a couple dozen people, and most of those rooms — simple setups, two bunks apiece — were fair game. He made sure Juno knew she was more than welcome to pick whatever unused bunk she preferred.

---

Cut to late morning, standing on the top of the ship in knee-deep water beside a local trainer motor/sailboat, pre-tech except for the motor. The boat was set up to be the simplest possible thing for someone new to this, and he'd be at the controls most of the time. Jorus climbed in, sloshing water in the bottom of the boat.

 

[Juno Sabat]

Juno took up residence in one of the guest quarters. Her choice of quarters was based solely on the presence of a holoscreen. She got comfortable and tried to find a detective holos to get to bed, but she could only get the signal for Maggot Apprentice. She watched for six, maybe seven minutes before turning it off and heading to bed.

---

Between ribenes, sleep, and breakfast Juno felt rested and rejuvenated when she got into the boat. It was weird leaving Pika behind, but he was having fun cleaning up this and that on the Gossamer.

Juno stepped into the boat and began untying knots and draining water out of the boat. She wasn't quite sure where they were going, but she was pretty sure that was the point.

 

[Jorus Q. Merrill]

Juno Sabat

The little motor brought the wooden boat around a headland. Jorus let the wind catch the grasscloth sail and guide the boat into a stretch of small green islands nearby. Glorified sandbars, really: a serious hurricane would submerge everything. The locals came here to gather food and resources, but not to live.

"Go ahead and take the controls," he said, furling the sail. "There are ways to get through between the islands, and there are ways that'll sandbar the feth out of you. They look pretty much identical so you'll need to listen." He tapped his heart: he wasn't talking about actual hearing. "Keep the throttle at a two or lower. If you can make a blind jump, you can probably figure this out."

 

[Juno Sabat]

Juno rubbed her hands together and took over the controls. She was trying to look calm, but there was a barely contained energy about her. She listened to Jorus before directing the boat into the stretch of islands. She moved the boat forward, trying to listen and feel as Jorus had described and keeping the throttle at '1'. After about thirty seconds in one direction she started moving the boat to the portside, taking an acute angle from her original direction. She wasn't sure what was there but it felt right.

She was reassured mainly by the fact they hadn't hit anything yet.

 

[Jorus Q. Merrill]

As Juno Sabat succeeded in avoiding collision, Jorus sat back and relaxed.

"So what-all Jaxton train you as, Juno? Jedi, Dark Jedi, Mindwalker? Most folks worth knowing are syncretic, they're combinations of traditions and methods and priorities."

Dang, but these little waterways were relaxing. No threats, just a simple task at a simple pace.

"Me, I grew up as a Warden of the Sky. Wasn't a Jedi until a Grandmaster asked me to take a Jedi Council job keeping holocrons safe, and my Jedi phase burned out pretty hard. Spent a few years as a judge in the Outer Rim, but I haven't been much of a Warden or Judge in a long time. Thirty years back, though, I helped the Dagoyan Masters evacuate ahead of a Fringe invasion. Still got a great relationship with the Dagoyan adepts, and I guess I'm closer to their way than anything I used to be."

 

[Juno Sabat]

Juno listened to Jorus's history as she steered the boat, bringing it just a tinge to starboard. Her paths were dictated by her gut, in a way that was difficult to explain. She wondered if ever became more than a gut feeling, a slight call in the background.

"Jaxton showed me a lot, but we spent most of our time training the 'core powers' so to speak. He also showed me bits and pieces of some Fallanassi and Baron Do techniques. They didn't stick super well though? I think I could pick it up quicker on a second pass, but I'm not sure I could retrace the steps out on my own. "

"The Mindwalking thing we did once. I didn't think I was supposed to be there and got out. Jax said he'd be right behind me, and came out the trance a week later. I think he felt pretty bad about it. He never brought it up after that." Juno continued as she moved the boat a little more to the starboard side.

"Philosophy wise he was big on looking at ideas and not going through memberships. Said a Jedi Master was often wise, while a council was often foolish. He talked a bit about Fallanassi and Baron Do thinking, but I'm still sorting it all out." She looked over at the navigator.

"Tell me about the Dagoyans?" She asked, not familiar with the sect.

 

[Jorus Q. Merrill]

By this point Jorus was unutterably relaxed in the prow of the boat, dangling his hand in the warm saltwater.

"The Fallanassi, the Baran Do, and the Mindwalkers might be the three most isolationist Force traditions in the galaxy. Complete homebodies. Any one of'em are more private, more secretive, than the Jensaarai, the Aing-Tii, and the Zeison Sha put together. Wondering why Jaxton focused on those when training you.

"As for the Dagoyan — they don't use the Force, just feel and relax and meditate. Feel some more. Meditate some more. Relax — you get the idea."

Juno Sabat