Private Cause I got the waves

[Coren Starchaser]

One of the thing that he really felt was lacking in most starships was music. The galaxy was going the way of war, what… ninety percent of the time? But sometimes, these little moments when you were on a simple job, or even a complex one, and you found some music that just kind of hit the right move. The Tachyon Rising, Coren Starchaser's ever faithful freighter, had taken off from the world of Kattada, safe in the Silver Concord, and wasmaking a run for part of the Unknown Regions, a small moon that was host to a few Jedi refugees. They called for a bit of guidance and assistance with some local trouble, bandits basically. Coren wasn't necessarily a full war front on his own, but he could come out for some assistance, and if he really needed to, call in some friends.

But what he had was a it of music playing, and that was a good thing, a bit of a heavy riff, minor and major tonality, and repetitive vocal harmonics. A good song from a Corellian of years past. Celeste would get the song, and maybe Joza, but for the younger groups it may be beyond them, though that wasn't something he was really minding.

The ship made the lurch into hyperspace and Coren nodded to Porter who was working on logging gravity anomalies. The Jedi Master wasn't dressed the part, as was typical, he was dressed down, denim pants, comfortable shoes, tan tunic as he opened the conservator to grab a drink before sitting at the dejarik table for a moment. He had maybe an hour before he'd arrive.

Valora Starchaser

 

[Valora Starchaser]

His cup floated away from him, tugging by the force to a pile of shipping boxes beyond the door. A small pale hand flashed out and grabbed it from the air.

Hiding was thirsty work.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

As he looked at the opening the AI opponent was doing, it caused his focus to drift a little. Focusing on his thinking mind, he wasn't reacting to the Force right away, but as he reached for his water, he didn't really keep alcohol aboard the ship, not since the wars stopped. Messed with his ability to think, and he needed that most times. Looking at his missing cup, he furrowed his brow.

A scan of the area and he saw it, and the pale hand reaching. A grin on his face, he really did miss a lot of times with the other Starchaserlings didn't he?

"Huh… that's odd, could've sworn I got a water." He got up and made his way over to the conservator. He didn't need the Force to find where she was. But he'd see if she revealed herself or not. He really should check the hangar cams before taking off, so this was on him.

Valora Starchaser

 

[Valora Starchaser]

Victory.

Valora covered her smile with her stolen cup. She didn’t know how far she could get with this little break out, but she planned on seeing it through as far as she could.

it wasn’t fair how much Dad got to leave without them. He said that big or small, there was always something good you could do. Well, here she was. She just had to survive till landing. Then he couldn’t get rid of her, or worse— call mom.

Valora pulled herself to a crouch… felt out with the force… then darted when he wasn’t looking. It would be safer to hide in his bunk. He’d have no reason to go there.

Water sloshed and dropped in her wake.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

Shaking his head, he was filling up another cup, he kept everything on this ship in tip top even still. Kattada was a fine world, but between the Rising and the ShortFin, the two vessels would always be ready to pick up his family, and those that followed him, and get them starside. Once he and the family was free of any world, he never felt anything could catch them. He'd even moved the Dawn Treader closer to Kattada and away from its listening post near Sullust. He had one of his stealth frigates helping keep an eye on the former stronghold.

He had an inkling it was Valora who was nearby, Valerie was the more… reserved of the two. One like him, one like Celeste, praise the Light how that worked.

Even over the music, he could hear where she was. He wasn't looking for her in the Force, that'd be cheating, and if she was starting to come into her own like he hoped, she'd be proficient with resisting, and he wasn't prying so it could work. But the one thing that Valora didn't realize is that Coren had rebuilt this one freighter from the ground up more than once. And owned it for damn near three times as long as she'd been alive.

The water did give her away, but he was going to see what she was up to. Sitting down again and looking towards his bunk. "Could be that I take a nap…" He said, loudly enough.

Valora Starchaser

 

[Valora Starchaser]

Cookies.

The water was ditched on his desk, her thin form diving for the small gap between his bunk and the ground. Everything in this ship was built in and secured, but that didn't stop a man from needing a place to shove shoes and spare luggage when busy and needing to move around. It was just big enough for a body. She scuffed up her elbows pulling herself inside, her breath loud in her ears as she settled.

It never occurred to her that she was now cornered.

And a sleeping man would want to take off his shoes.

She squeezed her eyes shut and focused on cloaking herself in the force. He would not notice her. Please do not notice her. Her stomach growled-- cookies. She lapsed back into concentration again.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

Coren didn't want anything that wasn't cargo to not be strapped down on the Rising. That meant it was really stable inside. He knew all the sounds and creaks of the old boat, just as well as he knew the more modern, more updated ShortFin and her sounds. Sure, maybe the boats all made a little sound. He was Coren Starchaser. Running these two ships into the thick of combat and coming out alive on the other side. But what he was really doing was testing his daughter's resolve.

Did he plan on taking a nap? No, not really. It was maybe an hour of hyperspace time, and Coren Starchaser was a caf drinker. Kept him alert, and even jittery. But the main thing was, as his father had taught him, when your ship was underway, you were responsible for it and any accidents it caused. You weren't to sleep.

Still, he was getting a kick out of this. Was the job anything more than chasing off some bandits by his very being there, and a ship of this fame and infamy doing most of the work, he'd be pulling twin number 1 out of her hiding place. But he wasn't going to discipline her, so it meant playing a game for a few minutes.

What he was going to do was to let her feel like she was winning before reaching out, calmly, and gently, in the Force, and implanting the smell of some of Celeste Rigel 's homemade cookies in her mind.

Valora Starchaser

 

[Valora Starchaser]

Cookies.

Cookies.

...No, really, she smelt cookies.

It didn't take long for Valora to wiggle her way back out into the hall, tentative steps taken until she pressed juuuuuust against the corner into the mess. She had floated away a cup, she could do the same with cookies. And find a better hiding place too, since Dad was going to sleep.

She took in a deep breath then peeeeered around the corner, not exhaling in the slightest.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

The thing with Coren is he did, for all that he was sometimes a garbage parent, try to make sure everyone was eating right. Kattada was pretty self sustaining, focusing on growth of vegetables and fruits, seafood as well. What he had aboard the ship was more salads and pre-cooked meals from the local Witch Clan, and of course, sweets, prepped at the house, by Celeste.

Or at least that latter bit will be what Coren implanted into her mind. It was mostly false, but the cookies were aboard. He liked to keep some of home aboard the ship no matter where he traveled to. That was something started during the war times, and well, it was going to work well here.

The next bit was that he was actually still sitting guard, but he was definitely making Valora think he was going to sleep. Getting up from the chair and heading to the captain's bunk. What he wanted to see if she was inheriting the skills of Coren, or the skills of Celeste. With twins, it was only what he assumed would happen, one be like the mother, the other like the father.

This ship was home, Valora may know it very well, but not as well as Coren.

Valora Starchaser

 

[Valora Starchaser]

Valora watched him go with baited breath, her cheeks pressed into the crevice she hide in. It was only once the place was clear that she stood up, her steps slow and light as she emerged from the shadows too-- she stopped short, her brows furrowing at the 'empty' seat Coren left behind. She looked behind her, checking he wasn't peaking out of his room or...

Huh. She whipped her hair back to the chair with a frown.

She edged a step forward, only to stop again, repeating the process in clear paranoia. It was then the solution hit her like a bell, her shoulders dropping as the gig burst.

"Ah, man!" She took a dish rag and tossed it at Coren's 'invisible' head. "That's no fair! That's cheating! How long have you known?" She whined, crossing her arms over her front.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

He had his mind focused. Was he trying to mess with her? Only a little. She was a Starchaser, at a young age the Force did its own thing. Sometimes it worked like a charm sometimes it… didn't. But Jared and Kaia were the product of just one Force sensitive parent. Kyra and the twins? Both parents were Force aficionados and that could make all the difference. Not that Coren was prepping to make a Starchaser Force Army, but… well, 'King' did have a pleasant ring to it.

As he sat, focused on keeping the sensation up that she was watching him head to his room, he didn't move from his spot, listening to her step. He wasn't trying to inspire any form of fear or paranoia in her. That was pretty much counter to what Coren used the Force for.

When the gears turned and the tumblers in her mind snapped into place, Coren couldn't help but feel a sense of pride as he smiled, dropping the ruse. His hand moved to pull the rag off his head as he laughed. "You didn't do half bad, kid. Barely had time for the trick to get moving. And known? A little after we got into hyperspace. Y'know Valora, you really shouldn't be sneaking aboard. What if I was going somewhere more dangerous?"

Valora Starchaser

 

[Valora Starchaser]

"Theeeeen we'd get to have fun?" She hedged, pulling to sit at the table. She picked around for a sign of the cookies, still bitter at the deception.

"Where are we going, anyway?""

 

[Coren Starchaser]

The kid definitely had the best of her mother and the worst of him in her. The Jedi Master was ready to help people and this trip was delivery and setting up a supply run for some of the Scar Worlds on behalf of the Ossus Initiative. Fact finding and helping drop off some food stuffs and seeds for a colony was definitely something the next generation of Starchasers should be seeing.

He didn't want to throw the twins into a war, didn't want to throw any of the Starchasers into a war. But sometimes, sometimes it was necessary.

"We're heading out to the Rim, heling the Ossus Initiative. Dropping food stuffs, and seeing what we can do about a little bit of a pirate threat. Shouldn't be a problem. They see this ship making port here a few times, they know that the Jedi aren't far behind. Any chance you have your training saber with you?"

Valora Starchaser

 

[Jem Fossk]

.

 

[Valora Starchaser]

"PIrates," she echoed, voice full of excitement. She scrambled for her saber, jammed into the waist band that would have fallen down without it, and placed it proudly on the table.

"I will show them who's really the boss. And we'll we bring them in for prison?"

 

[Coren Starchaser]

Right, he was saying the right and wrong words, wasn't he? Getting Valora to recognize that the pirates are around, that there could be a threat, there could be excitement was probably not what he should have been doing. "We need to make sure that when you stow away you take your equipment. I should have a belt with a saber holster…" He looked at her before heading to the captain's cabin.

As she was talking about showing them what for, and prison, he was laughing. She had the heart of a Jedi, for sure. "We will do our best to scare them off, if we need to, we take them prisoner, but a Jedi and his terrifying daughter should be enough to send them running."

Valora Starchaser