FORSAKEN - Target: Zero

CHAPTER FORTY

Things had settled fast aboard the Outcast. Between Syrran's navigational skills and the light freighter's powerful hyperdrive, they cut their traveling time to Coruscant by half. Theleema and Syrran took the captain's quarters; Jarriss, the one next to the sickbay. Ilum—pending his body—chose the quarters by the crew lounge. Addia and Elynn picked the cabins down the hall to the stern of the ship—Elynn decorated with the Jedha lamp and the Wookiee shield—and Gorin occupied the room to the back of the left deck by the workshop.

At the left cargo hold, Theleema attacked Syrran with a succession of vicious lightsaber blows, which Syrran parried before disarming her.

"You're using Juyo again." Syrran referred to the variant of the aggressive Form VII. "Vaapad is about controlling your anger, not the other way around."

"It's just angry Shii-Cho." A frustrated Theleema recalled her weapon with her mind.

"Everyone looks down on Form I because they think it's basic, but there's brilliance in its simplicity. Be mindful of your anger and let it flow through you without dwelling on it. Once the fight is over, those feelings should fade away, not remain."

"I thought you liked it when I'm aggressive." Theleema got near him, swaying her hips.

He pulled her closer by the waist, making her smile. "Only because I love taming you."

"It's that a challenge, Master?" Her lips almost brushed his.

"Okay, I'm going to go and freeze my head in carbonite, so I don't have to hear that ever again," Elynn said from the door.

"Eels." Syrran let go of Theleema.

"Yeah, your Padawan, remember?"

"To be continued." Theleema kissed him and walked away. "Have fun."

"Not as much as you, apparently."

"Alright, snarky," Syrran said. "Let's see if your lightsabers are as sharp as your tongue."

Meanwhile, Addia lay on one of the three bunks in her cabin, reading Words of Truth—the sole holobook aboard. "Did someone on the ship put a hit on me?" She lifted her head when she saw Theleema standing by the door.

"I'm currently retired," Theleema said. "Can we talk?"

"Sure. Pick a bunk." Addia sat up. "What's up?"

"You knew Syrran back in the Jedi Order?"

"Yeah. We were both Initiates, but he trained by himself, and I made it to Padawan earlier than the rest of my clanmates. So, we didn't have a lot of interaction. Most of it happened at the temple's library."

"He likes to read? What about?"

"Oh, philosophy, rhetoric, history, politics, galactic geography, classic literature, military studies—basically everything he could get his hands on. A lot of it was recommended by his Masters and the chief librarian. He had a proclivity for psychology and tactics, since he wanted to be a Jedi Investigator."

"You seem to know a lot about his reading habits."

"I like to know what others read," Addia deflected the question. "Are you just trying to get some intel on him?" She ribbed.

Theleema felt self-conscious. "I grew up in a clan of females. Men... well, they only served practical purposes."

"Can I join the tribe?"

Theleema chuckled and then sadness gleamed in her eyes. "I wish they were around for you to do so."

"I'm sorry. I'm familiar with what happened to your sisters. We may have fought on different sides of the war, but what happened in Dathomir was wrong. The Jedi would have helped, if they had known."