Captain Meris looked on warily as the boy and his droid danced back and forth across the cabin, their blades flashing brightly each time they met, wondering how he had gone from a high ranking officer of the most powerful military in galactic history to a mere errand boy. Not even an errand boy for Lord Vader, but for his teenage pupil. Meris's gaze wandered over to the empty stack of bottles in the corner.
"Oh yes. That."
Turning his gaze back to the duel playing out before him the captain finally decided to voice his concern, with tact, of course.
"I would've thought you'd have your fill of that that back on the ship." The captain pointed out in a bored tone.
Starkiller shot a quick glare at the man before turning his attention back to the fight.
"It's necessary to keep one's skills honed through sparring. Merely practicing the katas isn't enough." The boy proclaimed haughtily, simultaneously parrying what would have been a deadly blow to the head from the much taller droid.
"He's a fanatic." Meris thought sourly. When he'd first met the kid, he had thought that their loyalty only extended as far as Vader's reach. A mission to the Outer Rim where the boy had been sent to recover some sort of artifact had quickly cured Meris of such notions. The boy served Vader because he wanted to, as difficult as that was to believe.
Deciding to approach it another way Meris gave a smile at the boy's response.
"Of course. No substitute for the real thing... But is it really wise to be exhausting yourself like this right before a mission?" Meris allowed his statement to trail off as if he had only just realized this himself.
"He is correct master." PROXY noted cheerily with a downward slash intended to cleave his young charge in half.
"Should this duel reach its natural conclusion, you will be unable to complete your mission due to your untimely termination or, at a minimum, require three hours of rest in order to ensure you are operating at peak efficiency."
Starkiller grunted in begrudging acknowledgement of their points and, to Meris's relief, deactivated his blade.
Directing his gaze towards the captain, Starkiller attempted to keep his voice even as he addressed him "When we will we arrive?"
Figuring that he'd won all the victories he was going to today, Meris gave a neutral response "Two standard hours."
The boy nodded absentmindedly in response. Turning to his droid he gave the order to alert him ten minutes prior to their arrival before going off to isolate himself in his training room to meditate. Meris watched him as he went, before turning to the droid that seemed a little lost without its master in the room. Feeling slightly bad for it, Meris decided to offer it a distraction.
"Hey. Droid. Fancy a game of sabacc?"
PROXY turned to him, their photoreceptors flashing once or twice as if in thought, before taking a seat across from the ship's captain.
o-o-O-o-o
Starkiller stared down at his hands in frustration. Upon entering the room he had walked to its furthest corner and settled into a meditative pose, attempting to tune out the world around him. That had been about thirty minutes ago. While his ability to attain the serenity or even dark contemplation necessary to enter a meditative trance had always been wanting, he was usually able to do so within a few minutes of quiet and solitude. Not this time.
Disappointment and relief that his master had not been present to witness this failure warred within him. Further instruction from his master would not be without its costs, Starkiller shuddered just imagining them, but the rewards more than made up for it. Raw unfiltered access to the Darkside. The feeling of clarity he achieved when fully immersed was beyond exhilarating. It was addicting. Flexing his hand, Starkiller got to his feet and began to pace across the room.
"What is wrong with me?" He thought to himself, running a hand through his short cut hair. As he did this, he heard muffled laughter echoing down the hallway from the ship's cockpit. The noise caused the young Sith apprentice to frown as he realized the source of his distraction.
"Why did he care whether or not I was exerting myself before a mission? Now that he had had the thought, it seemed so obvious that had been what was bothering him.
He even sounded..." Starkiller shook his head to rid himself of such a ridiculous notion.
"The pilot has no reason to be concerned about me." He reminded himself firmly. He couldn't quite stop the next thought that popped into his head.
"But then why did he say anything?" His brow furrowed in thought.
It stayed that way for several seconds before an answer came to him. As it did, an amused smile slowly made its way onto his face.
"He's worried about what will happen to him if I fail the mission." The teen thought triumphantly.
Satisfied with this conclusion, Starkiller smiled contentedly, allowing his gaze to be drawn to the point between two walls and his legs to fold beneath him. Detaching himself from his surroundings, worldly concerns faded to the back of his mind as he sunk into his meditations.
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
Author's Note: Hey gang, it's been a while. First off, I want to thank you for all of the wonderful reviews. I love reading them and they help to keep me on the right track. I also want to thank everybody who's supported this fic by giving it a read and to ask all of you to stay safe out there. COVID19 is something we're all going through together and it's something we'll get through together. I know I plan on using this "unexpected free time" as an excuse to update stories I'd put on the backburner, start shows I'd planned on watching but never got around to and, in general, just finish all the stuff I'd pushed off to the side. Hope you guys are keeping busy as well. Til next time.