Reynan sat shivering in the copilot chair. The Seraph was fully equipped with top-of-the-line climate control systems, however Shen apparently liked it a bit, breezy. Not to mention that the stark vacuum of space tended to be quite cold on its own. It was quite evident to Reynan that the Order hadn't thought of comfort when designing the standard robes that he wore as he tried to curl his legs to his chest underneath them. Shen on the other hand had, as always, dressed for the occasion. His snow-white cloak was lined with thick, brown fur along the hood and down the front opening. He wondered what animal had to die in order for Shen to look nice. He rolled his head over and loudly complained, "Damn, man. Where are you from again? Fucking Hoth?!"
"What?" Shen mumbled as his hands slid over the screen that faced him, checking over the Seraph's flight systems.
"I'm actually freezing."
"Actually?"
"Yeah, actually."
"Well then you -actually- should have brought a coat." He replied, not looking up from the terminal. A snide smirk rose from the corners of his mouth.
"Are you a professional asshole, or just recreationally?" Reynan laughed out.
"I'm actually in training for a fallback, in case this whole 'Jedi' thing doesn't work out."
Reynan let out an overly-dramatic sigh.
"Fine, how long until we get to Taris?" he asked.
"I've hopped us into a hyperspace lane that will take us down the quickest route. With no stops for snacks, we'll get there in about twelve hours."
"Great, just in time for me to catch hyperthermia."
Shen finally turned his attention towards Reynan and calmly asked, "Well then, why don't you spend the rest of the time in your room where you can have it as nice and toasty as your heart desires?"
Reynan thought about it briefly and then rose to his feet, that was a splendid idea.
"And what are you going to do all that time without me?" he asked with a wink.
"Enjoy myself thoroughly."
"Alright," he said as he began to walk towards the back of the cockpit, "Where's the room?"
"Second door on the left. I set it up nice for ya'."
Reynan swiped his hand in front of the door, easily calling on the force to will it open, and strode through. As he walked down the hallway towards the back of the ship, he wondered where Deeks had gotten off to. These days he was always wondering away. He had probably just found a nice, dark corner of the ship to take a nap in. He closed the short distance to the room rather quickly and again willed the door to slide open. But as he began to enter, his toes crunched hard against something waist high, and made of hard metal. Reynan jumped back out of instinct and let out a quick howl of alarm. Then, from the object came a series of beeps and whirring sounds. A thoroughly excited D33-K5 droid sat, spinning his head as if he hadn't seen his master in years.
"What are you doing in there, bud?" He asked, suddenly realizing that he had raised his hands as if he were ready for a fight. As he brought them back down to his sides, he reached forward and patted the little droid on the head.
"Come on, lets take a load off."
Deeks hummed for a second and then rolled to the side to allow his master to pass by.
Reynan glanced around the room. It was quite simple in relation to the rest of the ship. Just a single bed, small private restroom, and a computer terminal. Shen was obviously not trying to impress his guests anymore than he already had. But Reynan didn't care, he would take simple over lavish any day. Not that he didn't appreciate lavish things, just that he found it easier to connect with the force and world around him when his mind had less to be distracted by. That didn't seem to faze Shen though. His friend was constantly surrounding himself with nice things. Sometimes Reynan thought that it might simply be vain attachment to material possessions, but other times he could sense a deep hole in his friend's heart that he was endlessly trying to fill. And although most of Shen's possessions, including the Seraph, were gifts from his parents, Reynan knew that he struggled with being away from what he thought was his true home. He could understand that all to well.
As he found his way over to the bed, he began to think about his own family. He did not remember much from his childhood before being taken under the guidance of the Jedi, but recently he had done quite a bit of research on his Kiffar heritage. A heritage and culture of war, hatred, and clans-manship. He had learned that his own clan, Moxla, was known especially for its viciousness in battle. A trait that he had obviously not inherited from his bloodline. Reynan had never known viciousness. Perhaps his Jedi training had taken it out of him, but somehow he felt that he wouldn't have had it anyways. He valued life too much to take it, and peace too much to disturb it (except with the occasional practical joke on Shen). Even so, the thought of being apart from his proud clan bothered him occasionally. He felt that there was a piece of himself, much like Shen, that was missing. A sense of belonging that he did not have. They had their fellow brothers and sisters of the Order to call family, but that was no substitute for true kinship. That was one of the many things, he thought, that drew Shen and himself together as close friends. They were ships drifting without anchors. Trees without roots. Jedi Knights without purpose. But this journey that they had embarked upon, he hoped, would fill them with that purpose that they so desperately craved. Finally, carving a true path to follow. Even if it would only last two standard days. It was the principle, the meaning of the mission that would solidify their place in the galaxy. Or at least thats what he figured would happen. He had been wrong before, but he badly hoped he was right.
"You're the only family I need anyways Deeks." he softly told the old droid as he dragged the bed covers over him. He would try to get some sleep, although he doubted he'd get any. He always had a rough time sleeping during space flight. Something about the artificial gravity and created atmosphere was unnatural to him. At least it was warm.
A shrieking alarm suddenly awoke Shen from his nap. As his eyes snapped open, several blinking lights over the long control terminal caught his attention. The first he noticed was the hyperdrive indicating that it was about to fall out of light speed. He glanced over at the chrono on the far end of the cockpit and sure enough, almost twelve hours had passed. 'Quick trip when you sleep through half of it.' Shen thought to himself. With all of noise, he had thought something was wrong. But it was just the over engineered safety systems giving preliminary warnings. He'd have to turn all that off next time. He rubbed his eyes roughly and reached out to type in the disengage commands. His hands flew over the controls, effortlessly punching in orders to powerdown the drive, begin diverting power to the forward shields, and engage the long range scanners. He wasn't planning on flying into any trouble, but it could never hurt to be careful. In this time of war, no matter where he flew, it had become second nature to do this. He then leaned over to the com's panel and activated the onboard intercom, and with the most aggravatingly professional voice he could muster, calmly said,
"Jedi Knight Reynan Moxla, you are needed on the bridge. Also, bring me something to drink."
He clicked the receiver off and and sat back to let the auto pilot do the rest.
Moments later, Reynan came skulking into the room looking tired. "Where's my drink?"
"Up your ass." He replied.
"Get any sleep?"
"Nah, too much on my mind."
"Ah, relax man. Nothing to be worried about."
"Not worried man, just thinking. You should try it sometime."
"Pass."
Another series of beeps came from the ship's terminal. A count down from ten illuminated on one of the screens and the hum of the ship slowly began to quiet.
"Alright here we go. Three. Two. One."
In an instant the constant stream of hyperspace halted and the stars stopped in their place. The long range sensors immediately came to life registering that multiple space craft were ahead. But they didn't need the sensors to see the ships. Floating around the small world of Taris was an entire republic assault fleet. Ten assault cruisers and no less than fifty corvettes were surrounding a capital ship in defensive formation with hundreds of squadrons of thunderclap fighters circling the perimeter. Shen hadn't expected half the damn navy to be here.
Reynan looked up at him as yet another alarm sounded. "They're hailing us."
"You answer it, I hate talking to the military. So grouchy all the time."
He reached forward, pressed the receiver and a hologram sprouted from a small dot on the terminal. An old man, dressed in an officer's uniform materialized and began to bark out.
"Unidentified ship, this is Republic capital ship Tempest Rain. You are entering a highly restricted area. Leave immediately, or you will be shot down."
Shen and Reynan quickly glanced at each other and then back to the holo.
"Tempest Rain. This is Jedi Knight Reynan Moxla. We are here to collect a detainee and return her to Coruscant, by order of Jedi Master Vallina. Please, do not shoot us."
Reynan swiftly replied. For a moment the officer seemed to lean out of frame of the transmission and said something they couldn't make out. Then stood up straight once more and said, "Excuse me, sir. We were not informed that you would arrive in a civilian ship. Please make your way to our dock and prepare to disembark. The General wishes to speak to you, and will be awaiting your arrival. Over and out."
The transmission ended and the hologram retreated back into the terminal. In unison both young Jedi let out a soft breath of relaxation.
"It's just like Vallina to get us blown into space dust." Shen said as he ran his hands through his shaggy hair. He grabbed ahold of the piloting controls and sent the Seraph forward rather quickly. As they neared the first few corvettes one of the Thunderclap squads peeled off from their route and flew along side them. Reynan peered out the permaglass window and waved hello to one of the fighter pilots, who nodded and then turned his head away. The Tempest Rain drew ever closer, looking just as menacing as the navy ships that Shen had seen years ago. A testament to the military's motto: peace through superior firepower. Shen pulled back on the throttle to slow down as they entered the docking bay. A hundred or more troops milled around on the floor below, not giving the Seraph much attention as they preformed their every day duties of loading gunships, moving cargo, and organizing ordinance. He let the Seraph down softly, at the direction of the trooper waving some glowing rods around. As soon as they landed Shen hopped out of his seat and made for the door. "Come on Rey, We've been sitting around long enough."
Reynan got up to follow him, and they briskly strode down the hall. Rounding the corner, Deeks sat at the ramp, awaiting his masters. Shen mashed a control on the wall and lowered the ramp, walking down it as it descended. He turned back briefly to make sure Reynan was behind him, winked, and as he faced back forward his face dropped and he stopped in his tracks. Before him, a giant of a man in ankle length Jedi robes stood, smirking. The man put his hands on this hips, revealing heavy battle armor and gazed at the pair.
"Reynan, Shen. So nice to see you again."