Reunion (#3 Post-Order 66 Series)

Reunion - Part 17

"This feels a bit silly," Omega complained.

"I know it does, but trust me, it'll help you focus," Senna replied.

"I don't feel very focused."

"If you quit complaining, you might."

Omega glanced around her quivering arms that were holding her in a handstand at Senna, giving her a slightly dirty look. The Jedi just shrugged down at her as she held her ankles gingerly, helping her balance. The chair that Omega had been trying to move for the last couple of days sat a few meters away, an unfeeling nemesis that almost seemed to mock the young girl with its stillness.

"Come on kid, it's just a handstand!" Fives jeered from a stool nearby. Omega stuck her tongue out at him, sending him into a fit of giggles. Echo nudged his brother.

"Give it a rest, Fives. She's doing her best."

"I'm just giving her some encouragement," Fives complained.

"Sounds more like mocking to me," Echo muttered.

"Worked for you, didn't it?" Fives teased, shoving his brother in the arm. "In fact, I'd say my influence played a significant role in you making ARC. You're welcome."

Senna glanced over her shoulder, releasing one of Omega's ankles quickly to flick her wrist and send the stool Fives was sitting on skidding half a meter, just far enough to land the former ARC trooper flat on his rear, dumping the drink he'd had in his hand all over his front. Omega giggled, and Senna gave her ankles a gentle squeeze, reminding her of the task at hand.

Closing her eyes, Omega furrowed her brow, focusing. The chair that Senna had stood a few meters from them began to wobble slightly before scooting a few centimeters along the floor. The loud scraping sound caused Omega's eyes to fly open, and she collapsed to the floor, sitting up as Echo leapt to his feet and unleashed a loud whoop.

"I DID IT!" the young girl breathed, a look of slight disbelief smeared across her features.

Senna smiled down at her padawan. "This is a good first step. It means you're getting better at tuning out distractions, in all their forms," the Jedi said, glaring pointedly at Fives. The former ARC just shrugged as he dabbed at the stain on his shirt.

"You have your methods, and I have mine, Master Jedi."

Senna rolled her eyes as Omega flexed her wrists. Noting the unspoken complaint of soreness, Senna took the hint. "I think that's enough practice for one day. Why don't you go see if Tech's made any progress on the file recovery?" Senna had been doing her best to stay out of Tech's way, knowing that she'd started to become a bit of a bother despite the fact that Tech would never say it out loud. She figured sending Omega instead would serve as a good respite for the goggled clone. The young girl smiled, pushing herself to her feet and scampering out of the room, almost knocking Rex over as she rounded the corner. Bouncing off of his chest, she tossed a quick apology over her shoulder as she took off down the hall towards the room Tech had commandeered as a workshop.

"Training going well?" Rex asked, rubbing the spot on his abdomen where Omega had slammed into him.

Senna strode up to him, placing a kiss on his cheek. "Well enough, despite Fives's best efforts."

Fives snorted indignantly. "I still say I'm helping."

Rex shot him an accusing look. "If I know you, that comes in the form of giving her a hard time."

"Hey, she moved the chair today."

Rex whirled to look at Senna. "That sounds like progress." They'd started slow with Senna testing Omega's connection first. Sure enough, it was there, although unrefined and weak. Since then, Senna had worked with Omega on her control of the Force and on how to reach out to connect to it. The young clone had spent several days trying to just move the chair without any progress. Today, however, Echo had suggested they try to narrow her focus in some way, and Senna had agreed, having Omega focus on the handstand while also trying to move the chair. It had indeed seemed to help her narrow her focus to just her balance and her connection to the Force, despite Fives's best efforts. Senna would never admit it, but she was grateful for his teasing comments, knowing that they added a certain degree of difficulty to the exercise, even if she wished he would go about it differently.