Private Into the Living Stone

[Kallous]

The Stingray zipped through hyperspace, its two passengers comfortably seated within its interior as the ship moved. Kallous had been training Veyla Krinn in the basics of the force for some months now. She'd made remarkable progress in that time, getting better and better at touching the force, up to the point where she could do it on demand. He'd taught her basic telekinesis and the techniques to empower her body, to allow her to move faster and hit harder. He also did not fail to emphasize the importance of the philosophies that surrounded the force and its use, sharing the conclusions he had come to and inviting her to search the force for answers of her own. She'd gotten far enough in fact, that he decided that it was time for her to find a kyber crystal and bond with it, and from there craft herself a weapon.

And to that end he looked for an appropriate planet. One that was steeped deeply enough in the force for Kyber to form, and hadn't been overly mined for it or was overly populated. The place he'd found had plenty of Jedi on it from what he understood, but not enough to be worrying. He doubted they would give them any trouble. And so he had set course for Oralis Prime, that was where they would go to find Veyla's kyber crystal, and from there he would bring her back to Concordia so she could forge her lightsaber.

They'd been in Hyperspace for some hours now, and they were approaching the end of the jump where they would get close to the planet. With Kallous sitting in the pilot's seat, and Veyla free to move about the ship.

"Veyla," Kallous would call to her, "We'll be there in another five minutes or so."

With his passenger warned, Kallous prepared to bring them out of hyperspace and into atmosphere.

Veyla Krinn

 

[Veyla Krinn]

The familiar vibration of hyperspace hummed through the Stingray's hull, though it was a sensation Veyla had only experienced a handful of times since Kallous had arrived on Concordia. Most of the past several months had been spent planetside. Days began at the quarry or the forge, afternoons dissolved into meditation and sparring, and more evenings than either of them had expected ended over dinner, discussing everything from Mandalorian customs to the mysteries of the Force.

It had become a comfortable routine.

At Kallous' voice, she looked up from the datapad resting forgotten in her lap and made her way into the cockpit. One hand settled lightly against the bulkhead beside his chair as the blue tunnel of hyperspace stretched endlessly ahead.

"Five minutes?" she echoed with a small smile. "After spending months on Concordia, it almost feels strange to be traveling again."

A quiet laugh escaped her.

"If you'd told me the day we met that a few months later I'd be crossing the galaxy with a former Sith to find a crystal for a weapon I didn't even know existed..." She shook her head, amused by the thought. "I'd have assumed you'd taken one too many blows to the helmet."

She folded her arms loosely across her chest before glancing toward him.

"So..." she asked, curiosity replacing the humor, "what exactly should I expect when we arrive? You told me finding a kyber crystal isn't like searching for ore in a mine."

Her emerald eyes searched his.

"Am I looking for the crystal..." she asked softly, "...or is the crystal looking for me?"

Kallous

 

[Kallous]

"You wouldn't be wrong in saying that it's a bit of both." Kallous told her when she asked who would be looking for what once they got down to the planet. "You've learned all the basics, you've learned how to listen to the force and discern what it's telling you. It's the same process, you'll let the force guide you to where you need to go. It'll take you to where you need to go."

He gave her a cocked eyebrow afterwards. "Now what's this about not knowing it exists? You should have known that lightsabers were real, I'm certain by now everyone in the galaxy knows what they are and what they look like, whether they've actually seen one or not. Besides, I get the feeling that you'll make a weapon far better suited to fighting in duels than the spear you have now. Especially with how good you are at swinging that hammer of yours."

"I get what you mean though, I felt the same way once I started to travel around." He admitted. "It takes a while to get used to getting up and going great distances, no matter how convenient the fare might be. And even then, you never fully get used to it. Oh, how do you like the ship? When I joined up with the Diarchy I got enough of a stipend to splurge a little, so I had this built. What do you think of it? Haven't had too many passengers on it before, though I get the feeling you're going to be a passenger quite frequently, so I figured I'd get your feedback."

Veyla Krinn

 

[Veyla Krinn]

Veyla laughed softly and held up a hand in surrender. "Alright..." she admitted. "I picked the wrong phrase." A sheepish smile crossed her face.

"I knew lightsabers existed. Every Mandalorian grows up hearing stories about Jedi and Sith." She shook her head at herself. "I just never expected to meet someone who would teach me to use one... let alone tell me that I was meant to wield one myself." She looked out through the cockpit canopy for a moment, the streaking blue of hyperspace reflecting faintly in her eyes. "That part still feels a little unreal."

His question about the Stingray drew her attention around the cockpit. She'd spent enough time aboard over the past months to know where everything was without thinking about it.

"It's great." There wasn't any hesitation in the answer. "Comfortable without being extravagant. Everything has a purpose, and everything's where it ought to be." She rested a hand on the back of the co-pilot's chair. "She's a good ship."

Then, after the briefest pause, the corner of her mouth lifted.

"Though..." she added, her tone carrying an easy warmth, "the company hasn't exactly hurt the experience either."

She folded her arms again and smiled toward him.

"I don't think I'd have enjoyed this trip nearly as much if someone else had been sitting in that pilot's seat."

Kallous

 

[Kallous]

He chuckled when she surrenedered to his feigned outrage. "I get what you mean. Having been a part of that world for so long, sometimes I forget just how small of a group we are when compared to the general population. Even more exceptional people are so detached from it that they never really stop to consider that it might be a possibility to be a part of that. Beyond childhood, where kids might play like they can use the force or swing lightsabers around, most people simply dismiss it as an impossibility. And despite how central the Jedi and the Sith have been to the galaxy's history, they are still remarkably detached from the rest of the galaxy. So I understand, it's an idea that never crossed your mind."

He glanced back at her, "I'm glad you're pleased. And your compliments are appreciated as well. You've certainly made it less lonely to be in, having someone to talk to on these long trips makes a big difference. Even if I'm stuck in the pilots seat for most of it."

Kallous glanced at the dashboard, and nodded to the copilots chair next to him. "You should buckle up, we're about to drop out of hyperspace."

Veyla Krinn

 

[Veyla Krinn]

Veyla nodded, pushing herself away from the bulkhead before settling into the co-pilot's seat. She pulled the harness across her chest and clicked it into place with the ease of someone who had spent enough time aboard ships for it to become second nature.

"Aye." She gave the restraints a quick tug to make sure they were secure before resting an arm on the console beside her.

She glanced out through the cockpit canopy, the brilliant tunnel of hyperspace stretching ahead of them.

"Have you been here before?" she asked, turning her attention back to Kallous. "Or are we both trusting the Force to get us where we need to be?"

There was curiosity in her voice rather than concern. Over the past months, she had learned that Kallous rarely chose a destination without good reason, and if this world had called to him, there was almost certainly a story behind it.

"I'm not opposed to a little exploration," she admitted with a faint smile. "Just wondering if we're arriving somewhere familiar... or writing the map as we go."

Kallous

 

[Kallous]

"Nope, never been here before." He told her with strange enthusiasm. "And the planet is apparently only sparsely populated, so I'm not sure how complete any maps they might have are. Meaning we'll have to find our own way."

The ship lurched as it suddenly slowed, hyperspace melted away back into realspace to reveal a planet and its two moons in front of them. The planet in front of them resembled one of the many forest planets throughout the galaxy. Masses of green continents with gargantuan rivers and vast oceans on its surface. Kallous was able to feel the nexus from there, it wasn't the strongest nexus he'd ever encountered, but it was strong enough to be felt from this distance.

"Do you feel that?" He asked her, wondering if her senses had sharpened enough to pick it up.

The ship descended on the planet as they continued to talk. The reentered the atmosphere with relative ease, the Stingray's heat shields holding up like they were supposed to and making the descent a smooth one. Kallous paid the navi computer no mind, and simply brought them down. Trusting his gut to bring them to the right place. And before too long the landing gear extended so they could touch down in a clearing big enough to accommodate the vessel.

Veyla Krinn

 

[Veyla Krinn]

A grin spread across Veyla's face at his answer.

"Now that..." she said, unable to hide the excitement in her voice, "...sounds exciting."

The thought of exploring somewhere neither of them had ever seen appealed to the part of her that had spent years wandering the galaxy. There was something satisfying about leaving the navicomputer behind and trusting experience, instinct...and now, perhaps, something more.

When Kallous asked if she felt it, her expression softened. She turned her attention away from the viewport and closed her eyes, drawing in a slow breath just as he had taught her countless times before.

She quieted herself, letting the cockpit fade as the hum of the engines slipped into the background, and reached inward for that familiar forge within her mind, coaxing the bellows to breathe and the fire to settle as she listened for anything beyond herself, but found only the steady presence of her own thoughts: nothing more, or perhaps not nothing exactly, just herself and after several moments she opened her eyes again, a faint, apologetic smile crossing her face.

"Not yet." she admitted. "I tried, but...if it's there, I can't separate it from everything else." She glanced toward the forest spreading beneath them as the Stingray descended through the atmosphere. "Maybe once we're on the ground it'll be easier."

As the landing gear settled into the clearing with a gentle thump, Veyla looked through the canopy toward the towering trees surrounding them.

"Either way..." she said, unclipping her harness with an eager smile, "...I'm looking forward to seeing where this path leads."

Kallous