The four millennia old Jedi did her usual jaunt through the Infinity's corridors, running into the usual suspect crowd of contractors that she was pretty sure were working for ONI in order to keep tabs on her. Even so, they'd become a little more lax since the delivery of the little Huttlet went off without a hitch. Now, the UNSC Navy was resting above Kuat as they negotiated with the owners of the Drive Yards for the ability to repair and replenish their vessels and supplies, respectively.

Climbing onto one of the trams leading to the bow of the ship, more specifically to the Bridge, the young woman sat down and pulled up her UNSC-issued tablet, checking the time. Not even two seconds later, an armored figure climbed aboard the tubular tram as well, exactly on cue. She smirked and said, "Good morning, Lieutenant..." as she watched him sit himself down in front of her.

"Mornin'," He replied calmly. Noticeable to Meetra was the fact the man carried only his combat knife and pistol this time, instead of any extra weaponry. Either he figured that he knew enough to take down the young-yet-veteran Jedi Knight by himself with those, which was a hint offensive to Meetra, or he finally understood that she was not much of a threat and that, in fact, she was a friend.

"I see my Spartan escort is doing fine today," She chuckled, "I didn't expect you to come so lightly armed."

He shrugged, "Admiral and ONI are starting to buckle they do trust you a little more after that little display on Tatooine. Figured I should be nicer, too..." as the tram began its travel, a hint of a pit forming in both their stomachs. Lights began to flash past the windows as it travelled down the tunnels, past other trams, past stations above and below and across the massive ship's innards.

"Not by much, though," She quipped, motioning to the man's semi-limited arsenal and adding a jokey, "Still have to make sure the Admiral's new investment is behaving a little, eh?" then she gently shifted her right hand a little to the right, lifting her fingers off her thigh and trying to unclip the binds holding his knife in its sheath. She slowly, slowly pulled it out while staring the Spartan in the eye, before yanking once. Somewhat surprising to her was the Lieutenant's reaction, though.

Without hesitation or even looking at the weapon as it started flying out, the Supersoldier caught it by the hilt before it got two inches away from his armor's chest plate. He brandished it with some flurry for a moment, spinning it between his fingers and sheathing hit in one quick, concise move. A giggle escaped Meetra's mouth as she stated, "Without even looking. Impressive."

"Just showing off, ma'am," The Lieutenant shot back with a half-joking tone, leaning himself against his seat. She nodded approvingly, then leaned forward as well, while he told her, "Word is General Skywalker and Commander Tano are bringing in another Jedi to see you. General Kenobi, I believe. You must be a really big deal to them, if you've really been around for a little over four thousand years."

She nodded, "I was one of a group who originally re-founded the Order as it is today, though we'd tried to keep them from being as dogmatic as in our time. Obviously, we sadly failed," And she hummed, looking at her hands. Six caught the almost imperceptible shift of her sclerae from their standard white to a pure black. He blinked behind his visor, thankful the Knight couldn't see his reaction. Her own expression seemed to shift as well, from a calm smile to a seeming longing, tired one.

Only to come right back around. She looked up at him, straightening herself onto her seating position as she said, "I'm honestly surprised you haven't asked me why I'm going to the bridge..."

"Aside from what I said about General Kenobi coming in?" He shrugged, "Going to assume you wanna have a chat with the Admiral..."

"More-so make some suggestions, considering you guys openly call me a General."

"Uh-huh..." The Spartan replied. There seemed to be little else to say, the two falling into a silence that was somewhat characteristic of the Spartan and less so of Meetra herself. As the tram stopped at another station, another Spartan figure stepped in, clad in his PT Gear. Both of them saw Richard, the boy bearing the scars of combat and, now, some fresh bruises.

He stretched and sat himself down, face impassive, before turning to see both Six and Meetra and snapping a salute. Six snorted and said, "At ease. You don't need to salute me when you're off-duty, Dick..." before giving him a once-over and asking him, "Where'd the bruises come from? Did you fall a little too hard during a balance training session, or...?"

"Petty Officer 087," The boy replied, stretching his arms to presumably dissipate a mild muscle ache, the arm bruises being revealed due to him wearing a tank top.

"Kelly. Kelly did this," Six stated, then snorted again, "A Blue Team hazing thing, or-" And Meetra was a bit surprised that Six could easily refer to another Blue Team member by their name...

Then again, he was a hyper-lethal vector like the Chief, so, maybe that earned him some respect?

"No," Richard shook his head in reply to the Lieutenant, "Just training. Wanted to make sure I was in ship-shape before we went out to fight again..." Then grunted as he ran a hand over one of the bruises, murmuring to himself, "She kicks like hell, though. Seriously..." Only to look up and see Meetra. He waved and said, "Good morning, ma'am... I'm gonna be getting off at the next station, so I hope I wasn't interrupting a convo."

"Oh, no, we just went quiet for a bit," Chuckled the blonde, "Surprised you two are acting so chummy."

"Six helped train me up for future operations, ma'am. Became like a brother figure to me, too, so I suppose it's only sort of natural that we'd act like this..." Richard admitted. Six gave a nod of confirmation and Meetra had also noted how much more open he seemed now, what with another Spartan being present. It was nice to see him be more talkative, at least to the others around him, though she could somewhat sense he still felt guilt, presumably for his former team's death...

As Richard's station came up, the boy stood to his feet and gave a quick wave goodbye to both Jedi and fellow Spartan. With that, the trip continued unabated all the way to the bridge section. Upon dismounting from the tram, the Spartan and Meetra both noticed a pair of hunchback aliens clad in black armors. The two stared at them, before both put their right fists to the left of their chests and bowed their heads respectfully. Meetra waved awkwardly, while Six gave a nod of approval and the two stepped toward the Bridge itself.

Entering the active command deck of the UNSC's greatest warship(and most dangerous displaced asset), Meetra saw that the ship was moored at port next to the massive orbital shipyard ring of Kuat itself, the glimmering emerald orb gently spinning in its orbit. The Drive Yards were a hive of activity, with dozens of ships travelling to and from the UNSC fleet and the close Sangheili command ship that were docked with them.

They noticed a representative of the KDY was in the middle of the room, talking to the admiral and to the Arbiter. She seemed rather direct and focused, her lekku, the twin-tails standard to the Twi'leks laid back and covered by a net with fancy details and iconography of her people. Her own blue skin shined brightly in the light of the stellar body around which Kuat orbited. Her KDY uniform was pressed clean and beautifully-made, obviously, probably for a good first impression, and she held a holo-tablet in her arms, pressed firmly against her chest.

She spoke, moving her right hand, which was covered by a fingerless glove, to emphasize her points. "... We understand that the UNSC wishes to employ the aid of the Kuat Drive Yards for any possible extensive repairs required by your Navy in the long while, but I'm afraid we'll need a lot of information on how your warships operate and the materials you may require."

"I get your point, madam representative. We were merely looking to start preliminary negotiations for now, ensure that we have a spot at the table for the future," Laskey offered, then looked to see Meetra and Six. He nodded to them and showed them to wait, before returning his gaze to meet the Representative's, "With that said, you'll have to understand our predicament."

"We do," She replied, stern, "We're glad you guys have the Republic vouching for you, else this would be a really strange partnership in the making."

"Agreed," The man nodded.

"Well, with that in mind, we'll wait for your representatives to land on the Yards so we can start the chatter and get the details we need about your ships. In the meanwhile, feel free to visit the Concourse if you wish. We'll be ironing out some details with the higher-ups," She told them, then gave a quick nod goodbye to the Admiral and Arbiter and stepped off, sidestepping the Jedi and Spartan and going for the tram, where two marines were waiting to escort her.

"Well, that's gonna be interesting to watch develop," Lasky murmured under his breath. Thel hummed in agreement, then the two looked at the Spartan and Jedi that had just arrived on the deck. Six gave a crisp salute to the Admiral, while Meetra gave a bow. Despite the fact she didn't much consider herself a Jedi anymore, the young woman still wanted to act the part of a respectful friend to her newfound companions.

"This must be the young Jedi you found during your talks with the Chancellor," The Arbiter observed. He greeted Meetra with a bow of his head and said, "Good afternoon, general Surik."

"Arbiter Thel 'Vadam," She replied kindly, "A pleasure to meet you, finally."

"Likewise. And Spartan B312. The Demon of Reach," The Arbiter then stated. Six gave his usual quiet nod in greeting to the Elite, before waiting for Meetra to ask what she'd wanted to ask. The Arbiter inquired, "I don't presume you are here to discuss our findings while scouting out the nearby star systems, are you, general?" in his usually smooth voice.

"Actually, I was here to talk to the Admiral about what our next job's gonna be. Since we secured Christophsis and got the Huttlet home..." She shrugged, "I figured the Republic was going to give us a new target to hit soon."

"ONI has credible data that there's something brewing, too, so it's very likely that we'll be looking at an enemy assault to try and recoup any losses Christophsis might've given them," The Admiral stated. The surprise in Meetra's eyes was obvious, to the point the Admiral smiled and said, "The Office started settling into your Galaxy. Sure, they're few and far between outside of a rather important force we have with us, but... When they get down to business..."

"Data starts flowing," Six finished, crossing his arms to his chest.

Meetra understood the concept. And, well, she was happy to have some eyes that could see the world better than her for a change. She gave a nod of approval, then looked to the Arbiter and asked, "Wait, what did you find?" as the Fleet prepared for any future combat assignments. Of course, among new arrivals to Kuat was a Jedi Cruiser carrying Skywalker, Ahsoka and the man that they'd want meeting Meetra...


Mess Hall, an hour later...

Obi-Wan had arrived with his Star Destroyer and the 212th to meet up with their allies at Kuat after a prolonged mission back on Coruscant, to discuss the matter of the UNSC alongside master Yoda. He had not expected Anakin and his Padawan to drag them to meet someone in one of the mess halls of the command ship their allies worked off of. Especially without telling him.

He had to admit ,the excitement of young Ahsoka had him intrigued as to who it could be. Anakin's concern/admiration cinched it, though. He had to meet this strange person, whoever they were. He looked to Anakin as they walked into the mess, asking, "Are you sure you can't even give me a hint, Anakin? Because I did not expect your reactions toward this person to be so visceral."

"Look, master, you wouldn't believe me if I told you," Anakin replied, raising his hands defensively as they walked toward the table. The man scanned the room for a little, while Ahsoka giddily jaunted forward as well. Finally, Obi-Wan's Padawan's eyes seemed to settle on a table where a pair was having their lunch. A blonde-haired woman wearing ancient, tattered Jedi robes and one of the local 'Spartans', supersoldiers that Anakin had told Obi-Wan about back before they left Christophsis.

The Jedi-like figure seemed to straighten up her posture as the Spartan shifted his gaze from his food to the arrivals. He gave a greeting nod to the Generals and a quick salute, while the blonde-haired Jedi turned to face them. She smiled upon laying eyes on Ahsoka and Anakin, as it seemed, while Obi-Wan? Well, good old master Kenobi had pretty much frozen stiff at the sight of the woman's face.

Not because of her beauty, though she was a striking woman. No, her resemblance to a certain Jedi from ancient history was uncanny to the point Obi-Wan had to take a few seconds to make sure he had not gone and lost his mind. Staring at the figure, however, told him he had, in fact, retained his mental faculties. Ahsoka approached the Meetra Surik like one would approach an old friend, with Meetra greeting the young Padawan with a smile and knowing look.

She turned to meet master Kenobi's gaze and greeted him with, "Hello there." a smirk on her face

"... Hello..." He replied, stunned, then turned to Anakin and said, "What did you do?"

"Wha- Master, this is not my fault... Or, well, not because of me. I'd've been taking credit for finding her!" Anakin seemed appalled that his master would even imply this being his fault, somehow. Meetra giggled at the reaction, while master Kenobi simply stared on at her, filled with disbelief. He scratched his chin, considering what to even ask first, while Anakin introduced them, "Master Surik, this is my master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Master, this is the Meetra Surik."

"You put too much pomp next to my name, master Skywalker," She chuckled, then said to Obi-Wan, "A pleasure to meet the man training the supposed Chosen One, master Kenobi. Yes, it's me and no, this is not a prank. You can ask the UNSC's staff about my existence here. I've been here for near four millennia now and my body doesn't seem to plan on dying on me any time soon."

"I see," Obi-Wan hummed, then said, "An..." he took a moment to consider what he wanted to say, then sighed deeply and said, "Well, it is nothing else but an honor to meet the woman who aided in rebuilding the Jedi Order from the ashes after the Civil War and the subsequent Purges, master Surik." only to give her a respectful bow and a smile. Meetra maintained her smile and gave a bow back.

"And I'm honored to meet the man training the Galaxy's best hope for Balance," She replied kindly, while Anakin got a kind of smug smile. Ahsoka, meanwhile, rolled her eyes, but still wore a smile. Six, in the back, hummed and kept eating, trying to ignore the ongoing convo. This whole thing felt like it was above his paygrade and desire to care about, anyhow.

"I try," He replied, seemingly settling in to the discussion, "Apologies for interrupting your meal, master, but these two insisted in coming to see you before we went to talk to Admiral Lasky."

"Not a problem, honestly," She shrugged, then looked to Ahsoka and said, "I still have those moves to teach you, I guess, heh. We'll probably work on them when whatever mission comes next is completed," to which Ahsoka simply gave several quick, happy nods.

"Hey, kid," Six started, getting the girl's attention. He tilted his head to the left, at another table, then said, "Richard's right there. Kid needs company of his demographic."

Ahsoka chuckled, "Sure. Sorry for interrupting the meal, big guy," then she stood up and walked toward him. Meetra, Six and the other two Jedi present watched the girl join Richard for his meal and the boy seemed to maintain the same stoic face Six wore most of the time, though the elder Beta Company Spartan could easily make out the ticks and tells that this was both a surprise and a slight annoyance for him.

"Well, he's in for it," Murmured Six as he turned back to eat, "Might as well..."

"Heh. Yeah..." Meetra chuckled, then turned to them, "Speaking of... What is our next job?"

... "So, you don't seem very happy to see me, buckethead," Quipped Ahsoka as she sat down ahead of him, a grin on her face. Richard remained impassive, simply casting a glance up at her. She told him, "It'd be nice if you said hi, too, y'know?" as she stared him in his eyes. He nodded, then pointed at his mouth as if to emphasize the fact he was still chewing. She snorted and replied, "Pardon me, mister manners..."

He swallowed his food, then replied to her, "Honestly, Tails, it's a rather unsurprising turn of events that you guys swing about just as we start talks with the Drive Yards about repairing our ships here..." before humming and looking at her, "What's your angle, though?" which caused her to raise her strangely painted-on brows at him in confusion. He had to admit, the reaction was sort of sweet, but he explained to her, "You got any particular reason you're hanging around me for, Tails?"

"I just find weirdoes in armor interesting," She jabbed back, grinning, "Plus, you're probably one of the few people I've openly talked to among your rank and file without so much as feeling weird. It's odd, but your presence is soothing in this really strange way." And that actually got Richard's mask of stoicism to fall, causing him to stare at her like a deer in headlights. She shrugged, "Guess you're really easy to read, Buckethead. Makes it nice and calming to talk to you."

He sighed, pinching the brow of his nose and shaking his head as he elected to ignore that comment. He turned back to his food, asked, "What's in the pipe? We delivering something or someone again, or are we hunting targets now?" and continued eating. Ahsoka gave him a nod and handed him a datapad with the basic info about a new Confed ship that they'd need help in hunting. He whistled.

"Yeah... Not a lot we know about her, but we have a Jedi Master already hunting it down with his fleet. They'll hopefully be able to put it out of commission before any harm's done," Ahsoka told the boy... She paused, blinked and realized, "Hey, wait a minute, how old are you? Six said something about ya needing company of 'your demographic' before he sent me your way."

Richard cast a glance toward Six, who gave a thumbs up, impassively chewing his food. With an 'older sibling' model like that... He replied to Ahsoka warily, "Classified... Look, I don't really know why Six would send you my way, considering everything he knows, so he's either doing it for fun, or actually trying something that I have no idea about yet. Let's maybe not feed his research, eh?"

Ahsoka shot a look toward Six and the man didn't pick it up as he was eating with Meetra. Ahsoka then looked back to Richard and hummed, then gave an approving nod. No point in playing along for now, she supposed, though she'd still sit with him while he ate. She wanted to get to know the guy a little better, considering they might wind up stuck together more often than not later down the line...

Or soon?