Song: "Take A Picture," by Filter, from the album, Title Of Record. (I know, it's an oldie by now. Scary thought, eh? :P)

Chapter Twelve: Mercurial World

Can you take a picture?

'Cause I won't remember.

It was difficult to navigate the Spiral Dance through Taloraan's scattered ring system, but not impossible.

Certainly nothing that Drake couldn't handle.

The seven moons of the giant, gaseous world were held at intermittent intervals just beyond the layer of particulates that had gotten caught in the planet's highly-charged magnetic field. The end result was a labyrinthine system of rocky satellites in a myriad of shapes and sizes.

In the viewport, Taloraan glowed. Its appearance was akin to a focused beam of light held behind a sheet of flimsi. Roiling gas-clouds in the upper atmosphere lent an ephemeral feel to the planet, as if any moment a strong gust of solar wind would blow it away. Indeed, as they approached the coordinates that Johari had managed to dredge up from her memory – some place in the southern hemisphere – Drake imagined that he could feel the wind start to buffet the hull.

It had only taken a day or so to reach Codia, refuel, and then make the journey to Taloraan, and in the interim everyone had taken turns sleeping and piloting. Without taking his eyes off of the milky, citrine-colored planet, Drake spoke to the Echani woman at the nav. "How're the shields doing?"

"Stable and holding," she replied in an even voice, adding: "The Dance has never let me down."

It was wiser, he knew, to withhold the sarcastic remark that came to his mind, so Drake only shrugged and adjusted their course. "Glad to hear it."

The airlock that led to the gunwell was open, as was the one beyond, that opened onto the lounge, and he could hear Tully, Zara and Levy – well, the first two of them, anyway – discussing something he was not privy to, and again he wondered at the bond that the Nautolan girl had formed with his brother. Even as he felt a flash of jealousy, it was swiftly followed by a note of shame. Levy deserved to have someone with whom he could communicate normally – or as normally possible – and Zara...well, it had been his own decision to leave her behind on Mundali while he traveled the galaxy with his brothers, so he supposed that he had no one else to blame for her and Levy's closeness.

Drake knew that Levy didn't harbor romantic feelings for Zara, and he knew that she looked upon Levy as a friend – a brother, perhaps. But still...it bothered him that they had such a close connection, almost as much as it bothered him that he was jealous where he should only be happy that they had each other when himself and the others weren't around.

Kriffing hell. The whole thing was too irritating for words, and he frowned inwardly at the tangle of emotions that couldn't be shot away, no matter how much he might wish it were otherwise. As if to add to the confusion, Zara's face, wreathed in crystalline light, looked back at him from his mind's eye, and his throat caught.

Let it go, he told himself. It was what she wanted, it was what they both needed, and he was determined to carry out her wishes, despite his own feelings that he was having trouble ignoring.

Shaking himself out of the reverie, he swallowed and blinked at Taloraan, which was growing larger as they approached. "You're certain the coordinates you...remembered are correct?"

Perhaps he didn't do so great a job keeping the skepticism out of his voice, for the Echani woman cast him an unreadable look before she replied. "I know you don't believe me, or even like me," she said. "I know that you're worried for your brothers. I know what it's like to miss your family..."

She frowned and trailed off, and they sat in silence for a few more moments. Finally she turned his way again, and he returned the look, noting how her pale eyes held his without a trace of hesitation or irritation. "The circumstances of this entire journey are strange to all of us, I suppose. But I do appreciate the fact that you've chosen to remain."

It was a testament to his training that Drake was able to keep his face deadpan, as he didn't think that he had much of a choice, overall. Not like he'd get very far without a ship, anyway.

Johari's hand lifted to indicate the helm. "Ancestors know I'm not the best pilot, and Tully..." She trailed off again as the other clone's voice – as if on cue – rose from the lounge area in a creative string of swearing. "Tully appreciates you and your brother, in his own way."

"If he's going to appreciate anyone, it should be Zara," Drake replied with a shrug, turning back to the helm. "Without her, he might be missing a few limbs to frostbite."

Light laughter sounded from her direction, and he cast the Antarian Ranger a curious look; surprisingly, she was smiling, albeit it was not at him. Again, they sat in silence, but it felt looser this time, and they watched Taloraan approach without speaking further. As Drake guided the Spiral Dance through the thick atmosphere, slowing its pace because they were nearing their destination, the others came to the helm to watch.

Or, in Tully's case, comment. "Gas giants are...interesting. Jo, I heard you say that the atmo's breathable? That's good...it'll let us save the oxygen filters for another time."

Zara had come to stand behind Drake; she was close enough that he could feel the brush of her breath as she spoke. "What in the stars is that? It looks like an island or something, but...is it floating?"

From the clouds, a funnel-shaped bit of mass had appeared; as their ship drew closer, Drake could see that it was an island of sorts, though it was like nothing he'd ever seen. It wasn't large, perhaps only a kilometer or so wide, with a mixture of dull, yellow grasses and rocks along its surface. The bottom appeared to be riddled with holes and cavities. As the Spiral Dance approached, more of the strange, floating islands began to appear, and Drake shook his head in wonder.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Levy's hands moving rapidly. Johari seemed to notice too, as she watched him carefully before replying. "The islands are a phenomenon only found in a few areas of the planet, where the magnetic fields are strongest. They stay afloat in part due to the fields, but also because of their porous nature, so that they are seemingly suspended on an ocean of gases."

"How'd you know that?" Drake couldn't help but ask.

"The Rangers have a rather comprehensive databank," she replied in an even voice. "At one time, it was our business to know such things."

The former ARC frowned. "So it's not returning memories...?" To illustrate, Tully tapped the side of his head, and she sighed.

"Not this time."

The nearest "island" was now off the starboard side of the ship, and Drake tilted his head to get a better look. "Can any of that Ranger know-how tell if there's a place to land? We're about near the coordinates that yo-" He was cut off from further speech by a blur of orange and red that shot past the viewport as the ship slowly descended through the atmosphere.

"Is that a...bird?" Zara asked, alarmed. Even as she said the words there was another shot of crimson past them, then another, and another. Each time the flashes approached, the Dance rocked a little bit, as if the wind from their passage was causing instability, and Drake caught glimpses of what appeared to be some kind of humanoids atop the creatures. Gritting his teeth, he punched the engines and the ship lurched forward, putting some distance between them and the strange natives.

"What the kriff was that?" Though he couldn't see, Drake knew that Tully's hearing was better than most clones, and the rocking of the ship had also given away the almost-attack.

Johari frowned and put a hand to her head for a moment; she ran the fingers of her left hand through the edges of her hair. "Fleft-wauft," she murmured.

"Fluff-wha?" Tully asked with frown.

"Big, crinking birds," Drake replied through clenched teeth as a horde of the Force-damned things suddenly descended around the Spiral Dance; he could see now that they were indeed large avians of some kind, with wicked looking claws and sharp beaks that glinted in the dim light.

"Hang on..." He veered the ship to the left and ignored the shouts of the others as they were tossed around the cabin, and as he did so he visually scanned the area around them, searching for a way to maybe lose the creatures; however, moments later they felt the ship shudder and come to a halt, a horrendous, metallic grinding sound coming from above.

"Oh, that's a good noise to hear inside a starship," Tully grumbled, his hand reaching for his blaster. "What'd they do...grab us? Do we look like dinner to you?" This last part was shouted towards the ceiling, as if his words could penetrate the bulkhead and reach the creatures.

Drake punched the controls but nothing worked; the engines had become overheated with too much attempted acceleration and not enough forward movement, and were offline. He resisted the urge to swear and instead peered out the viewport. "Looks like they're taking us to that big island over there." He shot a glance at Zara, whose skin had paled. "Guess we need to arm ourselves."

When Drake looked at her, Zara tried not to feel disheartened by his unreadable expression, and instead focus on the very real danger into which they'd flown. Everyone armed themselves and gathered at the hatch: the clones seemed calm but prepared, and she supposed they were drawing on their military training in the moment; Johari grasped her twin blades, the steel winking in the light of the cabin while her feet were slightly apart and her face set with cool determination. Zara herself had a blaster in her hand, while her saber was clipped to her belt, within easy reach.

The ship slowed, grinding to a halt against the grassy surface of the floating island. Everyone tensed as Tully slammed the heel of his hand into the panel by the hatch door, muttering something about "meeting his fate head-on," and the hydraulics hissed as the door opened, slowly letting down the boarding ramp. Outside, Zara could make out massive shadows and hear the shifting of feathers in the wind. She cast her awareness out through the Force and searched.

Only to find curiosity, recognition, and...joy?

Tully's legs tensed to propel him forward even as his finger closed on the trigger of his blaster, but Zara spoke first. "No! Wait..."

All faces turned to her, but she was already lowering her weapon and making to step past Tully, though she did glance at the Antarian Ranger. "It's safe. I promise."

Johari murmured something in her lilting language, but slid her blades into their sheaths and moved alongside Zara, her expression calm, though the Nautolan could feel an undercurrent of agitation within the other woman.

As Zara took a step to the ramp, Drake caught her arm but she shook him away. "Trust me," she said, willing him to do so. His brows knitted but he let go, took the place on her other side, and together they descended the ramp, Tully and Levy at their heels.

Initially, all she felt was rapidly-moving air against her skin, as if the wind itself was attempting to tear her apart; there were a few moments where she had to adjust her stance in order to remain unmoved by the gusting air, and the realization that their ship had been brought to a precarious patch of floating landmass did little to soothe her nerves.

It was brighter than she expected; there was no discernible sun in the sky above, but the light color of the clouds was almost blinding after being within the darkened interior of the Spiral Dance for so long. Zara blinked a few times while her eyes adjusted, noting the sharp, almost bitter tang to the air. Despite the constant blast of wind, it was still not as cold as Ilum, though she figured that it would get uncomfortable soon enough, and blinked again as the rushing air attempted to tear water from her eyes.

Then she saw the natives.

They were Humanoid in appearance; a group of wiry-looking men and women dressed in an assortment of leather and some type of wool, clothing clearly designed for warmth. Bright feathers, mostly in colors of crimson and flame, decorated their shoulders, waists and arms, mimicking the appearance of the fleft-waufts, the massive bird-like creatures that Johari had mentioned; presently, the natives were surrounding the Dance, looking on the scene with tilted heads and rapidly blinking eyes in the manner of their smaller kindred.

Even without hearing his thoughts, Zara could sense Levy's internal dilemma as he debated jumping back into the ship or pulling out his holo-cam. Beside her, Drake's hands tightened over his blaster, but he said nothing.

"We're surrounded, aren't we?" Tully sounded resigned more than anything else. "Fan-kriffing-tastic." Standing just before him, Johari was silent, eyes wide.

In fact, save for the rushing air in Zara's ears, the whole place was silent, but even the wind couldn't banish the tension. Again, Zara brushed out with the Force and noted the recognition that emanated from the Taloraan people, and she realized that it was centered on the Echani woman at her side. Finally, one of the women, a female who appeared to be in her late forties, stepped forward and nodded to Johari.

"Tocho said you would return, though it is sooner than he expected." Though the wind raced between the groups as if eager to carry her words away, they managed to reach Zara and the others.

Jo furrowed her brow. "Tocho? Is that...?"

"Our chieftain," the Taloraan replied. "The leader of our clan of Wind Raiders and the keeper of the message. Your lover entrusted him with it, when last you were here. Come...we'll take you to our home." She made a gesture with her hand, but Johari only stared at her.

When the Ranger finally spoke, her voice was choked, and it didn't take the Force to realize that she was flummoxed. "My...my lover?"

The Taloraan sighed and shot her a somewhat impatient look. "You and your friend should come with us, Ranger...all will be explained to you in time."

At these words, Drake twisted around to look at their ship, then turned back to the natives. "Can we fly ourselves, or do you want to carry us again?" Tully gave a snort of laughter at the sarcasm, but Drake's expression was stern.

However, the Wind Raider merely chuckled, as did the rest of her kindred. "Your ship is too large for our village to accommodate," she said. "But it will be safe from harm, here. The winds in this section of our world are mild, and the islands are more stable than they likely appear. No...you can ride alongside us."

"No way am I getting on a big, kriffing bird," Tully said, all traces of laughter in his tone having faded. "Not in a thousand years. You'll have to kill me first."

"I'm with Tully on this one," Drake added, shaking his head as he looked over the nearest fleft-wauft, whose saffron-colored head drooped a bit as if it had understood the words.

Another Wind Raider, a younger man, rolled his eyes and glanced at the woman who'd spoken to them initially. "Niabi...are you certain about this? Maybe we should just bring back the Ranger. The rest can stay here."

Niabi shook her head; the others had moved back to their fleft-waufts and were preparing to take off, readjusting girths and leather straps that held the saddles to their mounts. Her fleft-wauft, a crimson-colored creature with large, yellow eyes, that Zara thought held a spark of sentience, approached Johari with the ungainly, tilting steps of a winged creature on solid ground before pausing to peer down at the Echani woman.

"They are free to do as they like, but I think they'll chose to come with us. Pinion remembers you," Niabi added, extending a hand to Jo, who swallowed and looked up at the massive bird. It blinked at her once, then lowered its head to her; tentatively, Jo's hand lifted and the creature all but shoved its head beneath her palm, its eyes closing with pleasure as she began to scratch.

"What's that sound?" Tully's voice wavered between uncertainty and fear.

The fleft-wauft, Pinion, had started to make a soft cooing noise that seemed incongruous with its ferocious appearance, and Jo smiled. "It's okay, Tully," she said, then looked at Zara. Her face was alight, her cheeks were flushed and she was actually smiling. "It's okay. We can go with them." She looked back at the bird and gave a soft shake of her head, amazement tinting her next words. "I remember you."

As he gripped the leather handles of the makeshift saddle on which he found himself, Levy considered the very real fact that flying in a starship was absolutely nothing like riding on the back of an enormous bird as it plummeted through the air.

For one thing, it was kriffing cold. Not like Ilum had been, but enough to make him wish for his parka. For another...there was nothing between him, the air, and the plummet to certain death that he surmised would last for far too long. In that moment, as if to prove his point, the fleft-wauft on which he was riding adjusted its angle and veered to the right, the movement causing Levy's stomach to drop to his knees. He caught a glimpse of below: a misty, orangey-yellow that went on and on...

As he'd done before, Levy told himself to snap out of it, hoping that he could will the motion-sickness away. Maybe if he didn't look down, things would seem better.

Nope. It was the same above his head as well, though the sky was a little lighter, but overall he was starting to lose all sense of direction, and his body was rebelling against the disorienting feeling. Even though his left arm was itching like crazy, his cheeks had long since become numb after so much wind, but he hardly cared about that any more. They'd only been flying for a few minutes, but he was done with the whole ordeal.

And then he glanced at Zara; she too was mounted behind one of the Wind Raiders, though she appeared to be enjoying herself, despite the fact that the rushing air must surely have been astringent on her lekku. Her dark eyes were wide and she was glancing all around, taking in the sights – well, whatever there was to be seen – and intermittently speaking to the Raider before her, a young woman who looked amused at the Padawan's questions.

Levy couldn't help it. Only you would like this kind of thing, Zar.

Her reply was like laughter within his mind. Haven't you always wanted to fly?

That's what ships are for. The fleft-wauft he was riding dipped its head and their speed increased, along with his heart rate. I'm not made for this kind of flying.

Just relax, Lev, she replied, her tone more serious but still infused with her customary kindness. It's going to be okay. Trust me.

Force above, he wanted to believe she was right, but then the kriffing bird wheeled again, and he sorely wished that he could scream, or at least shout obscenities as Tully was doing. Closing his eyes didn't help either, and Levy was starting to panic.

However, he recalled Mundali and his talk with Weave. It was true; he has survived worse than this, hadn't he? As if in protest, the nanogene droids beneath his skin seemed to crawl, but he pushed the feeling away and tried to think of other things.

The Wind Raiders, while not particularly warm and cuddly, didn't seem like they were hostile to the newcomers. He could see Drake ahead of him, gripping the saddle with white knuckles but keeping his gaze up; beyond his brother, the Echani woman's eyes were closed, and there was a faint smile on her face as if she was savoring the feel of the wind.

Save Tully, no one else appeared to be overly bothered, so Levy decided to try and take his mind off of his own fear. He took a deep breath and leaned forward to the Wind Raider, the annoyed young man who'd addressed Niabi. After tapping his shoulder to get his attention, Levy pointed to the bird they were riding, hoping that the Raider would understand. It took a moment, but the Taloraan gave a nod. "This is my girl, Luster," he said through the wind. "And I'm Kek."

Levy nodded and gave him a broad smile, hoping to convey his thanks. He thought that Kek understood, for the other man smiled back and nodded once more before turning forward again.

The sky wheeled above and there was no sign of any ground below; Levy slowly unclenched the fingers of his left hand from the saddle's grip and carefully reached down to pat the fleft-wauft, whose feathers were surprisingly silky. At first he wondered if the creature felt the motion, though almost immediately Luster turned her head and regarded Levy for a fraction of an inch before looking forward; her body tensed and tightened, then she was angled into a nose dive that sent Levy's stomach to his ears. However, rather than vomit he started grinning.

In the back of his mind Levy wondered how difficult it would be to pull out his holo-cam and capture the moment as they flew.

Common sense told Tully that it was not wise to place one's trust – or one's life – on the back of a massive, alien bird and simply hope that the crinking thing didn't decide to give a hearty shake and send him plummeting to the gaseous void below. Tactically, his group was at every disadvantage, especially once they left the relative safety of the Spiral Dance:they were outnumbered, on unfamiliar turf – well, that seemed to be the wrong word, given the circumstances, but he supposed it sufficed – and following the "feelings" of a fledgling Jedi.

None of that brought any kind of comfort to the former ARC lieutenant.

However, that other sense, the one that Rand had often called gut feeling, was not screaming a warning, and he wondered if he'd been hanging around Jedi for too long.

So rather than give into his apprehension, Tully instead puzzled over the new intel he'd gleaned from the Wind Raiders, namely that Rand and Johari had been lovers, at some point during their quest to hide the Great Holocron.

It wasn't much of a surprise, really. He'd known that they harbored feelings for each other, but neither of them had ever seemed inclined to do anything about it. However, the realization that they had finally taken that step pleased him. They were the best family he could have ever asked for after his first squad had been killed, and he found that he was glad that Jo and Rand had known that kind of happiness, even if it was for a short time.

Moments into his rumination, he felt the wind around his face slow and the fleft-wauft's body tilted upwards in a manner that indicated it was landing. None-too-soon, either, because he'd actually run out of swears and curses, earlier.

Indeed, the bird hand settled against something solid, and Tully stretched his senses to discern what he could about their new location. Aside from the mouth-watering aroma of cooking food, he could smell the grassy, sharp scent that he'd noticed when they'd been forced to land on the island, so he figured they were on another one that was probably larger, as it stood to reason that the Taloraans had brought the off-worlders to their proper home.

Once he heard Johari's voice telling him it was safe, he slid off the bird and landed on solid ground, confirming his earlier assessment and alerting him to the fact that he'd missed having dirt beneath his boots, as opposed to, well...nothing.

"Are you...?" At his side, Jo's question was soft.

"Never better. Well," he amended as his stomach let out a growl. "I could use some dinner."

His sister made no response as she turned to walk and he followed; soon the others joined them, and he found that he was strangely comforted to know that he was with other clones again – even half-trained as they were. He could hear the sounds of other Wind Raiders chattering all around them, and smell a pungent mixture of campfire smoke, cooking meat and what he assumed was...

"Guano, I suppose," Jo said in response to a question from the Padawan. "I imagine they use it for all manner of things."

Drake's voice sounded next, wry. "Not for eating, I hope."

Following the smell of smoke, the group was lead to a point about two hundred meters from the landing site. After a few minutes they were asked to sit down before a snapping heat that he could tell was a campfire; a collection of thick blankets had been spread on the ground, and within moments Tully felt someone passing him a heavy plate that smelled amazing. Niabi, the Raider who'd made hard contact with Jo, said something about welcoming guests and that the chieftain, Tocho, would see them soon, but most of his attention had shifted from sussing out potential threats to dinner.

Guano or not, the Wind Raiders seemed to know their way around a...well, he didn't really have any idea of what he was eating, other than the fact that it was tender and delicious, so he nudged Jo.

"What do you think this is?" He modulated the pitch of his voice to only reach her place beside him, their knees and hips touching as they sat.

Though he'd never admit it to anyone else, Tully took comfort in her movements, as they gave him clues as to what was going on around him. Not that he didn't miss being able to see, but there was no use crying over spilled blue-milk, as the saying went.

Moments later, he felt the movement of her coat as the Echani woman shrugged. "I have a few ideas, but other than it not being guano, I'm not sure I care to speculate too much, Tully."

"Copy that." On his other side, he could hear one of the other clones – Levy, he thought – scarfing down his own meal, and chuckled to himself. Some things were a constant, no matter what batch a clone was a part of, anyway.

For a few moments the group sat in relative quiet and ate. Jo and Zara attempted to ask questions of Niabi, but the Raider kept deferring the answers onto the chieftain, who had still not made an appearance. Once his belly was full, Tully leaned forward, tracing small patterns he could only see in his mind's eye in the blanket before him. It was almost strange, he realized, to be so comfortable. The fire was pleasantly warm and the only person he considered family any longer was safe at his side. Even the younger set wasn't being too annoying as they spoke to one another.

He knew the chieftain appeared when silence fell over the group and Johari straightened in her seat. Several of the Wind Raiders spoke to each other in a rapid language that even he couldn't follow, but he detected no hints of malice in the tone of their words. There was a shuffling sound, then a sigh and creak of bones as Tocho settled down; Tully knew that he was across the fire from them because Jo didn't turn her head at all, so he faced forward as well.

When the elder man spoke, his voice was surprisingly clear and resonant, though the words he said made little sense. "Where Swift hearts fought Brothers in the Core of the Arrow; the Invisible Hand did tear bone from the marrow."

Silence.

Tully winced. Great, just their luck. The Wind Raider chieftain was kriffing insane.

As if she'd had the same thought, Johari cleared her throat. "I beg your pardon, sir?"

There was a pause, then the chieftain spoke again, formulating the next series of words to be slower and more deliberate. "The sky was ripped open and our world was lost; the price was an hour, too high was the cost."

"Um..." By her tone the Padawan seemed flummoxed as well, so Tully figured that the Force wasn't magically translating the words or anything. "Sir? What does that-"

"Our souls are now trapped on the coruscate field; we wait for the time when the darkness will yield." Satisfaction tinted the elderly Raider's voice, and he didn't speak again for some time. Tully could feel the others shifting around him, as if they were exchanging startled looks, though he was puzzling over the words.

When the chieftain spoke again, the lilt of his voice was gone, replaced with a hearty boom that jolted the others out of their confusion. "Time has returned you to us, at last, Ranger Senna. Though," his tone softened. "I see by your companions that the Jedi's words were true enough, and that he has fallen."

The movement of her hair as it brushed against his shoulder alerted Tully to the fact that Jo was shaking her head. "I don't know, sir. I haven't spoken to Atreus in...some time. I'm not exactly sure where he is." She paused again. "You know my name?"

There was a smile in his next words. "I do not easily forget the one who helped saved the life of my grandson, Kek," he said. "It is a debt that can never be repaid."

"How...how did I do such a thing?" Jo asked in a tremulous voice.

Another rustle of fabric, as if the old man had shrugged. "His wound festered; our healers had gone to look for the herbs to cure him, but you and your lover – the Jedi – were able to cleanse his injury." A soft murmur rose from the audience and for a moment all Tully could hear were their voices. Finally Tocho called for quiet, then spoke to Jo once more. "Your companions are...different."

"This is my brother, Tully," Jo replied, her hand patting his forearm. "The other young men there are Drake and Levy, and that's Zara." Aside from Levy, the others spoke a greeting in unison, and Jo paused a moment before continuing. "If I may ask...the poem that you recited?"

Tocho chuckled, the sound blending in with the hiss and snap of the fire. "You do not recognize it? A shame, but your Jedi told us that would likely be the case. We were honored that it was entrusted to us."

"It was very pretty," Tully said in a dry voice. "But what does it, you know, mean?"

There was silence and Tully got the feeling that the chieftain was studying him, which was confirmed when Tocho spoke again. "You wear a similar mask as Atreus Rand, but are neither Miralukan nor Jedi, young man."

"What gave it away?"

"Your lack of patience," Tocho chuckled. As Tully muttered in Mando'a under his breath, the chieftain continued speaking. "To answer your question...I don't know. We were not given the answer, only the question for safekeeping. I suppose that is for you to determine."

Some time later, Johari found herself alone. Dusk was falling, evidenced by the darkening sky and the dropping temperature, though there were no stars visible through the thick layer of atmosphere above her head. The group had disbanded: Tully had gone to the yurt-like structures of the Raiders to relieve himself in their version of a 'fresher; Levy had wandered off with his holo-cam in tow, joining one of the Wind Raiders as they looked over the fleft-waufts; Drake and Zara remained seated by the fire, close but not speaking.

So Johari sat at the edge of the floating island, knees bent and hands folded in her lap, gazing with unseeing eyes towards the void below her boots. For a few minutes she tried to puzzle over the riddle, but eventually her mind turned to other matters. Absently, her fingertips smoothed through her hair, as if she could still feel the feather that Atreus had once woven within the pale strands.

My lover? We were lovers? Her throat grew tight, and she lowered her hand back to her lap.

She remembered caring for him...more than that, if she was honest. Through the long years of the Wars they had grown close, though there had always been a distance between them, as if they were perpetually orbiting one another. Many times she'd imagined taking their wavering friendship to another, deeper level, but she had always dismissed the idea as being too fanciful. Because he was a Jedi, she knew that some things were off-limits to the Miralukan man, and she'd needed – she'd wanted – to respect that.

Of course, when Miriam and Tully had begun their relationship, things had grown even more awkward. Perhaps, she'd mused at the time, she needed to be more forthright and less withdrawn. Perhaps she'd only needed to tell him how she felt...

But they had worked it out eventually, she supposed, though at the moment she didn't know if that was a comfort or not.

Soft footsteps sounded behind her, then she heard Tully's voice. "Jo? Niabi said you were over here, but I'm not keen on the idea of stumbling around. Places like these aren't great for a blind guy."

There was a bitter edge to his voice that had come up with greater frequency since Mira died, so Johari twisted around and extended her hand. "I'm here, Tully. About six paces forward and to your left."

She watched his progression as he followed the sound of her voice; his steps were measured and deliberate, and he had a frown of concentration on his face. Finally he reached her and she touched his wrist lightly, guiding him to a sitting position at her side. Like her, he was silent.

They faced the darkening air for some time until he started to chuckle.

She shot him a look that she knew he wouldn't be able to read, but couldn't help the automatic action. "What's so funny?"

The clone grinned at her, waggling his brows above the strip of fabric around his eyes. "You and Rand...finally." Jo made a noise of irritation and the chuckling intensified into a guffaw. "I knew you had it in you...or should that be, 'I knew he had it in y-'"

"Tully!"

He snorted with laughter. "Too far?"

Johari couldn't resist pinching the exposed skin of his arm, causing him to let out a yelp of pain. "Too far. Di'kut."

Rubbing at his arm, he managed to give her a rather boyish look, his mouth curving into a pouting expression and his brows raised. "It hurts even more when you swear in Mando'a, you know." His palm lifted to press over his heart and when he spoke his voice was mocking. "I'm wounded, Jo. Deeply, irreversibly wounded."

"You're intolerable," she teased back, though she couldn't help but smile at his wry tone. They sat in companionable silence for a time before she spoke again. "I wish I could remember...more of him." At Tully's snickering she sighed and clarified. "Well, yes, I wish I could remember that, but...there's more. There must be more." Her hand lifted to her head and she squeezed her eyes shut, searching through her memories. "But all I can find is...nothing."

The former ARC cleared his throat and patted her back, his voice serious once more. "It'll be okay, Jo. We'll figure it out."

Nodding, Jo hugged her arms to her chest and stared at the darkness beyond. "I hope so." There was quiet some more, then he started chuckling again. She sighed and looked his way. "What is it, now?"

"Took you two long enough. You were dancing around each other for years. Not like..." His words trailed off and his smile faded.

"No," Johari said, putting a hand on his forearm and giving it a squeeze. "Not like you and Mira." That affair had started as if by a lightning strike, and had rapidly grown into a raging fire that she'd watched consume her sister and the ARC. Naturally, those memories were clear enough.

He shook his head, his voice suddenly gruff and quiet. "She was your sister...I should be comforting you."

"But she was your wife," Jo replied, her sister's face – so like her own – coming to her mind's eye. Something their mother had said to them once caught in her mind: my girls are as different as the sun from the moons...I suspect your lives will follow vastly different paths.

Mira, her sister. It was no surprise at all that Tully had fallen for the young woman, whose personality was bright as any sun. Johari wished, as she did almost every moment, that she'd never allowed Miriam to come with her, that she'd insisted her little sister stay home and remain safe, far away from her own destiny.

Tully shook his head again, his frown deepening. "Family is everything," he said after a moment. "You and I both know that." They were quiet for some time, then he gave a dramatic sigh. "So I guess we really are stuck with each other, huh?"

Johari's reply was soft, but firm. "Through thick and thin, vod."

Happy sigh: that last scene is one of my absolute favorites in the entire story, maybe of anything I've ever written. :D

Also, this fic contains the first and only poem (rhyming, no less) that I've written since college. It's...interesting. ;) Next chapter will show our heroes puzzling out the clue and figuring out where to go from here.

Taloraan offered several challenges, not the least of which being how the heck are there any kind of native fauna on a planet with no landmass? Even birds need to rest once in a while. Wookieepedia says that there are giant jelly-fish creatures called island-beasts floating in the atmosphere, which the Wind Raiders live on, (or inside?), but quite frankly that sounded kinda gross. So I went another route.

While I'm aware that there are also floating islands in the movie Avatar, I tried to make these a bit different, as well as offer some kind of scientific explanation as to their existence. My awesome husband – a nerd like me but in a vastly different way – helped me figure out the magnetic-field thing, and for that I'm eternally grateful.

The Wind Raiders also appear in a Clone Wars comic, which I did read, but again, I chose another interpretation for the purpose of this story. There's got to be more than one clan living on Taloraan, right? :P

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think so far...