The Calm

"Speech"

"Radio or calls"

'Thoughts'

Hallways of the Vagabond

A day into their travels through hyperspace, Anew found herself bereft of things to do. Christina didn't need her help at the moment, so she was wandering the ship. She spotted in the engine room that Allelujah, Setsuna and Feldt were doing something, and she really didn't want to interrupt them. Anew frowned at the use of the force, but kept her emotions to herself, hoping none of them detected that.

She wandered down the hallway, and heard swearing coming from the bunk room. Peeking her head in the door, she saw Tieria, Christina, Lyle, and Haro all around a table, Pazaak cards covering the main table.

Tieria was pointing a finger at Haro, "The droid is cheating! There is no way he is not counting cards!"

Christina chuckled, "Well he is a droid. He literally can't not count cards." Christina pat Haro's dome, and he whirred happily, turning to look at the purple-haired soldier. Tieria just scowled and watched as the droid took the credit chits on the table.

Lyle just laughed, "That serves you right. I remember you saying something about how a droid would be easy to beat." Tieria gripped his cards hard, but Lyle finished his laughing as he turned to see Anew looking into the room. He gave her a smile, "Hey, come in. We are just playing some pazaak."

Anew had heard of the game, though never played herself. She walked in the door, Christina waving at her while Tieria just grunted before starting the next round with the droid, focused intently on his cards. Lyle pulled up a chair for her, and she sat down next to him, the man wrapping an arm around her, which she rolled her eyes but smiled at. Anew watched as cards were played, Tieria scowling again as the droid beeped smugly.

She turned her head to look at Lyle, "I'm guessing he's not doing well." Lyle shook his head as Tieria lost again, more money leaving him. She couldn't help but laugh a little, and then looked at the pile of credits Haro had, before looking at the Corellian, "What does a droid do with money?"

Lyle responded cheerfully, "Well, we take a part of it as his…cleaning budget. He is a big fan of oil baths, which he pays for with that. The rest is split between me and Feldt. Technically I own him, but he likes Feldt too much. She tried to tell him she didn't need it, but he refused to accept that, so Feldt probably has the biggest account." The droid beeped at him spitefully, and Lyle just groaned.

Anew tilted her head slightly, "I assume you guys are using your pay? Or some sort of budget?"

Christina answered for Lyle this time, "Mainly what we currently have that we can actually use. We have a budget of sorts on the ship, though we can make some money ourselves on the side. But anymore is unfortunately secret. Can't be giving everything away till headquarters has fully approved of you."

Tieria finally got fed up and stood up, collecting his cards, "I'm going to clean my weapon, and not play with a cheating droid." He left the room, and Christina laughed loudly and heartily, Lyle and Anew quickly joining her. Anew had tears in her eyes, and had to take deep breaths to get under control, looking at the crew members doing the same. Haro spun in a circle and whirred happily, staying in the room as the organic crew members recovered.

Christina just grinned, "You know as fun as it is seeing him not be such an ass, it's also fun to see him get mad."

Lyle just nodded at that, "Just don't go too far. He's actually acting like a person now." Anew chuckled and was about to speak when a loud voice echoed through the halls.

"I heard that!"

Lyle just yelled back, "I hope you did!" There was no reply, and Lyle looked at the table then to Anew, "You want to give it a try against Christina?"

Anew looked at him curiously, "I've never played before. I don't even have a deck."

Lyle put his deck in front of her, "Well you can use mine. I'll teach you as you go. And thankfully for you, we can do it without betting until you figure this out." Anew took the deck and looked through it, before taking a breath.

"Alright, but don't laugh when I lose a lot." Christina just nodded at Anew's words, and took out her own, ready to introduce another crew member to her favorite game. Tieria would come back eventually to lose more money, but for now she could get some easy wins.

Engine Room of the Vagabond

Setsuna was laid on his back as Allelujah had put him and Feldt through the ringer. The previous day and for a few hours so far today he had been working on the basics of using and controlling their force powers. Setsuna was wiped after Allelujah had been forcing him to practice with his speed power, trying to get past Allelujah who blocked his way to touch the light switch in the engine room. It had taken an hour, but Setsuna had finally done it, though his legs felt like jelly and his mind pushed to the limit.

Allelujah looked at the man on the ground then to Feldt, who was mildly concerned until Setsuna sat up against a wall. Setsuna took deep breaths. 'I hadn't been trained that hard since Ali trained us to fight the empire.' He clenched his fist at the thought of the man, anger filling him. He had no idea what he was doing right now, but he had a bad feeling that he would see him again before all of this was done.

"Good job Setsuna. You are as almost as stubborn as my master was." The Jedi then smiled as he looked at Feldt, "Yesterday we talked about your unique ability. I think this would be the perfect time to re-energize Setsuna after that training."

Feldt nodded, "I'll try my best. Any tips for me?"

Allelujah pursed his lips, "Unfortunately not really. I'm guessing it's focused around controlling the flow of energy, but until you start trying it, we can't know what it needs. I wish we had a Jedi master around to teach all of us." He chuckled, "Instead you get a washed-up apprentice." His arms flopped to his side, a defeated tone in his voice.

Feldt stood up, shaking her head, "Any teaching is better than no teaching. And once the empire is defeated, Setsuna and I can help you establish the Jedi, to rebuild it so no one ends up like us. Right Setsuna?"

Setsuna, too tired to fully respond, just hummed, not really thinking that far into the future. While that dream sounded nice, they still had to fight the empire, and there was still a lot to do before they even put a dent in the authoritarian government.

Allelujah just sighed and smiled, "Thanks for the thought. But right now we all have to get better." He took a step back, and gestured to her, "Do what you need to do, and I'll speak up if I have any advice."

Feldt nodded and sat it a mediative pose, focusing on her bond with Setsuna. She could sense his exhaustion, and mentally reached out and grabbed the bond, gathering up her power as she took deep breaths. She could feel the power sitting in her chest, and with a silent shove, she began to push it through the bond. A bit nervous about this whole thing, Feldt didn't push too hard.

Setsuna, feeling a buzz go through him, could only feel a minor amount of energy go through him. It was a pleasant feeling, but nothing like the sensation he had felt on the ship. He waited for another few seconds, but nothing changed. Setsuna spoke evenly at Feldt, "Push harder. You need to really focus."

Feldt nodded and strained as she pushed herself, the energy coming with more force and size. Setsuna grit his teeth as this wave suddenly hit him, causing him to grab his head. It was so much power, and it filled his body painfully. He let out a groan, trying to push back against the pain as Feldt sweat from the exertion. She was panting and her face was red, leaning forward.

The Miraluka's head was foggy and it was getting harder to stay awake, but once she sensed pain blooming from Setsuna, she stopped sending him power, guilt filling her chest. She looked over at Setsuna, who could finally think as he took deep breaths. He certainly had more energy, but he was more sore than ever. He sent a signal saying he's ok through their bond, and Feldt just let out an exhausted groan.

Looking at this from the outside, Alle could vaguely sense the transfer of power. 'So it is detectable. Though how much of that was me looking for it?' He looked at the panting pair, and spoke up, "Very interesting. I have a few ideas what's going on." He looked at Setsuna, "I could see you were in pain. What did it feel like?"

Setsuna spoke calmly, "Like my body was getting pummeled. The power hit me like a speeder. I had to focus just to keep from getting knocked out, to try to absorb any of the power."

Alleujah nodded, and Feldt absorbed all of the Kiffar's words. 'Did I go to hard on him?' She looked at Allelujah nervously, "Did I mess up?"

The Jedi shook his head, "Not in the slightest. Setsuna seems ok and none of us know how this works. But now we know how the ability functions. The only thing that will make this better is figuring out how to control this. And I think it relies on both of you." He looked at Feldt first, "For you, you need to control the amount of power getting through. Imagine it like controlling the output of an engine. What happens when you put too much power into a device or engine that can't handle it?"

Feldt's eyes widened, "It explodes or shuts down…" Allelujah could only smile as pride filled his breast. 'I guess I am figuring out these two's quirks.' Feldt continued to ramble a bit, "So I need to act as a regulator for the power, to make sure I don't overload Setsuna."

Allelujah nodded and looked at Setsuna, "And on your side, you need to be able stay focused and in control to organically take the energy. And if you plan to use it in the heat of combat, that will require extra focus and the ability to focus on two or more things at once."

Setsuna was quiet for a few seconds, before pursing his lips, "Alright. It seems that both of us need to be in sync. Which means practice." A determined look filled his face, "I'm ready to go again."

Allelujah shook his head, seeing how tired and exhausted Feldt was, "Take some time and relax. Get a drink or food. Maybe once you two have a better sense of how to do this, then you can push boundaries. You can't run till you learn how to walk." Suddenly his communicator went off, and he pulled it out as Feldt looked at him curiously.

"Who is that?"

The Jedi saw an unfamiliar contact, and looked between the two other force users, "Get some water and food while I get this call, and once I get back, we can try that again. And I also plan on teaching some more mental oriented abilities to you Feldt." The pair nodded and watched him walk out of the engine room, the comm beeping again.

Allelujah could hear the sounds coming from the bunkroom and armory, and went up to the bridge, going to the gunnery room. He closed the door, and accepted the call, and was surprised to see a hologram of Marie. His heart beat rapidly as worry and affection filled him, his words quiet, "Marie?"

The white-haired Echani nodded, a warm smile on her face, "Yeah, it's me. And don't worry, this is encrypted. No one can track I am calling you."

Allelujah wanted to touch the hologram, but all he would do was phase through it. He put the comm down at one of the gun consoles. She was clearly back in her imperial uniform, and he had to admit she did look good in it, though he would never admit it to any of the crew. She looked down guilty at the floor, before looking back up at him, "I'm sorry for how that ended on the ship. But I didn't know if I could trust your crew."

Allelujah swallowed heavily, "It hurt to see you go. And I wish you joined me, but you being safe is more important than anything else." 'I know that she would have had to go through the same process as Anew will have to, but…' He shook his head, chastising himself for being selfish. She wanted to be with her adopted father, and she would be hunted.

She blew him a kiss, and smiled, her cheeks red, "Thank you for worrying. And I do love you. Don't doubt that." Her expression then filled with worry, "Ribbons is in the sector. He's on the ship I'm on right now."

Allelujah's eyes filled with fear, all his instincts telling him to flee. And a deep anger grew in his gut. Hallelujah's anger and rage was palpable, and a hint of shame filled him that his first thought was to flee. He took a second to collect his thoughts, mumbling the Jedi creed, before speaking again, "Thank you. I'll be careful. I suppose it would be out of line to ask what you are doing next?"

Just seeing the reaction from Allelujah caused Marie to want to hurt Ribbons. He had done so much damage to people who didn't deserve it. 'And who knew how many others he had hurt for whatever reasons he had.' She then shook her head, "That would mean I could ask you the same. But hopefully we don't have to fight."

There were sounds coming from the hallway, and she gave him a bittersweet look, "I have to get going, so stay safe." She took a deep breath, "I love you."

A tear streaked down Allelujah's face, "I love you too." The hologram faded as he reached out for her, hating how close, yet so far away she was. He grabbed the comm and put it away, collecting himself as he knew he had a lot to do. And right now, helping Feldt and Setsuna was more important. He left the gunnery station, the door closing behind him with a hiss.

Conference Room of the Omen

Soma saluted the guards outside the room as she entered the planning and conference room, seeing Sergei and Ribbons just finishing up a conversation. She saluted both of them, and they saluted back. Sergei spoke professionally, "At ease." Soma relaxed and Sergei continued, "I requested that you be sent to Ribbons dig site to check out the security of it, as well as see what they have learned, within Ribbons approval obviously."

The green-haired inquisitor smiled, which only sent unease through Soma, "Yes. I don't have the information with me obviously, but my aide Regene should have what you need." He laughed lightly, "I can't say what we most likely found will be entirely interesting to you. Mostly ancient history of the Sith and the like."

Soma just nodded, "Thank you for being willing to work with us. I promise not to get in the way."

Ribbons just shook his head, "If you help tighten our security, I would certainly be grateful." He handed her a datapad, which showed the rough setup and the number of troops and workers that were at the dig site.

Soma took it and looked it over, noticing the light security that seemed to be there. She scanned to memorize the details, and curiously looked at Ribbons, "Why so little security? Surely you could muster more?"

"Well it's not strategically important, and the rebels tend to prefer targeting military or resource oriented operations, rather than an archeological dig. And the pirates would find little value in the stuff that we have, though I will say the pirates that have attacked have learned the hard way what attacking the Inquisition gets them." He smirked slightly, completely relaxed.

Soma kept her cool, "That make sense." 'Allelujah and his friends didn't seem to find it. Though is that because it's not important or because it was kept secret?' "I compliment your ability to maintain your secrecy. Not a lot of people can do that."

Ribbons just hummed, "Thank you. I appreciate the compliment from imperial intelligence."

Sergei joined the conversation as he looked between the pair, before looking at Soma, "Inquisitor Ribbons has other plans right now, but you are to go ahead."

Ribbons nodded, "I plan to arrive at the dig site in a week or so. I hope to see you there, but if you decide to leave early, then go ahead. I'm certain your work is more important than my little operation." There was something worrying in his eye, but Marie responded evenly.

"I will consider it after I do my check." 'And find out what you are doing in this sector of space.' She looked at Sergei, "Am I cleared to leave?"

He nodded, "You shuttle should be ready in thirty minutes or so." Concern filled his expression, and she steeled herself as she just nodded. 'Can't let this bastard read my emotions.'

She looked between the two men and spoke, "Am I dismissed?"

"Yes." Sergei took a breath and saluted, which she saluted back. She turned on her heels and marched out of the room, resisting the urge to look back at the pair. She had a mission to do, and if luck was on her side, Ribbons would have no idea what she was doing.

Author Note

And that's the chapter! A bit shorter, but we are leading up to the ruins. Anew is bonding with the crew and our three force users get some practice. I'll see you guys next time, and please review and comment!