Private Coming Home

[Asha Sar'andor]

It was a green and verdant view which greeted her on the other side of the viewing port when they pulled out of hyperspace just beyond the orbit of Teth.

Perhaps she ought to have been out in the lounge, or freshening up in the Captain's cabin, but she'd always been rather dutiful when it came to Pilgrim and her journeys across the stars. She'd take breaks from the cockpit, of course, head into the galley to make something to eat, rest in her cabin, or hang around the lounge, but when she knew they were coming close to the end of the journey? No... Her place was in the cockpit then. She liked to be in control when it came time to land, even with M8-T33's newly forged assistance. Asha had no doubt that he could handle it, but it was a matter of duty, of principal. She owed it to her ship.

"Hey, Qae," she said, calling back through the vessel wherein he was doing Force-knew what. Asha didn't claim to have the Nautolan figured out yet, despite all they'd been through on Manaan, and all that she had witnessed of his past through the flowing strands of time. Still, at least she wasn't referring to him as Master Shena all the time like some fresh faced Padawan; that was an improvement to be sure. "You might want to see this."

Her voice was almost sing-songy, certainly filled to the brim with excitement of her own. It had been too long since she'd been back here, not since inducting Varloc into the Je'daii Order, and even then she'd been here more for the small town which had cropped up, to marvel in its isolated splendor, than anything relating to their heritage.

Beyond that? Not since before Jyn...

Her throat constricted slightly at that though, but she tried to shake it from her mind. This was an exciting day, Jyn would not want her to mar it with grief and sadness. And if it felt monumental to she, then how must it have been for the one who was returning after twenty years away? A true homecoming, to be sure...

She didn't immediately bring the ship down, though. She could have, it would have been easy, she knew the coordinates, had the hangar codes, but it felt prudent that Qae be here, in the cockpit, for that moment.

Qae Shena

 

[Qae Shena]

They were friends now, Asha and Qae. Kind of helped that they'd peered into each other's most inner mysteries before an actual sentence was exchanged between the two of them.

By comparison to the moment they met, the actual conscious and functional Qae was very different. Still honest about everything, but far kinder to both himself and the people around him. And way better at making terrible jokes. Definitely much better than that. However, the moment that was coming filled him with excitement. And fear. And trepidation. And... so many million other things that Qae could not have held back were he to try.

Yet, here it was. The beauteous world of Teth. For years it had been home for the families that Qae had adopted into his circles, where the original Asha and her cohort had been; where the first rings of Je'daii students had gathered under his banner for original instruction, where the Levantine Sanctum had first been formed and the Silver Jedi were whispered into existence. Where the Vagrant Fleet could hide in moments were it necessary.

Where his soul lived.

There was not a word from his lips as he gripped the back of the co-pilot's chair; he had wished to fly, but this was not his ship to conn. It was hers, and the Master-at-Arms respected her right to fly her own vessel. Instead, he would settle for this perfect panorama-- a world that he loved, coming back into view for the first time in twenty years.

He owed her so much.

Asha Hex

 

[Asha Sar'andor]

Her companion was silent and that suited Asha just fine; she'd never been one of those people who felt the need to fill every single second with noise just to avoid feeling awkward. Frankly, she didn't feel awkward in silence... Needless conversation, though? Yeah, that could get awkward.

Once he was in the cockpit with her, she continued their approach toward the planet and soon enough it fully engulfed their view. They broke through the planet's atmosphere and sank deeper and deeper toward the jungles below; not too low, of course, after all their destination was nestled into the mountains, but all the same they descended.

She pulled back on the yoke enough to level them out and as they drew closer to the Temple Asha connected up to its internal systems. Punched in the relevant codes in order to have it open at their approach, and afford them a bay to set Pilgrim down in.

Asha did not rush their approach though, she allowed it all to unfold before them so that the Nautolan could soak it all in. Turning her head slightly, she observed the almost restless nature which had overcome him, that itch to regain control. The girl chewed on the inside of her lip for a moment, before relinquishing the controls and pushing up from the seat, stepping aside.

No words were shared between them, no words were really needed, as she left it open for him to slip in and bring the ship in to land within his home.

Qae Shena

 

[Qae Shena]

And there it was.

The Silent Temple. Its peaks reached towards the heavens, tiled blue roof sitting atop a vast network of structures that held innumerable secrets. This place was a hidden home away from home, where Qae had spent most of his non-Fleet time; if he was going to be on land, it was going to be here. There was no other way around that situation, and yet this was an entirely perfect way to visit, see, hear and think to himself how he could start reclaiming his life. This was the important part.

This was home.

Asha moved, and he understood immediately what she was doing; the blessed thankfulness that was there so that he could reclaim what belonged to him, his very own hideaway, was not lost on him. This was an absolute blessing. For the first time since his rebirth, he took the controls of a starship, and the entire Galaxy felt right again.

A feeling of familiarity washed over him as he brought the craft's repulsorlifts down just a touch to let the ship glide towards the Temple; there were a few tips and tricks that he'd never really spoken about, things that were unique to him for emergencies. The door, for instance, typically required an access code - or to be Qae, who knew the trick to the lock and could do it with the Force. Eyes shut for a moment as ancient muscle memory took over. He reached out with naught but his mind, and tweaked a very specific pin somewhere else in the Temple - enough for the door to slide open at his command. There had originally been a procedure for an evacuation, where Qae had posited the arrival of the Sith, to justify such a measure; this was now the choice of a man who had all the time and freedom in the galaxy to study what was about to happen.

The gigantic hangar doors began to creak open, revealing the bay underneath the Temple's peak. As his eyes opened, he glanced to Asha with a smile. Some things just didn't change - and he was glad this thing specifically did not.

Asha Hex

 

[Asha Sar'andor]

After entrusting him with the helm, not something to ever be taken lightly where this ship was concerned, Asha simply hovered behind him and watched as the Temple came into view, and soon after the hangar door opened. It was easy to miss the entire structure, if you didn't know where you were looking, overgrown trees, the bay door hidden among the rock, even the Temple itself which sat atop it all was somewhat obscured. From the ground you'd never even know it was there, and from the sky it was easy to pass over.

But this was neither one of their first trip here.

Didn't make the view any less beautiful though did it? She stared through the viewing port and felt both excitement and sorrow. It was here that she and Jyn had worked to bring the Je'daii back into fruition. Here that she'd met Lykos before his passing. So many souls she'd found to be kindred, so many lost... The memories, the echoes, in this place, they'd be substantial.

Asha inhaled a slow breath as they came in to land, and braced herself for any impressions she might find once they disembarked. Touch nothing, she decided, until she was mentally prepared for what might be imparted. That would probably be for the best, right?

"Are you ready?" she asked the Nautolan, once they had carefully landed within the bay. In a way, she was as much asking herself as him.

Qae Shena

 

[Qae Shena]

Deep breath, fish boy.

"As ready as I can be," he breathed. Yes, many decades of history were all stored here; the knowledge of the senior living Je'daii Masters, the original modern texts, and perhaps more - all of them would be here, in this place, where they had once lived. It would be an inevitability that things would have changed, but Qae remained hopeful that there were some things that were the same.

Slowly, the ship came to a crawl as the spacefaring master brought the craft in on its repulsorlifts into the hangar - and across the bay were two ships, both of which were incredibly familiar to him. He knew them anywhere. He'd designed them both, after all, or at least modified one so heavily that it was an extension of his being rather than just an ordinary ship.

The Sky Dancer II. Inevitably within its hold would be Yun-Harla, the crimson-hulled starfighter - but further back the almost half-kilometre mega-freighter Aether Dreamer. Large, blue, swept as many Mon Calamari designs were; it was a beautiful vessel. Both of them had been designed with speed and secrecy in mind; all given stygium cloaking devices and high-capacity hyperdrives, these ships were cutting-edge and were the basis for the Vagrant Fleet, when it had been in circulation. Both of them had acquired layers of dust, of course; they had been sitting mothballed for so long that they would inevitably need some tender loving care before they could fly again. But there they were.

What else would be held within the halls of the Silent Temple?

He held back every tear his body threatened to cry.

"When was your last visit, Asha?" Qae asked, trying to be nonchalant about it - and failing.

Asha Hex

 

[Asha Sar'andor]

Though much within the Temple had changed over the years, first at the hands of the Je'daii and later those who had come to claim the Temple as their own, insofar as Asha was aware anything specifically pertaining to Qae had been respectfully left alone. His ships still lay within the hangar, his room was untouched. If such had changed since the Je'daii had been forced to leave, she would not have any way of knowing of course, but she hoped they'd been as respectful as she and Jyn had tried to be.

She took a step back from the seat, and glanced down at him. Her arms crossed at her chest, and for a moment her thoughts drifted back to all the times they'd spent here. Jyn, and Ar'ekk, and all the others who had been and gone... It was hard not to let that pit in her stomach become all consuming.

His question snapped her from her thoughts. "To Teth? Not so long ago. There were refugees from the Scar Worlds who settled here, I helped them break ground..." Her gaze drifted past him to the innards of the hangar. "The Temple..? Not, uh.... Not since before Jyn..."

Asha blinked back tears, and turned from the viewing port. "Too long. I need some air, I'll be outside when you're ready..."

With that she stepped toward the airlock, and activated the boarding ramp to descend out into the cooler hangar bay.

Qae Shena