Private Its a new way of living

[Coren Starchaser]

The world of Kattada had recently come under control of the Silver Jedi Covenant. He was really proud of the work this world had done to assist, and what the Concord had brought to it. He and Celeste were debating setting up a temple here. It was an older Republic world that had supported the fabled Rebel Alliance that Coren felt a calling for. Still, he had found an island a bit away from the main city Haleoda and through contacts in the Home Guard and OPA had delivered a few of their ramshackle structures. He could at least see if a base-temple was even something that could be placed on the world.

It was light construction, but it was serving, for now, as a hub for Concord operations on the world. In the main hangar, protected from the elements by its magnetic containment shield, Coren was working with Porter and another astromech, overlooking a few of the mothballed ships. He had a Nithal shuttle, an older Silk/Mon Cal model, and a U-Wing. Porter was following Coren as the other astromech, blue and white, followed and was conversing with a piloting droid. There were other ships and others in the hangar, of course, but Coren was focusing.

His own YT-2000 was off to the side, having already been given a once over. “I know, Porter. I know… But one will work.” Looking more relaxed than he had in a while, no armor, a henley shirt in an outrageous blue color, and tan shorts, the Jedi Master only had a lightsaber on his hip. The air outside the hangar was warm and the breeze was getting into the hangar, but not the sand. It had a nice view over the ocean.

“We’re not going to have to worry about sand on the ships, or your gears…” He looked to the droids. “Either of yours.” As he looked out at the sand, he could see the Coreallian Sand Cat, Atlas, his cat, playing in the sand, the animal had a light Force connection to the Master, and he never really felt it would be bad to let him wander should it not be a combat situation.

If it was the latter, he dropped his companion in a safe place before moving his freighter. Running a hand over the hull of the Niathal’s hull.

Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra had peeled off from Caedyn Arenais 's side, her master doing one tedious task or another, she hadn't paid attention but she had been eager for a bit of fresh air as escape from the monotone drawl of adult conversation. At least, that's how she heard it.

She hit the sand in her jedi robes. She wasn't here for a swim, not that the cast wrapped tight to her torso would let her. She walked the long strip looking at water with yearning. She always loved to swim.

She hadn't mean to stumble across her father, but on reflection her mindless wandering hadn't exactly been mindless at all. A feeling in her check kept one foot in front of the other, until she stopped short and saw his side framed by two droids. Funny how she could recognize it as him, she barely new the man and there was quite the bit of distance between the two.

Still, his name whispered in the back of her mind, the force shedding light on her discovery.

"...Dad." The soft declaration surprised her, her words caught by the wind and swept away as quickly as it came. A forgotten memory came bubbling forward, the edges fuzzy with the pain and medicine between surgeries those first few days. He had been there. She had used that name.

She wavered in place, then took a small step forward, approaching the man and his droids.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

There was a big of music playing as Coren had been working, something with a full sound, brass wind instruments and a few different string instruments, plucked and bowed. It was a full sound, but definitely had a rusty, beachy feel. A bit odd to describe but it was something Coren had picked up while on his travels with Celeste Rigel . The wind kept everything a bit cool from the world, it wasn’t something that Coren was bothered by. Having the sound of the waves nearby was nice.

He was not going to change that, maybe he could work diving and surfing into some meditation and learning to feel the Living and Unifying Force. It could be interesting. He doubted there would be much of a problem with it. Maybe he could open it to the Praxeum, and get Brooke out here. She was half Brubreen, she would feel at home. This was all being mused as he opened an observed a panel on the engine of the Niathal. He was checking the engine against a hologram that Porter had up, as Coren and the droid had worked on several of these.

Feeling another presence beyond the ones that were wandering the deck, he smirked without turning around. Feeling her in the Force was as easy as breathing for him, but he did make his connections fast. Ask the other Perl girls, or Joza Perl herself. He had a hydrospanner in his hand and was looking at the engine part that needed to be repaired. Without turning, he knew she was approaching.

“You okay, Kyra? I don’t bite.” A look over his shoulder at her, and a wink.

Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra's steps faltered, the girl caught out and called out. Red hit her cheeks, the girl's lips pressing together as she raised her chin and pushed forward the rest of the way.

"What are you doing here?" It almost sounded like an accusation, but truly he still left her on edge. There was very little normal between them, and the knowledge that he had been at her side after the war just made her sick to her stomach. Embarrassed, was the term. Vulnerable.

She felt all those things with him and more, and she hated it.

Sand kicked up onto the platform as she left the beach for his little deck, her eyes sharp as they scanned the work before him. It made no sense to her, the girl not particularly techie. Not like Yula was.

She looked up, raising her chin to his answer.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

He didn’t mean to embarrass her, or call her out. It was just one of those things he was able to do. Kaia knew of it, Jared too. He felt it may bother Celeste a little when he did it to her, but it didn’t matter. He already called her out. Smirking to himself, and her question, he nodded. “Working on a pair of ships. A few older ones I had sent here. I’ve got an idea for this little island, sound the Concord and Order sign off on it for me.” Smiling, he watched her.

“Have you ever got a chance to work on a ship? I know Yula seems to be able to twist a few wrenches. Wasn’t sur if that was something from Yula or not.” He gave her a look over.

“Why didn’t you head back to the Rest, still on the R&R orders?” A grin again. He didn’t mind that she was here, and he hoped she understood that. He looked at the hologram from Porter then the ship’s engine as he nodded and closed the panel. “You like this one? Or the other one?” He nodded over to the U-Wing.

Talking ships was always his go to, go figure.

Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

"Something like that," she grumbled, when he inquired if she was still on rest orders. While the girl was now released from the healers for more daily activities, there were still many things she could not do. Like raise a saber, for one. She didn't know what to do with herself anymore. Caedyn Arenais assured her he had plans.

She kicked at the dirt, casting the the tech and the ships a befuzzled glance. "I dunno. Which one has the sushie machine?" It was a weak joke, one she didn't explain. She laid her hand over her casted arm unconsciously, self-conscious about the attention she didn't want over it.

She needed normal again. What was normal, anyway.

"Are you gonna live here then? I thought you moved to Commenor..." Facts he had not told her. She had been keeping tabs, not that she'd admit it.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

Seeing his daughter here made him smile. She was definitely trying to learn and figure herself out at her own pace, and Coren could not fault her. Finding out you had a father that was around on the edge of your periphery your whole life was not easy, he supposed. But what he was doing was setting up space for a temple, and a place for Jedi to come, to learn, and to explore. He was hoping that she could figure everything out. The Jedi nodded.

A grin on his face, the ShortFin was the prototype attack shuttle he built that he had put a few extra systems in to impress the test pilots and crew. Whoever could help pilot and prep the ship. They were going to have to see how many systems a ship could rightfully have. Watching the half-Zeltron he nodded to the red one, the Mon Calamari ship he was working on. “This one has the room for it.”

“I mean, I still need to talk to Celeste. We have settled near the Capitol for now, but I want to make a temple here. I think it will be a great place to learn in a relaxed environment. What do you think?” He smiled to his daughter, as his own cat, Navi, came wandering over.

Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra's lips pursed at the casual mention of his wife. While she had grown more comfortable with him after his visit to the medical ward, there was still a part of her that felt very wrong around him. It came from a place of embarrassment, the state that she had been in back then ... making her feel all sorts of bleh.

She just didn't like where she was at, okay? Definitely not the way she wanted to be seen by her long lost war veteran father.

She lashed out without thought, the emotions overwhelming.

"I think it's a chit place," she asserted, crossing her arm around herself and jutting out her hip. Any place would be a chit place if it wasn't with her. The jealous edge of pain blossoming from her slowly leaked into the air.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

It was taking a bit to really pin Kyra down, was she a fighter? A healer? A dealer like her mother? She had taken alright to the controls of a ship, but regardless what ship she seemed interested in, be it the red one or the U-Wing, she was getting the pilot droid who could do the repairs. The astromech, maybe not, he could definitely play around with the Nav System, and work with her to learn what she was doing, how to bend the lines in space to get moving fast. He watched her for a second, something was making her feel off.

“How are you doing?” He asked, straight forward. His eyes looking at her arm. He didn’t need to tell her why his was a mechanical arm, but it was a clear thing to most. She fared better than he did.

“It’s a pretty planet though. And if I’m here, I’d be making sure you could make it here too.” He grinned as he opened his hands, palms up, indicating the Mon Calamari shuttle and the U-Wing. “If you would want to visit. A place of healing and learning, here.”

And combat training, because it was Coren.

Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

"I'm fine. I'm training now and everything," came the quick, defensive response. Her heart beat fast in her chest as she pulled her hair down over her shoulder, a poor attempt to use the long locks to cover the bedazzled beskar sling a mysterious someone sent her (cough Caden Evesa cough).

She looked away from him, backing out of his path of questioning by ducking down to pet his cat instead. Without fail, her eyes perked up and looked around for the second.

"...I have a home," she finally answered, her voice still tight. "It's Silver Rest. And Zeltros. I don't have enough stuff for three." Enough stuff, or enough mind? It was clear there was some backslide to their progress, something holding her back that she wasn't aware of. With the threat of death removed from their lives, the fear of loss had been taken off the table for her.

Now she feared a different set of problems. Three of them actually.

"Aren't you too busy for this? I know I am."

 

[Coren Starchaser]

The Jedi Master couldn’t help but grin. It was good to see that she wasn’t deterred by the issues that she had seen recently. Coren could see a lot of himself in her, for better or worse. She had her mother’s looks, thank the Force, but she seemed like she may have his drive, and for better or worse, he was… thankful for that? She was going to change the galaxy. Smiling, he nodded at the sling. “Who is that from?” Didn’t look medical, at least not completely.

“I know you do. And I want you to be safe, I’ve always wanted that.” He shrugged. “What I wanted you to have is your own way to get from point A to point B, and maybe C. I will be doing time at the Rest and Commenor, being mobile is something Starchasers tend to… excel at. And a ship, well that would let you have the chance to see Yula, or your mother, on your own as well.” Joza was going to kill him, but he’d deal with that. The girl was a Starchaser, she deserved a ship of her own.

“And you don’t need stuff. Freedom is the real goal. And I think this would allow you a lot of freedom.” He looked at her.

“Too busy for what? My daughter? No. I was on Yurb because of you. I want nothing more than to protect you, and if I’m lucky, to get to know you.” He wasn’t there for a lot of it, but he could be there now.

Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

Wait. Wait. Waitwaitwait. "Are you offering me a ship?" She blurted, the conversation jerking to a place she DIDN'T expect. Her features contorted in her confusion, the conversation jumping from 'hey maybe you could live here too sometimes' to 'you need this ship'. Was there a middle somewhere she hadn't picked up?

She had broken her arm, not hit her head.

She stood up, the tone of the conversation feeling much less casual as she stepped closer to him.

"Is that why you came? To Yurb? Cause I was there? Cause you said you were done with stuff-- " Not really, but he had claimed to stay away because of it. So if he was not done, but now he was finally here? Her mind struggled to wrap around the complexities of their relationship. In truth it would just take some time.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

A grin on his face, he couldn’t help but nod. “Why wouldn’t I? You’re my daughter. You’re a Starchaser.” And a Perl, whichever. Watching her for a second, he didn’t need to explain that Kaia and Jared were piloting younger than Kyra was, or that the Twins probably stood that same chance. “And you don’t have one. You need one. Especially if you’re going to visit the family cruiser too!” His smile remained.

“I could feel you…” and Kaia. “and it felt like you were in trouble. If I show up, I have a tendency to get foes to focus on me. If I could get them to look at me than you? It’s a risk I’ll always take.” She was his daughter. He felt she may learn how to be a warrior, a Jedi who was versed in combat, but he didn’t want to push her to that. She had the whole galaxy open to her.

“It’s a matter of me needing to protect those I care about, rather than to fight those I’m against. And you are in that group I’d turn this galaxy over to protect.”

Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra stood there, the sound of her breath heavy in her ears. She had needed to hear that from him. Ever since the first moment he brought up their connection, there had been this lingering fear that he would reject her. Everything had felt more important than her. His life, the war, his new wife...

It was one thing to say that he wanted her, but it was another to put yourself in front of a war to protect her. Even if he hadn't been at her side, his arrival that day had been felt and understood. He wasn't blowing smoke up her butt. She felt the honesty of his intentions in her chest, and now that she had that sense of certainty from him... Tears bubbled forward before she could control them, release inside the hot tears rolling down her face.

She said nothing, only blubbered and careened forward, crashing into his chest like a tidal wave.

The outburst may have seemed random to an outsider, but for Kyra the long held emotions finally snapped. The fact that she had been cold to him for more than a day was the outlier to this moment. Kyra was never without emotion. Never. Her one good hand wrapped around him, clammy and shaking as she hugged him.

Nothing was said, her shoulders wracking against his frame as the pain and the fear and the relief ...and the joy of his presence finally found its way out of her. His shirt grew wet. Him. Her father.

Her fingers tightened, twisting into the fabric of his shirt.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

Coren watched his daughter, she really was something else. Hopefully all the best parts of Joza and himself. There had, for better and for worse, been so much going on in her young life that he wasn’t there for, all because of his own fixation on trying to help the galaxy. Well, now he had a different approach, and he was hoping it would stick. She was important to him, but he had so much going on. He wasn’t sure what would happen if he dropped everything to do what he really wanted to do, focus on his family. All of them.

When she was looking at him, he could feel a small shift in her and as she leaned in, he put an arm around her, holding her close. He rubbed her back for a second. “Its ok, Kyra, I’m here.” He really meant it as he watched her.

He wanted to be here, and he was going to be. “The war is over, at least for me. I’m here to protect you.” And provide a few things she needed. “And I’m not going to be too far ever again.”

Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra felt like a child again. It had been a long time since comforting words had been all it took to sooth the problems in her world. There's no trandoshen under your bed. No monsters are going to eat you. I love you.

Her problems use to feel so large, but in his arms she felt so small.

"Dad," she whispered, her voice cracking and weighed down by snot. She didn't care. The word brought chills through her body, a bit of thrill at being able to say it outloud.

She held tight for a moment, then sniffled and put back. She gave him a reproachful glace, growing awkward almost instantly. She pulled back, furiously rubbing the tears off her face.

"What-what happens now?" She asked, her voice still small. She didn't know how to operate a moment like this. But then again, who did?

 

[Coren Starchaser]

He was never the one who had dealt with younger children, though, looking back at the galaxy and how he was? He wished he had been there, for Jared and Kaia, for Kyra. He will be there for the twins. Holding her, the Jedi Master wasn’t even thinking beyond the moment he had right now. He wanted to prove to Kyra that he was meaning what he said. Protecting her, and being there.

As she spoke ‘Dad’ he could feelt eh chill, was it in him, or in her? Both? “Its ok, Kyra.” He replied, hearing the shakiness in her own voice. The girl didn’t need to speak if her voice was going to crack, he understood that she tried to keep herself composed.

“What do you mean, what happens now? You’re here. I actually was hoping you’d be here, I have a few things for you…” He looked down at her. “Or we could talk. I don’t … I don’t have a guide book for this.”

Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

"You don't?" Krya echoed, looking a little lost at it. Adults usually had all the answers. It was a bit uncomfortable to know that not even he had one for this moment.

"I don't... have much to talk about lately. I, um." Well life was a hot mess now, wasn't it. War did that to a group, thought Kyra tried to not think of it that way. After a moment, she finally bent down to acknowledge his cat. It was much easier to pet an animal than to talk to someone sometimes. At the very least, it gave you something to do with your hands.

She strained to look around the area, a bit of hope pulling into her expression. "Is Popsicle here?" She scratched scratched behind the current cat's ears, her attention only half into it.

He'd know who she was looking for.

Popsicle.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

A smirk on the Jedi Master’s face was definitely displaying his Corellian heritage. “Believe it or not, Kyra, even Jedi masters, and parents don’t always have the answer.” He held onto her tight and smiled. The Jedi Master knew it was alright. She was a good kid, and she was diving into engagements, sadly. He didn’t want that life for her, but he did have it going for the other two children of age.

Listening to her, he nodded. “Sometimes there are only so many things to talk about. Life comes in waves, like the tide. Or a pulse off a star.” He watched as Navi was siding up to Kyra with a smile on his own face. When she asked about Popsicle, he grinned and nodded. “Of course she is. She’s been waiting for you.”

He gave a tap on the side of the ship he was working on and a nudge in the Force, both to Kyra and to Popsicle. “I think shes been waiting for you to come along with her.” Or take her with Kyra, whichever. As long as there was a ship and the Starchaser, the Sand Cat would be happy going wherever. At least his own was. And he felt confident that Kaia’s was similar.

Almost as if they were familiars for the family.

Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra gave a snort, speaking to him as if he was simple. "Where would a cat take me?" For someone with such a large imagination, it only seemed to matter when they were her own thoughts. Kyra lived on her own wave length and made very little effort to match up to anyone else's. They either caught up or left! Either of which were about damn time!

She let herself flop onto her butt when the familiar sand cat came trotting out towards her, a wide smile growing up her lips. "Did you talk to Master Caedyn about me keeping her? I really think they should let me. I got a cleaning droid now and it'll deal with all the litter."

She flat out flopped over in the ground, engaging the enthusiastic rubs of the smaller cat with her one good hand.

I mean what good was having a well known father if he couldn't get you things, right?