Private Welcome to the Jungle

[Jared Starchaser]

Her demeanor was definitely going a long way to defuse Jared's more work-centric approach. Sure when he was in combat he was playful with his foes and dare he think it, found combat fun. He was a protector. A hero of those who couldn't help themselves. But it also kept him work focused. He had to earn his credits after all.

But there was something with Valery and her whole tone. The woman was good looking and she definitely knew it, he'd encountered several women like her in his path. They'd use what they had to try to get more out of him. Or to get away. And he couldn't say he always had the perfect record.

Though Jared tried to keep his baser thoughts in line. Not for some form of Jedi schooling but because he had a job and wanted to move onto the next without finding himself in some net.

"Been to a few. Helping my sister track some history. Helping dad with the same. Found a few planets with small villages and large predators that they needed removed." Definitely didn't do well for the local ecosystem but that wasn't always part of his approach. He knew of an Ithorian shaman who would help with that. "I grew up on the Golden Beach of Corellia and on Csilia. Jungles were a few years into my wandering."

"Meditation? Jedi prep? Or something else? I can always go for a rest or maybe you can teach me what you’re doing?” Always a learner.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

The Vagrant Sunrise

​

Outfit: Jungle outfit | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Jared Starchaser

Valery nodded after listening along and offered a calmer smile. She often enjoyed her teasing and their little mind meld had been a fun opportunity to do so. But she did not want to push it too far, especially not right before a mission with potential dangers. Jungles were no joke, which is why she had asked him about his experience.

"Well, the experience will help a bit. New Cov was a very defining part of my life, for many reasons. The jungle, in some ways, is my home because of that." It only made her look forward to this mission even more. A mission of exploration into terrain more familiar to her than Coruscant.

The topic then shifted to mission prep, and Valery dipped her head, "Before a mission like this, I like to meditate to clear my head. But sometimes I go through an Alchaka routine instead. Not a dynamic one, but static."

"Some difficult handstands and positions that test the body, while also communing with the Force. It leaves you exhausted, so you'll want some rest after it. But your focus won't get any better than that."

"I can show you if you'd like?"

 

[Jared Starchaser]

It was a Jedi ship design. And there was a Jedi aboard. Some would say the Jedi. Jared was fairly confident Valery was fulfilling the roles Coren once had in the New Jedi Order. A leader and face. One who rallied the troops and kept them on message and path. He didn't have a hatred for the Order but did feel they were a bit stunted in their teachings and, based solely on his father, too laser focused on their war with the Sith.

Maybe this would be different.

"You do have a vibe and well, look, of someone who enjoys the jungles." He all but blurted out.

"Alchaka. That's the moving meditation right?" One of the reasons people would think the force users who became anything beyond passingly adept at a few motions were too dedicated or had a one-track mind with the Force to learn it all.

"One thing I didn't take from my abridged Jedi lessons. I'll participate sure." Jared offered a nod as he directed her towards one of the spare conference rooms. One he rigged so the tables and chairs and other aspects were pulled into the floor and walls.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

The Vagrant Sunrise

​

Outfit: Jungle outfit | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Jared Starchaser

"A vibe and look, hm? Please, do elaborate," Valery teased with quite a grin. Yeah, he wasn't getting out of this one, even with his clear attempt to change the subject to Alchaka training. She knew very well that there was something more chaotic or wilder about her personality, but it was far too amusing to poke him for making the comment.

She was curious now.

"Alchaka can involve movement, but unless we have the space, I think I'll just restrict myself to more static positions. Alchaka routines can also be quite... personal." She followed him then, until the two stepped into a larger open room. It was perfect for what she had in mind, so Valery walked to the center rather quickly and started stretching.

"I suggest starting with stretches, or you'll feel a lot of muscle burn. If you have any weights or objects we can use to stack or levitate, that'd also be useful."

 

[Jared Starchaser]

He spoke himself into that circle for sure. He knew what he meant but now it was going to serve to fluster him. "I just… you're an Alliance Jedi. Coruscant and the like. The city world doesn't exactly fit you're whole…." He gave her a look up and down. Nothing too hungry but a matter of fact look.

The room honestly had space for one person to be doing a moving meditation. But not the both of them, he didn't suspect. If it was anything that resembled practices for some martial arts. "Personal?" He didn't want to disrupt some sacred Jedi practice. His father was more martial and pathfinder than a mystic.

Still was.

Even if he did devout a lot of time to Jedi arts.

"Got a few weights." Namely a gym at up in another room. He made to step out and grab one of the repulsor carts to fill with some middling weight dumbbells and plates.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

The Vagrant Sunrise

​

Outfit: Jungle outfit | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Jared Starchaser

Perhaps she was enjoying this a little too much.

Valery watched him getting flustered and simply offered a smile in return, "Well, I'm glad to hear it because I don't like the city world." She chuckled and decided to leave it there. They had some mission prepping to focus on, and once that was completed, the potentially dangerous journey through the wild.

"It can be personal, yes," Valery said as they entered the room. "Depending on your routine, you can move your body into some, uh, interesting positions. Some of which you might prefer to do privately." She certainly wasn't going to show off just how flexible she was here either, and opted for some of the more basic ideas.

"Right before a mission, I like simple exercises. Various handstands while I connect with the Force and move around objects. It puts strain on the body and mind, and forces us to focus on the Force all at the same time."

 

[Jared Starchaser]

Being on the fringe of the galaxy, Jared was not used to this level of social interaction. He came in, he did his job, and he walked. Well, flew away. But he knew that chasing down this holocron was going to need assistance. “I lived on Corellia, and even that world wasn’t as developed as Coruscant. Its… more difficult there.” Too many people. Not enough life.

“Oh, so a big bit of… like yogic exercises?” He had an understanding of that. Mirialans were naturally limber and the Force blending into the species traditional approach of the Force. He was capable of a small moving meditation, but that was more a Mirialan thing than a Jedi thing.

Both he and his sister performed those.

And his history with the Jensaarai? It gave him a few other ideas. More how to move to protect oneself.

“Well, lets see what you’ve got!”

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

The Vagrant Sunrise

​

Outfit: Jungle outfit | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Jared Starchaser

"I've been to Corellia a few times," Valery said with an understanding of what he meant. Her last trip to the planet had been rather pleasant, but she knew of sides to it that she'd rather not visit. One of her former students, Briana, had been there to see some horrible things.

"Something like that," Valery said with a chuckle when he made the comparison. "Alchaka can involve a lot of dynamics too, rather than just being still and shifting slowly from one position to another. But I'd like to not completely exhaust my body before a mission, so static poses it is."

Valery then positioned herself into the center of the room and rather effortlessly shifted into a traditional handstand. All of her weight in line with her center mass, and her body straight as a plank. But with that balance there, she began to shift her legs until they were parallel to the ground, positioned to not off-balance herself too much.

The new position was far more demanding, but she loved that strain on her body.

With her mind, she reached out to the Force, and one-by-one, the weights began to levitate around her and move in patterns around the Jedi Master.

 

[Jared Starchaser]

“Its a nice world, great to be from. Family has an estate on the Beaches. Made being a bit younger than fun.” He couldn’t help but smile. He wasn’t always as cold as a Chiss, and with the warm beaches and women his age? Well, it was fun for a time there. Until he found himself a bit more. Thats when he found his new gig, somewhere between his histories. The Jensaarai were a group who were always hidden, and he moved in that shadow.

But not exclusively.

“Yeah, probably don’t need to be exhausting ourselves. If the world is any thing like I’m expecting…” Jungle. Force temple? Probably booby trapped.

Right. Focus.

As Valery kept moving, Jared moved into a few very rudimentary poses, definitely Mirialan, but not completely. Working with the Force, he was expanding his own sphere, to the weights, and even to Hopper, his droid companion.

Maybe there was something to this being prepared thing…

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

The Vagrant Sunrise

​

Outfit: Jungle outfit | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Jared Starchaser

"The beaches are fantastic," Valery agreed with a chuckle. "I was there recently, and I might go back soon if I'm taking time off again." The beaches there weren't just beautiful, but she felt they also attracted better people. Or, at least, it hadn't felt as crowded as some of the planets known to be vacation resorts for the entire Galaxy.

She liked having just a bit of privacy.

"It's going to be challenging," Valery agreed. "But we'll be ready, hm? We'll need our heads cleared and without distractions." She smirked his way and watched as he manipulated not just the weights, but his droid as well. It made her wonder how Bee would respond if she were to do that.

He'd probably love it.

"Feeling some strain already?"

 

[Jared Starchaser]

Jared preferred coastal environments, it was something he picked up from his father. Blaming it on the Corellian estate, but he was fine with a bit colder. Sometimes an ocean was more wild and powerful, cold and threatening. Still a host to life and adventure. “Taking time off?” He queried. Csillia was a snow world, and had its own wonders that he enjoyed.

“We’ll be ready. What, you’re the Jedi Master now, and I’m well… A son of one of them, and one who preps for these sort of misadventures.” It was how he made credits and kept himself flying. Flying and hunting were the two things he needed to do. If he kept moving? He wasn’t able to think about where the world was dumping him out.

With the stretching and the expansion of Force use, he could feel the strain. “Some what, not anything where I’d be too sore for finding where the holocron belongs… Or who will be missing it.”

Keeping it from them, so it doesn't fall back to the Holocron Eaters, or return it?

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

The Vagrant Sunrise

​

Outfit: Jungle outfit | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Jared Starchaser

"Oh you're one of those, huh? Never taking time off and always working." Valery grinned, only because she was like that herself back in the day. Until it had created serious problems for her once, and friends had forced her to take a break. Now, she was a Mother and a wife, so taking time off meant time with her family.

That wasn't something she'd miss out on.

"I know, I know," Valery continued with a chuckle. "We'll be alright, and I look forward to this adventure." With practiced elegance, Valery lowered herself from the handstand and rolled until she was flat on her back. She was breathing just a little heavier, but with some focus, she steadied herself and closed her eyes with a content sigh.

She was feeling good — strong and focused.

"You think we're close at this point?"

 

[Jared Starchaser]

"There are people out there that need help. If I sit by, who will help them?" And the truth was that if he stayed, there would be those that he would find his attraction to, present company aside. An attraction that may cause him to become complacent, to let his guard down as he explored what life could be life if he was to remain still, to stay in one place. Could that do him good, or would it do more harm for those that didn't have the capabilities to protect themselves?

It was all something to consider.

Finding himself centered again, the Force User watched the Jedi Master closely. Not that he had anything to distrust from her, but just observing her, observing the ship. Lowering his droid to the ground, and getting himself into a seated position, he considered her next question. The Force was flowing and he could feel they were approaching the right system. An old trick his father had left behind in a holocron before the carbonite nap.

"We are close. Are you ready?" He could delay the reversion and have them circle around. But first, he got up and nodded towards the bridge.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

The Vagrant Sunrise

​

Outfit: Jungle outfit | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Jared Starchaser

"The countless other people like you," Valery said with a chuckle. "If we don't take care of ourselves, we can't hope to ever take care of someone else. It doesn't mean you need to take extended vacations, though, but pushing yourself when your body or mind has nothing left to give won't help anybody." If anything, it'd just put them at risk alongside yourself. But, given that Jared still walked around and looked healthy enough, she figured he knew his own limits.

"For me, there are other benefits to taking a step back to at times. I like to connect with people." Forming friendships and more had given her a lot of strength.

Reason and motivation to push herself when it mattered.

Valery then watched him for a moment, as he watched her, and offered a smile. The Force swirled all about him, and she could swear that she felt something change in the way the ship trembled. Right as he mentioned that they were close.

"I'm ready." She got up to her feet, rolled her shoulders, and followed him to the cockpit.

It was time to go on an adventure.

 

[Jared Starchaser]

There definitely were people out there who wanted to help others, but so few had the abilities that Jared displayed, the Force and the ability to bend it to his will. Not in the evil Sith way, but in a way that helped him open up larger powers to push back the darkness. He didn’t want to admit that perhaps Valery knew what she was speaking about, but maybe it was the fact he didn’t want to end up like his father, where his guard was ever down, for reasons of vacation, and finding a partner. Granted, his father did it successfully at least twice. Buying the defender that they were in was a sacrifice, away from his E-Wing and only E-Wing.

“I suppose you are right. I’m seeing more groups making enclaves to help bring support further and further out into the galaxy. Jedi, Jensaarai, Witches… Everyone is out to the Rim lately, trying to help. And we can always use more. Its why I don’t tend to take a day off.”

Well, maybe a day, here and there, definitely not a week. Unless he was returning to Susevfi or Kattada or Arda to resupply, or the Dawn Chaser.

“Some connections are good to have, but I feel it can weigh things down. My father had that issue back in the Sullust Alliance.” What he was referring to the Galactic Alliance, prior to the attack and decimation of Coruscant by Taeli Raaf. Coren’s closeness to the other Jedi definitely cost many lives that day. Something Jared was not looking to replicate.

As he got to the bridge, he hopped into the pilot’s seat, Hopper bouncing to his own station, a modified one that allowed the slightly modified explorer BD unit to serve as a back up astrogator, with the L3 unit as the co-pilot and ship’s babysitter.

“Reverting to real space… now.” The Vagrant Sunrise entered real space in high orbit around the jungle planet. “Reading for signatures…” He was stating what his droid was beeping out as the course was plotted in. “Looks like there is a large temple set up around the equatorial area. What are your feelings on that for our starting point?” He looked back to Valery.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

The Vagrant Sunrise

​

Outfit: Jungle outfit | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Jared Starchaser

"There are pros and cons to anything. Not having any connections isn't exactly helpful either." She had personally never liked how distant the Jedi used to be from most people. They couldn't relate, understand and most only barely actually empathized. But there were risk to being too close to people as well. Valery had experienced that with her family, but she had always gotten through it, and the strengths far outweighed the stress.

To each their own, she supposed.

Following Jared into the cockpit, Valery's eyes focused on the viewscreen. The ship dropped from Hyperspace, and in an instant, the teeming with life jungle world reached out to her. A soft smile settled on her lips. "That would be a good place to start. Is there a place to land nearby?" Jungles were notoriously difficult to land in, but a Temple could mean that they'd find a clearing large enough.

Unless nature had reclaimed everything.

 

[Jared Starchaser]

He understood where she was coming from. He had his family, his father, sister… well sisters, and the Jedi. But beyond that? The Jensaarai and the Witches. He had other that he could fall back on. But he didn’t chose to do that. Jared continued on. What he was getting from Valery was not something he associated with Jedi. Warmth, connection. He couldn’t blame her. Based on the everything, she had a family, and cared for them, that much he could understand.

And there was an underlying bit of fun associated with her.

The mission could become less than just work, was what he was assuming. Made it even better.

Closing his eyes as he brought the ship in closer, he was looking for a place to land. “No landing areas, per se. I found an area that I think we can clear.” He reached back to a few switches. “Elthree, can you knock some of those trees down?” The droid nodded and started firing, felling a few trees for the Defender to land. It was vegetation here, no major life forms.

Sometimes it was better to take the E-Wing. Though he’d be short company today if he had. Feeling the ship touch down, Jared smiled and got out of the seat. "Time to see what we can find!"

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

The Vagrant Sunrise

​

Outfit: Jungle outfit | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Jared Starchaser

Even though they moved on from their conversation about connections and attachments, Valery felt satisfied. She could understand his stance perfectly fine, but she had a feeling that he understood hers as well. Perhaps it'd even encourage him to open up to the idea of forming stronger bonds a little bit.

She sure enjoyed his company, and she knew she would value his friendship.

"Huh..." Valery said when he hovered his ship above the trees and started making a clearing for himself. She sometimes spent far too much time looking for a good place to land, but he just made his own.

Hopefully, mother nature would be forgiving.

"Do you want me to take the lead or do you feel bold today?" She flashed a smirk and got out of her seat to follow after him. Wherever they were going to end up, she was very clearly excited.

 

[Jared Starchaser]

Jared was always ready for the next step. While he wasn’t the paragon of good that was the Jedi, he wasn’t that far off. He followed his own course but he still fell promptly on the ‘do-gooder’ side of the coin for an adventurer and saber for hire. He was more than happy to keep on in his father’s name, to work in the essence of the Starchaser line rather than the full dogma that had the Jedi teachings. Jensaarai and even his Witch lessons weren’t far off.

With the Defender touching down, he really did miss something smaller, it was hard to park something that was in essence a light corvette. Maybe a skipray next time? His father had a lot of fun toys for him. He just needed to establish which one it was going to be. He had the E-Wing but maybe it was time for another?

And the Defender allowed him to have Valery here.

“I mean, I dont think it matters all that much, more the elements than any foes. You wanna lead?”

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

The Vagrant Sunrise

​

Outfit: Jungle outfit | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Jared Starchaser

"Of course, right this way," Valery said with a growing smirk. She then walked ahead of him and made her way down the ramp to be surrounded by jungle. While different from New Cov and likely not nearly as lethal, it somehow still felt familiar. The heat, the humidity, the sound of the wind and the noise of animals all around her. It was an atmosphere that felt more like home to her than Coruscant ever would.

She couldn't stop smiling as she looked and spun around on her heels.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Valery asked, her eyes scanning every part of their environment with wonderment. Everything here looked untouched by civilization and felt so peaceful.

The wars and troubles of the Galaxy suddenly felt so distant.

"I suppose we should leave the rest to the Force again, hm?" She slid her gaze back to Jared and grinned, "I have no idea where we are or where we're going, so let's make it our guide."