Private Held in the Currents of the Force

[Lyra Ventor]

Lyra watched Alema silently reinforce the ventilation system, the projection's narrowed eyes making it abundantly clear that the discussion was over. She glanced down at the Anzellan, whose outraged muttering resumed the moment another vent sealed itself somewhere deeper in the ship.

"I know," she said sympathetically, patting the pocket where he sat. "You're being discriminated against on account of your...lifestyle."

The little engineer responded with another indignant stream of complaints.

"You'll live."

With the memory core left to Alema's recovery process, Lyra made her way toward the medical bay. The warm mist rolling out into the corridor felt inviting after everything the valley had thrown at them. She paused only long enough to leave her jacket and gear neatly outside the decontamination area, carefully setting the Anzellan somewhere secure where he couldn't wander off while the cleansing cycle ran.

Stepping into the steam, she immediately spotted Syn already standing beneath the cascade of water. The sight caught her off guard for just a heartbeat, warmth immediately rising to her cheeks. Her eyes instinctively lingered for a fraction longer than she intended before she quietly reminded herself that he couldn't see the expression she was wearing.

That realization somehow made the blush worse.

"Alema said I apparently qualify as 'high levels of stank' too," she said, trying and only partially succeeding to sound perfectly casual as she stepped beneath the warm spray herself. "So I figured I'd better listen before she decided to decontaminate me by force."

The hot water washed away layers of dust and grime collected from caves, jungle, and ancient ruins alike. For the first time since entering the valley, Lyra allowed herself to simply stand there and breathe, stealing one more quick glance toward Syn before looking resolutely at the wall instead.

"I have to admit," she murmured with a small smile, "a hot shower ranks surprisingly high on the list of things I missed."

Syn

 

[Syn]

Lyra Ventor

The steam curled around him like a living thing, carrying the scent of the chemical laced water and the faint, lingering trace of the valley's strange flora that had clung to his skin. Syn stood motionless beneath the cascade, water streaming over his shoulders and tracing paths down the lines of his back. His head tilted slightly at the sound of her voice that familiar voice laced with humor. A rare, soft smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Alema is an excellent judge of character, but I believe she may have miscalculated in this instance." His voice carried a low, warmth that the enclosed space seemed to catch and hold. "If there were such a thing as 'high levels of stank,' I suspect we would both be far more uncomfortable than we are. Though I cannot say the same for the state of my clothing."

He listened to the shift of water around her, the way her presence altered the acoustics of the small space. His head turned in her direction, though his gaze remained fixed somewhere beyond the physical, seeing her through the currents of the Force that wrapped around them both. "I have missed many things," he said quietly, the water tracing paths over the smooth scarred tissue where his eyes had once been. "But standing here with you, in this moment, after everything... there is only one thing I have missed." He closed the small distance between them with grace, his hand coming up to find her cheek with a gentleness that spoke of careful practice the slow, deliberate way he had learned to navigate a universe he could no longer see.

His thumb brushed a lock of wet hair from her face, and he leaned in close enough that his breath mingled with the steam. He kissed her then, slow and deep, the water cascading around them as his hand slid to the nape of her neck, fingers threading through wet strands of hair. For a long moment, there was nothing but the heat of the water and the warmth of her lips, the steady rhythm of her breath against his skin. When he finally pulled back, his forehead rested against hers, and the smile that touched his mouth was soft, unguarded. He let out a quiet breath that was almost a laugh. "And that is is you." His thumb traced along her jawline, gentle and unhurried.

He let his hand fall to rest at her waist, pulling her just a fraction closer beneath the spray. He smiled again, that blade thin, genuine smile she'd seen from him only a handful of times. "The Force shows me a lot of things, Lyra. But right now, it's only showing me you. And that's more than enough." When he finally pulled back, his forehead rested against hers. "Now," he said, his tone shifting to something lighter. "I did promise to get you back home and it is well past time I do that." He offered a smile though while he was finishing and the decontamination shower finished up with the waters going through while the engineer was likely yelling being stuck in the clothing.

 

[Lyra Ventor]

The warmth of the water had already begun to ease the lingering tension from her muscles, but the moment Syn's hand found her cheek, every coherent thought scattered.

His touch was careful, almost reverent.

The kiss stole what little composure she still possessed.

For a long moment, Lyra simply melted into it, one hand instinctively finding the center of his chest before slowly sliding upward. The heat of the shower disappeared into the background, replaced by the steady rhythm of his breathing and the quiet certainty with which he held her. When he rested his forehead against hers, she closed her eyes, a small, breathless laugh escaping before she could stop it.

"You have a remarkable habit," she whispered, still smiling, "of saying exactly the sort of things that make it very difficult to remember what I was thinking about five seconds earlier."

As his hand settled at her waist, her fingers slipped into his damp hair, combing gently through it before resting at the back of his head. She lingered there, simply enjoying the closeness, studying the peaceful expression on his face. Somewhere along the way, the impossible journey through forgotten valleys, giant spiders, ancient observatories, and hidden worlds had quietly become secondary to the person standing in front of her.

When he spoke about taking her home, her smile softened.

She realized, somewhat to her own surprise, that she wasn't entirely certain she wanted to leave just yet.

Not because she wished to remain stranded.

Because this moment felt strangely complete.

"Home..." she echoed quietly, searching his face for a moment before letting out another soft laugh. "A few days ago that would have been the only thing on my mind."

Her thumb brushed lightly through his hair again.

"Now..."

She hesitated, not from uncertainty about the feeling, but from uncertainty about the words.

"...I'm not entirely sure I want this part to end."

The confession hung comfortably between them.

Looking up at him, cheeks still faintly flushed despite the steam surrounding them, she smiled with a mixture of affection and quiet curiosity.

"What even are we?" she asked softly. "Because somewhere between you promising to kiss me again, carrying me across half a valley, and this..."

She gave his hair one last gentle stroke before resting her hand against the side of his neck.

"...I think we've become something I wasn't expecting."

Syn

 

[Syn]

Lyra Ventor

He looked at her as she asked and he debated about it. What it could all mean and he had an idea... He did at least in terms of what he knew. "That would depend on what definition we seek to use. To cathar we would likely be mated to each other. To those who know us perhaps seen as something more. Alema has said combining names is the common practice on the holonet now." He said it but remained there while he was looking at her and remained close. "Though I am uncertain what it is you would want. We find ourselves circling back to each other, brought together time after time again and again." He said it while he was looking at her and this was nice, it was comfortable, it was good. "I would want more of you."

 

[Lyra Ventor]

For a moment, Lyra simply stared at him. She had expected many answers. A careful Jedi explanation. A philosophical observation. Perhaps even another teasing remark from someone who seemed to delight in catching her off guard. She had not expected simple, unguarded honesty. The surprise was written plainly across her face before it slowly softened into something warmer. Her fingers remained lightly against the side of his neck, as though reassuring herself he was actually standing in front of her. The steam drifted lazily between them, but she barely noticed it anymore. "You always do that," she whispered with a quiet, almost incredulous laugh. "You say something that completely disarms me, and somehow you make it sound like the most natural thing in the galaxy."

Her thumb brushed gently along his jaw as she searched his expression. He couldn't see the look on her face, but if he could, he would have found equal parts wonder, disbelief, and unmistakable affection. "What I do know," she said softly, "is that you're right. Every time our paths separate, they somehow find each other again. Every mission, every chance encounter...it's always you." She stepped just a little closer until there was scarcely any space left between them, her hand slipping from his neck to rest over his heart. "When we first met, I admired you. Then I started looking forward to seeing you. Somewhere along the way..." She smiled to herself, almost shyly. "...I stopped thinking about whether this was a good idea and started wondering when I'd get to see you again."

Her eyes never left his face. "So hearing you say you'd want more of me..." She shook her head ever so slightly, still sounding pleasantly overwhelmed. "I don't think you realize how happy that makes me." Her fingers curled lightly against his chest as another soft laugh escaped her. "I think I've been falling for you for a while now. I just didn't notice it until you said the words out loud." The admission felt strangely freeing, as though she had finally caught up to feelings that had been patiently waiting for her.

A warm smile spread across her face, gentle and utterly genuine. "Because I want more of you too." She reached up once more, running her fingers through his damp hair before letting her hand come to rest against his cheek. "Whatever we're becoming..." she murmured, her voice barely louder than the water surrounding them, "...I'd really like to find out together."

Syn

 

[Syn]

Lyra Ventor

He gave a nod of his head to her when she saaid that. It was more then he had expected and that was better. "Then so shall it be." He said it while he was standing there for the moment. THen he was letting the decontamination shower finish for both of them before the dryer was getting the rest of it and he walked as Alema spoke on the ship. "YOur little engineer friend does not seem to enjoy the clothing that I made for him. His previous garments were biological hazards and highly flammable." Alaema spoke and was looking at the projection for a moment as she continued. "THe ship is also approaching the gap, once we are across it we'll be in a more traversible region of space and away from the croke."

 

[Lyra Ventor]

Lyra's smile lingered long after his words settled between them. There was something wonderfully uncomplicated about the way he had answered. No hesitation. No uncertainty. Just quiet confidence. It made her heart feel lighter than it had in a very long time.

"I like the sound of that," she said softly, her fingers brushing his hand one last time before the warm air of the dryer replaced the water. "It feels...right."

Alema's announcement drew a laugh from her as they stepped out of the decontamination chamber.

"You gave him new clothes?" she asked, already picturing the tiny engineer dramatically objecting to every stitch. "Something tells me he would've complained even if they'd been tailored by the finest designer in the Core."

She shook her head, smiling to herself.

"Though I suppose 'less flammable' is a reasonable improvement."

The mention of leaving the Gap behind pulled her attention toward the nearest viewport. She paused for a moment, looking out into the stars that only a short while ago had seemed impossibly far away.

"It's strange," she admitted quietly. "A few hours ago all I wanted was to leave that valley. Now that we're actually doing it...part of me already misses it."

Her eyes drifted back to Syn, and the smile returned without effort.

"Then again," she said warmly, "I suppose I brought the best part of that adventure home with me."

Syn

 

[Syn]

Lyra Ventor

"The grease and oil is strong enough in all of the clothing you brought we could fuel a furnace for ten years." Alema spoke while she was looking at them with the projection though and Syn was walking through the ship. The jedi master remained there as he crossed his arms but hearing Lyra was welcoming. "I believe the same." He moved onto the bridge as AAlema was showing more on the screen and there was some navigational data recovered. "Whatever was on there is largely lost, a lot of gaps and I am working to find overlays where needed for the known navigational information. THe missing pieces will be whenever the ship you found entered the gap."

 

[Lyra Ventor]

Lyra gave Alema's projection another wounded look at the assessment of her clothing, but before following Syn toward the bridge, she made a brief detour to collect their smallest passenger. She found the Anzellan still deeply offended by his new wardrobe and apparently determined to make certain everyone aboard knew it. With an amused smile, she scooped him up before he could find some new way to antagonize Alema and settled him into the familiar pocket of her now-clean jacket.

"Come on, trouble," she murmured as he immediately began protesting his relocation. "You survived a crash, giant predators, and however long you were stranded down there. I think you can survive clean clothes."

By the time Lyra reached the bridge, the Anzellan was still muttering from her pocket. She moved closer to the display as Alema brought up what remained of the recovered navigational data, her expression becoming more serious as she studied the gaps scattered throughout it. "That's still more than I expected us to recover," she admitted. "If you can reconstruct enough of the known routes on either side, we might at least narrow down where they entered the Gap, even if whatever happened inside it stays a mystery."

Her hand absently settled over the pocket containing their little passenger before she looked down at him. "And maybe once we know where the ship came from, we'll finally figure out who you are." A faint smile tugged at her lips. "Unless you'd prefer we keep calling you 'little guy' forever."

Syn

 

[Syn]

Lyra Ventor

"The reconstruction is decent, their mechanical failure was from overuse of the fresher. It malfunctioned with the disposal and led to decompression. In the computers automated errror logs and reports." Alema said it while she was there and bringing up some of it. "Master, your clothing will be clean within the hour." She spoke and Syn remained there for a moment but only gave a nod of his head. Reaching outwards with the force that would allow him to move though so Lyra could see the information. "I am cetain an engineer breaking his fresher to break the ship is a new one I have never heard before."

 

[Lyra Ventor]

Lyra stared at the display for several long seconds, her brow furrowing as she reread the diagnostic report. Then she looked at Alema. Then back at the report again.

"...You're telling me," she began slowly, "that an entire ship was lost because someone managed to destroy the fresher?"

She let the question hang there before a helpless laugh escaped her.

"That's...honestly not even in the top hundred mechanical failures I would've guessed."

She shook her head, still smiling in disbelief as she followed Syn toward the bridge. Only then did another realization catch up with her. They were both still waiting on their clothes.

Her eyes drifted, entirely against her better judgment, toward Syn for the briefest moment before snapping resolutely back to the navigation display.

"Maker..." she muttered under her breath. "You are making this very difficult."

Whether she meant the situation, the lack of clothing, or the man beside her, even she wasn't entirely certain.

Drawing a slow breath, Lyra forced herself back into the mindset of a pilot and engineer. She stepped closer to the recovered star charts, grateful for something technical to occupy her attention.

"If the fresher caused the decompression, then at least we know the Gap wasn't what killed the crew." Her finger traced the incomplete route across the holographic display. "Whatever happened after they crossed into it is still missing, but this gives us a timeline. We know when the ship stopped being healthy...and roughly when it stopped being whole. That's more than we had an hour ago."

Syn

 

[Syn]

Lyra Ventor

The ship was looking. "Mechanical failure like this is common. It is one of the few maintained areas of a ship but also usually one of the ones taken care of on stop overs and when you get everything overhauled. As opposed to the more common systems." She said it and Syn was standing there as the droids were moving around and went along the walls. "But the Gap itself is not dangerous anymore, it is just fought over by zealots and worse things." Alema was speaking and Syn looked out in the force more as he turned to Lyra. "More knowledge is good, we will have some clothing in the rooms." He looked down at the engineer but he was taking a moment. "Behave."