Last time: Cien and Kyr made amends, learned more about each other, and made a promise to go on a date.

Now: Oppie and Viran have a conversation.

Chapter 6- Towards the Future

Oppie sat in the copilot's seat of the cargo shuttle, with Viran in the pilot's seat. Outside the hyperspace tunnel rolled around them, casting flickering blue light. Despite their earlier apologies, and the hope they held for finally being on their way to rescue Sasha, there was still a slight tension between them, after the outburst in the corridor on Cien's arrival.

"You remember when you guys asked me to stop wasting time with katas and teach you guys how to really fight with lightsabers?" Oppie finally spoke up, bringing up a moment that had been running through his mind as he thought about Sasha and Viran over the years.

Viran, who had been staring off into the swirls of hyperspace, came out of his daze and looked at Oppie. "Huh?" He asked initially before the question set in. "Oh uh… kind of. It's been so long since I last thought about that day." He looked back out of the viewport.

"I remember I tried to make a point with you guys about it, so I went full bore against you guys." Oppie said, he couldn't help himself from smiling at the memory. "I remember Sasha was terrified of it, and you ran over to stand in my way to protect her."

"Oh yeah, I do remember that," Viran said as a smile came to his own lips. "I admit I was freaked out too by that. But I was also so mad at you too. I really thought you were going to hurt her and me too." He chuckled. "I also remember her being mad at you too after."

"Yeah." Oppie said sheepishly. "I was annoyed with you guys. You'd harangued me that entire time we were practicing to stop with the 'boring' stuff and teach you how to actually fight." He continued, "And then a year and a half later you guys beat me. I was really proud of that."

Viran rubbed at the back of his neck. "Thanks. It was because of your training, Op. But sorry again that we were being pests about that. Especially me. Sasha was just feeding off of my energy and all so that didn't help matters, but still. Sorry," Viran apologized with a slight chuckle.

"Oh, it was going to happen sooner or later." Oppie said, waving it off. "I was always so cautious with you guys, you needed to bug me like that every now and then to move forward."

"I guess," Viran said with a shrug. "But still we could have been less annoying about it." He then frowned. "Also, I'm sorry again for earlier. With Cien."

"Don't worry about it Viran, you were just thinking about Sasha, I understand." Oppie replied. "I'm sorry for stepping in the way I did." He apologized as well.

"You shouldn't apologize, Op," Viran said looking at Oppie. "I wasn't thinking. I was acting brash and nearly hurt someone who is trying to help us, as much as I don't like her. Honestly, you should have just knocked some sense into me. But what you did do still worked."

Oppie looked away, "We've led such a strange life." He observed. "I wonder what it would have been like if we hadn't had to do all of this, if '66 hadn't happened and we'd just gone our separate ways after that trip to get our crystals. I feel selfish for almost being glad it happened, otherwise I might never have known you guys, certainly not like we do."

Viran smiled at Oppie. "I agree. I wonder about it sometimes too, but I honestly cannot imagine my life without you or Kyr or even Sasha. Especially Sasha. She has become my whole universe. And now, we get the chance to be parents and I can't be more thrilled about it," he rambled. "But I still shouldn't have tried to hit Cien. I let negative emotions get the better of me. So I am sorry again, Op."

Oppie looked over at him, "Vir, you don't need to apologize to me about it. I understand. No one was hurt, and no one has hard feelings about it. The man that Sasha fell in love with is still here in the cockpit with me, and that's all that matters."

Viran sighed and nodded. "Okay, thanks Op. I needed that."

Oppie sat in silence for a while. "It's going to be even stranger around the house when your child arrives." Oppie said with a smile. "And it's the first time I know of that two Force sensitives have had a child. I am glad I can sit back and just be a doting uncle." Oppie said with a grin.

A laugh broke from Viran. "Uncle Oppie? I never thought I would hear those words in my life," Viran said as he continued to laugh. "I mean to be fair I never thought someone would ever call me Dad or Pop or anything like that."

"Oh by the Force!" Oppie said, covering his face with his hands in mock shock. "Uncle Oppie? That sounds so weird." Then he glanced over at Viran. "And… uncle Kyr?" He said with terror in his voice.

"Now that sounds weird," Viran said before bursting into laughter. "Let's just both agree that it will all be weird at first, okay?"

"Definitely." Oppie said speculatively. "I wonder what nickname Kyr will give the kid. I feel like he just keeps a list of names to give to people or something."

"I have no idea," Viran admitted. "But if he calls them Sport Junior, I'm going to smack him."

Oppie glanced over at him. "Nah, it'll be something like Sport'ika. No, wait." He said, "I guess that would be you, I need to learn more Mando'a and see what would be appropriate." Oppie said, deep in thought.

"Now I'm afraid," Viran said with a smirk. Then he looked longingly out into the swirls. The smirk grew to a smile. "You know, if Sasha could hear us both right now, she would smack us for coming up with dumb nicknames for the kid."

"Yeah." Oppie said with a grin. "Kyr always commented that Sasha inherited my sense of humor, I don't know where he got that idea."

"Neither do I," Viran said with a shake of his head. "I always thought you had a great sense of humor. I mean you laugh at my puns and jokes. Sasha… depends on the day." He snorted at that.

"I know. She always talked about how much she had to suffer through our inane conversations at dinner." Oppie said wistfully. "I miss those. After this is done we should try to go do something with just the three of us. We kind of did that with your knight trials, but after you guys have a little time after this, just the three of us should go do something fun."

"Yeah, I like that idea and I know Sasha will too," Viran said with a nod. "But would that be before or after the little one is born?"

"Both?" Oppie said, looking over at him sharply, and resurrecting an old joke between them.

Viran beamed. "Both! Both is good," he finished before laughing again. After a moment of laughing, it died down and the cockpit became quiet again. Viran frowned. "Damn, I miss her." He whispered.

"Me too." Oppie admitted. Looking down the long tunnel of hyperspace before them and the distant light that swirled at the end.

Viran looked into the swirls too and made a determined look. "Hang on, Sash. We're coming," he said more to himself as a boost of confidence, but loud enough for Oppie to hear.

Oppie stepped into the mid section where the Sith troopers were waiting. They were quietly talking, as soldiers did, and in an odd way it transported Oppie back all those years to the Clone Wars, when he had checked on the clone troopers under his and Master Redika's command and passed the same sort of information along. He had usually gone back to check on them twenty minutes before entering a battlezone, it just was a reflex for him now.

"Twenty minutes until we arrive." He told them. They merely nodded at him as he stepped through, and he nodded back. Wondering vaguely if their training had made them uncomfortable talking to a Jedi such as himself. He was also a little surprised to not see Kyr visiting with them, since the four of them had been friendly.

As he stepped closer to the hatch to the cargo bay to let Cien know, and Kyr, if he was back there. The only other place he might be was the refresher, the closed door to which he was passing now. He suddenly stopped when he heard laughter from the back room. A woman laughing. And for a split second he briefly wondered if they had a stowaway aboard.

"Hey guys, I," he paused slightly upon walking in and seeing Kyr and Cien sitting next to each other, Kyr with his bucket off, and they looked oddly happy. Their hands also moved as he entered. "We're twenty minutes from exiting hyperspace, just a heads up."

"Thanks." Kyr said, Cien said nothing but she seemed flustered and looked away, like she had been caught doing something.

"No problem." Oppie responded, keeping his face passive as he turned and went back up to the cockpit to rejoin Viran. He tried to hide a smirk that threatened to form on his own face. He thought it was a funny coincidence that this was the second relationship that was trying to be kept secret from him, not very well, and again revealed by the two of them holding hands when they thought he wouldn't notice.

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