Anara lies awake, tucked against Thor's warm body. Images from the movie flash through her mind, making her homesick. Knowing sleep will elude her, she slips out of bed and gets dressed. Planting a thought in Thor's sleeping mind that she will be in the workout room, she grabs her ID badge and quietly slips from the room. She asks for directions from a passing crew member and easily finds her way to the workout facilities.
Similar to what she's used to at home, she finds a room with open, sprung-wood floors and various equipment stacked against the wall. Starting with some deep breathing, she moves into a slow, methodical series of movements. Focusing solely on form, her mind is freed from its anxiety, and she finds herself becoming calm and more centered. Deciding to go back to some basics, she walks into a handstand. Balancing on one hand, she uses the Force to pull a small dumbbell off a nearby rack. Standing it on end in front of her, she pulls over a series of weights and stacks them on top of the small barbell, alternating laying them flat and vertical. When she's stacked enough of the weights to match her height, she closes her eyes and holds everything still.
She senses a few people coming down the hall that she does not recognize. Deciding this could be a good test of her concentration, she keeps her position. Two women enter the room and stop dead when they see her. Quietly, they watch her, whispering to each other in awe. Soon, she's drawn more of a crowd. She concentrates on blocking out the noise as she slowly brings her free hand down and switches it out to let her other arm rest. She soon senses Hawkeye and Black Widow in the room and decides she's put on enough of a show. Still upside down, she crosses her legs into a lotus position and slowly brings them down, tucking in on herself and coming into a seated position on the floor.
She opens her eyes to thunderous applause. Nodding to her audience, she uses the Force to put all of the weights back. Not a single one fell. Her master would have been proud. It took her longer than most to master that particular exercise.
Natasha and Clint approach her.
"You know, if I didn't believe you before, that little demonstration would have sealed it," Clint tells her.
She takes that as a compliment and gives him a nod of thanks as she heads to the side of the room to grab a towel.
Following her, Natasha says, "That was quite impressive."
"Thank you. It is an exercise every padawan must master before they can be considered for knighthood." Addressing them both, she asks, "May I impose upon you both? There is something I'd like to do if you're willing."
Clint shrugs his shoulders. "Sure, what is it?"
"I'd like to test you both for
midi-chlorians. I sense some Force sensitivity in each of you, and I'd like to know for sure."
Natasha and Clint share a look. Natasha replies for both of them. "Ok. It can't hurt, right? What do you need?
"Just a small blood sample."
Anara retrieves a small device from her belt.
"Hold out your arm." she says to Clint.
He holds up his arm for her, and she turns it over to expose the underside of his forearm. Touching the small black oblong device to his skin, a microscopic needle pricks it and draws in a drop of blood. Clint doesn't even flinch.
Pressing a button, the little device analyzes his blood and shows a number on a small screen. Turning to Natasha, she flips the device around and completes the same procedure on her. She's not surprised by the results. Both have midi-chlorian counts high enough to qualify them for training, were they children.
Clint looks at her. "So?"
Anara considers for a moment before replying. "It is as I suspected. You both have high midi-chlorian counts. High enough to qualify you for training, had the council found you as children."
Thanks to the Star Wars movie they all watched the night before, she doesn't have to explain what that means, but she can still sense questions from both of them.
"Is there somewhere more private where we can talk?" she asks.
Natasha replies, "Well, we actually came down here to get you. Tony's hyper to get you back to Stark Tower so he can start work on your lightsaber components, but I bet we can impose on him to tag along. It's not like he doesn't have the room."
Clint nods. "Why not? He promised to show me a new quiver he's been working on for me too."
With everyone in agreement, Anara gathers her over-tunic and boots, and they head back towards her room to gather the rest of her things. On the way back, Anara remembers the holo-communicator. Having sensed some distrust of Nick Fury by the others, she decides to ask Natasha and Clint their opinion on who should be the recipient.
"In all of the... excitement... of yesterday, Thor and I forgot one of the important reasons we came here," she begins. "I have a communication device, a hand-held holographic projector, like the ones in the movie. We want to leave it here with you so that you can communicate with us on Asgard. For while we can see you and observe what happens here on Earth, you, up until now, have had no means to actively communicate with us. I sense some distrust of Nick Fury, who we intended to give it to. Would you recommend someone else from your team instead?"
Clint looks at her. "How accurate is that movie?" he asks.
"Very. Obviously our technology has advanced in the several hundred years since those things happened, but it is incredibly historically accurate."
"So you're telling us you have one of those hologram communications things?"
Anara pulls the communicator out of her belt pouch and holds it in the palm of her hand. The rounded-edged disk is just a little bigger than her palm. Smooth but for three recessed buttons, it could almost be mistaken for a futuristic hockey puck.
"I will demonstrate its use when everyone is gathered, and I can assure that Sif will answer," she says, pocketing the devise once more.
Clint and Natasha share another look, and Natasha finally answers Anara's original question.
"I think the best person to take charge of that would be Agent Coulson."
Anara nods. She likes Agent Coulson. Just then, she realizes they're back near the conference room where she first met everyone and not near the crew quarters.
Natasha picks up on her thought and says, "Thor is waiting for us on the Bridge and has your cloak."
"Stark must be very anxious for us to arrive in New York." Anara observes.
Clint laughs. "Anxious doesn't even begin to describe it. He flew back himself as soon as the no-fly ban was lifted."
Anara is puzzled for a moment. How did Tony leave without them? Then she remembers - his metal suit. He had mentioned he didn't have the means to bring passengers back.
"Then let us not keep him waiting," she says as they enter the bridge.
Not having seen it the day before because of the privacy shield that created the conference room, she is impressed with its layout. Banks of work stations line each wall and an upper platform, presumably for the captain's use, overlooks everything. It reminds her of the old Imperial Star Destroyer bridge design.
Thor, talking to Agent Coulson off to one side, smiles at her when they enter. He excuses himself from the agent and grabs her cloak off the back of a chair as he comes to meet her. Taking her hand in his, he raises it to his lips, kissing it softly, his eyes telling her he'd like to do more, but not with company. She smiles at him in return, letting him know his thoughts mirror her own.
Releasing her hand, he says, "Good morning, my lady. I trust you had a good workout?" His eyes twinkle, having already heard the buzz on the bridge about her "demonstration".
"Yes," she says, "It was quite relaxing."
Thor laughs. Stepping behind her,he shakes out her cloak and settles it over her shoulders, letting his hands linger for a moment.
Fury, giving one last order, approaches them. "Your highness, I regret that I cannot go with you to New York. However, let me say that it has been a pleasure. I look forward to speaking further with you."
Anara gives him a small bow. "It has been an honor to meet you as well. You run a fine ship, Director."
Agent Coulson motions them towards the door. "Shall we go?"
They file out into the hall, everyone saying goodbye, or getting last instructions from Fury on the way out. As they approach the airlock, Natasha asks Anara, "Will you do that bubble thing again? It was nice not to fight the wind."
Clint and Agent Coulson look at Natasha askance.
"Bubble thing?" Clint asks, raising an eyebrow.
Anara explains, "I created a bubble of the Force around us as we disembarked yesterday. It spared us from the wind on the deck." Addressing Natasha, she says, "I would be happy to do so again, but we will all need to stay close together as I have a limited range I can protect."
They reach the airlock, and Agent Coulson hands out the small oxygen canisters. Once in the airlock, Anara concentrates for a moment to create the Force bubble. She nods to Coulson to indicate she's ready, and he opens the airlock door. They walk across the deck as if they were strolling down the street, drawing stares from the deck crew.
When they're on board the plane, Coulson removes his mask and says, "Well, they'll be talking about that for a while. Thank you, Princess. That was a unique experience."
Anara smiles and gives him a small nod before sitting down and strapping herself in.
"How long will the flight to New York take?" she asks Coulson.
Turning from giving instructions to the flight crew, he says, "Oh just half an hour or so. We're about 150 miles off the coast."
After takeoff, conversation starts up regarding the Star Wars movies, Natasha, Clint and Coulson asking her questions regarding the validity of different things in the movies like how old Yoda really was, and if Han shot Guido first. Anara is amused and at times confused by the importance they place on certain things - there's no debate on the Cantina shooting incident in her galaxy - Guido is dead, it is irrelevant who shot first so long ago. The conversation only steels her resolve to meet the man behind the movies. There is no way that someone of this planet could know these things to the level of detail that he does. Only a Jedi archivist would know the details to be able to create such a work.