Secrets of the Force

[Rann Thress]

Rann grabbed Aren's hand and held it, not knowing what else to do during the test. He wasn't really surprised when the test came back positive, showing the two were related. And when Eho came into the cockpit Rann could not help but be startled. He still found her presence uneasy and, when she did what she did to Ar'ekk, felt vindicated. He was glad he wasn't in Ar'ekk's shoes right now, and indeed, wished for nothing more than to return to his bunk and sleep off this crazy day.

"Hello again, Eho."

@3H-0 @Arekk [member="Aren D'Shade"]

 

[Aren D'Shade]

The lack of surprise expressed by Rann and Ar'ekk made Aren feel slightly odd. Maybe it was this Force thing the two of them had that gave them better understanding. However, she took the small extra comfort from the hand Rann held.

Looking between the test results and Ar'ekk, she narrowed her eyes.

"I still want to know how we got separated. It doesn't make..."

Those narrow eyes grew wider when something dropped from the ceiling and onto Ar'ekk's lap. It became obvious very quickly that something was a rather exotic droid of some kind. During the entire operation of the droid gathering her hand and putting it back on, all Aren could was stare and blink at her.

If she had known what Rann was thinking of feeling, she would have been more than happy to agree. It had been quite a big day for her. Leaving Zakuul and now finding out she had a family by blood. Both were going to take some getting used to.

"I can fix you so you don't randomly drop limbs like that, you know."

[member="Rann Thress"] [member="3H-0"] [member="Arekk"]

 

[Arekk]

Unsurprisingly, Eho made another "exotic" appearance that didn't really seemed to affect the Knight himself even though she sat on his lap in a cowgirl position and placed her rear in the most provocative position someone could withstand. Rann and Aren probably felt like dying from the inside or something but Ar'ekk? Unphased.

"Eho, I thought you had left the Hawk already. This is some surprise, huh?"

Taking a moment to drag his gaze towards Aren and Rann again, he continued to speak as his hands touched the assassination droid's hips. He didn't want her to fall, right?

"Aren, meet uhh... Eho. She's an assassination droid and occasional visitor of the Ebon Hawk. An acquired taste, you could say."

Truth be thold, Ar'ekk was happy that Eho decided to join them once again. Their first encounters were vastly different to any other interaction he had, including the ones from Nar Shaddaa. The female android was something else, definitely.

"How long you've been up there?"

Her sudden movements didn't seem to bother him at all, no matter how "strange" they were.

Yet somehow, the whole reveal between Aren and Ar'ekk being siblings had turned temporarily into second place into the topic.

"I think we should talk about this in private but not now. Not yet. We need time."

[member="Aren D'Shade"] | [member="Rann Thress"] | [member="3H-0"]

 

[3H-0]

[member="Arekk"] | [member="Rann Thress"] | [member="Aren D'Shade"]


Eho raised her hand and made it do a cute wave with her fingers as she winked at Rann before pulling her hands back behind her back and looking at Aren. "Ah, this is the Jedis sister, I think I caught that right? Or wife? No, Ranns sister!" She leaned in to Arekk, whispering, "Brother and sister, are they uh... you know," she whispered, but still loud enough for the other two to hear. Before anyone took her seriously she lurched back and made a laugh. Her voice modulator malfunctioned slightly and gave a robotic laugh that sounded like the voice was failing until it reverted back to normal. "Aren, yes?" Eho asked, she had been in the ceiling the whole time, impossible not to listen. "I'm not broken... or loose!" She huffed, crossing her arms, "how rude!" She changed again, chuckling, "No, I like disassembling myself, I love modifying myself and changing how my body works. Sometimes I just toss a part for fun." Then, as if she was talking to the same person, she leaned against the pilots seat. "Oh, Ar'ekk, you know nothing on this ship is private... the ship always listens, and I'm inside the ship.... haha! But no really, you can talk about whatever you want, I'm not looking for a pretty credit chip for selling information. Buuuuut...." She leaned in again, just like before. "Touch my hips again, and that good time you keep thinking about will end up a.... not-happy ending." She giggled, pulling back from the whisper and leaning against the wall where the galactic map was. "Don't mind me, I'll probably jab my arm into a comm panel or go rummaging through the navigation computer; right now I'm just... peeking," Eho gave a smile as her head started to tilt to the side until it twitched like a malfunctioning droid.

 

[Rann Thress]

"Why are you the way that you are."
Rann said, quietly to no one in particular.

He still had not gotten used to Eho. Truthfully he doubted he ever would. He was sure she'd be good in a fight but he wasn't so sure she wouldn't laugh maniacally and break apart at the joints, becoming nothing more than a heap of laughing, cackling, crazy-droid.

The Onderon-shattering revelation of Aren and Ar'ekk's kinship was now nothing in particular. Just another thing about two people he had recently just met. He did wonder how this would change the relationship between the three of them. He wondered if this would change how Ar'ekk acted in combat. Not that he'd seen Ar'ekk fight yet. As weird as it may seem, Rann looked up to the Jedi who had picked him up from Kashyyyk. He wanted to learn as much as he could from Ar'ekk and could not help but wonder if this would have an impact on Rann's training in some way in the future.

This train of thought did not continue much further, however, as Eho, the show stealer, had entered the fray and all eyes were upon her. He did not want to be rude to her but was quick to clarify that it was Aren and Ar'ekk who were related, not Aren and himself.

"How did you even get up there? Why were you up there?"

[member="3H-0"] [member="Arekk"] [member="Aren D'shade"]

 

[Arekk]

Fast forward a few minutes and with the droid gone for the time being, Ar'ekk took the opportunity to speak with Aren in private. No annoyances, no interruptions. A lone moment to speak about this truth that was revealed behind their eyes, that could either benefit or hurt their future relationship.

Siblings, who would've thought? Not even in your dreams you could fathom such thing, maybe luck or the perhaps the Force brought them together once again.

Why did they separate, however? So many questions without answer that would get one when the time was right, as it passed and they started to rebuild what has been lost for years now.

"Aren, how are you feeling? Listen... We should really talk about this. It came out too sudden and we've rushed to know the truth that I feel we haven't digested any of it yet."

[member="Aren D'Shade"] | [member="Rann Thress"]

 

[Aren D'Shade]

Eventually Aren took her hand back from Rann after the testing was done and they left the cockpit. The droid having disappeared to who knows where and out of her mind. Skeeter she put in her bunk when he started falling asleep on her shoulder. Evidently he felt comfortable enough himself to fall asleep which she took as an exellent sign of things.

As she left her cabin, Ar'ekk stopped her and asked how she was feeling. Suggesting they have a talk about it since it was something so sudden to both of them. The droid having been a slight distraction at the time, she had to agree.

"I think that will take time."

Just a simple and forward statement, but truth.

"Perhaps I just need something to keep me busy to digest it. Got anything you want fixed?"

[member="Arekk"] [member="Rann Thress"]

 

[Arekk]

Lifting his palm up to acknowledge her feelings, Ar'ekk simply changed the topic of their conversation. Their chat would have to take some other time, once things had calmed down and feelings were somewhat in place for the two of them. No need to rush anything, of course.

"That's perfectly fine."

His eyes lingered on the slicer girl and one of the panels nearby briefly before he continued talking,

"I've had a malfunction with the holomap showing the wrong coordinates from time to time. Think you could work something out?"

Giving mundane tasks to make Aren feel at home or at least comfortable after the big reveal was key for their relationship, that way she wouldn't have to focus on such truth just yet.

"I'll be with Rann in the cockpit, there's some stuff I need to go through with him."

[member="Aren D'Shade"] | [member="Rann Thress"]

 

[Aren D'Shade]

As Ar'ekk accepted her answer of not yet being ready to have the important conversation, Aren almost visibly relaxed. She knew it would have to happen sooner or later, but wasn't quite ready for it. She needed to actually get comfortable being here first. In the routine of things and feel like it's a new home. Then they could talk.

"Thank you."

Her lightly touched his arm and pulled her hands away, not quite meeting his eyes. When he answered her question about repairing something, she nodded with a thumb motion, she pointed to her cabin.

"Let me grab my tools and I'll get to work on it."

Watching as he walked off to speak with Rann, she turned her attention to the panel and work in front of her.

[member="Arekk"] [member="Rann Thress"]

 

[Rann Thress]

"What is it, master?"
Rann was eager to finally begin his training. First and foremost, he wanted a lightsaber. The traditional weapon of the Jedi had a certain allure and prestige that Rann wanted. But anything that may hint actual teaching was something Rann desperately wanted. He knew it wasn't the jedi way but he wanted the power. He wanted to be able to defend himself, but he also wanted the means to defeat those who might cause him or his friends harm.

So, Rann stood, anxiously awaiting Ar'ekk's next words. And hoping that the saber would be coming to him shortly.

[member="Aren D'Shade"] [member="Arekk"]

 

[Arekk]

"Let me talk to you for a minute, about this whole ordeal. Body and mind must be in one place and whatever took place here shall be deal with in an appropiate time frame. I want us to focus on training now, you'll become a Jedi."

Making an emphasis on the latter was key on Ar'ekk's explanation to Rann, trying to justify what happened and that his head was kept in place. Nothing had changed at all, his commitment to their journey would remain untouched and would follow its normal course as expected.

It was important for the Jedi Knight to emphasize and ensure to Rann that everything was under control and that they were going to keep doing what they were doing, no matter how hard the road looks or the path starts to get more difficult by the minute. This could very well be a great example of how a Jedi deals with harsh truths and different situations.

A learning experience for sure.

"It's time we get to our next destination."

And by the magic of those words, the Ebon Hawk made the preparations to make the jump to lightspeed and finally reach a planet that embraced Ar'ekk during his first days as a Jedi Padawan. One he hadn't visited in more than a decade, that would bring him many memories.

Voss.

[member="Rann Thress"] | [member="Aren D'Shade"]

 

[Aren D'Shade]

Looking over into the panel that Ar'ekk had indicated needed work on, Aren gave a sigh at the mess she saw. What would have looked like gibberish to somebody made sense to her. Somehow she had taught herself naturally just how to fix things and make them work.

Taking out some of her finer tools, she didn't disable the system since it was still partially in use and attached from end to end. Aren just hoped they didn't rely on it for the moment to calculate anything. The way the connections were loose, she was surprised they got anywhere in one piece. Flying through a supernova or uncharted asteroid field would be bad.

To her luck or lack of it, just as she was about to make the final adjustment, Ar'ekk did indeed activate the system to plot a course to Voss. Letting out a curse as she felt the panel heating up slightly, she withdrew her tools until the heat went away. Without having been able to clean up after making her adjustments, some of the dust that had collected on it sparked up slightly. Luckily it quickly went out after activation and she was able to put the last repair on it that was needed.

From now on, there should be no further issues with it giving them the wrong destination or image.