Worth: A Star Wars Story (ON TEMP HIATUS)

5. On the Hunt

"So... what does the Force feel like?"

"Hm...  Let me think... It's like... a tingling in the tips of my fingers and the palm of my hand when I use it to lift things or use tutaminis. When something isn't right it's like... birds when they get scared, all noisy and screeching. When I'm meditating it's like a blanket gets wrapped around me, so I feel warm and safe."

"So it's not just one feeling then? It depends on the circumstances?"

I was listening to Red pepper Talen with questions as we took the horribly long elevator ride back up to the barracks after the Guard had secured the prisoners and sealed off the area to civilians. We decided to take the long way back and take some time to try and get to know our new colleague. I still wasn't too keen on being friendly yet, but the conversation about the Force was interesting enough. Tor was trying to act like he wasn't completely absorbed in the topic, and Grek was tuned in with an almost childlike wonder. I viewed Jedi and their powers in a similar way to Mandalorians. It was utterly fascinating, but the Mandos appealed to me in a way because I felt that their life, their skills, was achievable for someone like me who couldn't ever dream of having Force powers in my whole life. Still, the way Talen spoke about it was interesting, and better understanding his religion and way of life might give me insight. It was the thing Iru always praised me for: my ability to integrate outside knowledge into my own sets of skills, he phrased it.

I called it reading manuals and going "Oh, that makes sense".

"What about when you lift stuff?" Grek jumped in. "Is it still heavy or what?"

Talen nodded, "Yep. It gets less heavy when you get better at it. Jedi who are in tune with the Force like Master Yoda are amazing. They can lift anything!"

"And Master Kolar?" Tor asked as he tried his best not to sound too interested.

"I... guess? I usually see him cut through stuff instead of lifting it..." Talen narrowed his eyes as if he was thinking hard about something. "I have no idea why he always does that..."

I chuckled, "I like him."

Talen smiled over at me and if made me feel even worse for being unnecessarily rude to him before. "All of the Clones do. He doesn't say a lot very often and he can come across as kinda mean and distant if you don't know him, but he's actually really nice."

"He is?" The surprise in Red's voice made Talen laugh.

"I was scared of him at first! But Tan always said that he was a good Master..." Talen trailed off and looked down at his feet, "Master Kolar and I both miss him. Tan was a good padawan and an even better friend.

My thoughts went back to the Chagrian padawan and I looked over at Talen again, "Did you know a Chagrian who died there? Young girl, maybe about fifteen?"

Talen paused and nodded, "Naatai Ahbissa. She joined the Order around when I did. She was from Champala like me. We would speak Chagri together... I miss her a lot."

"Sorry, kid," I apologized, but he shook his head.

"Don't be. You lost a lot of friends there, too. Besides, now, all of them are one with the Force. They are with us always, all around us." He seemed oddly serene when he said the words, almost like they gave him some comfort. "Besides, Naatai wouldn't want me to be sad. She saved her troops, and the Chagrian in her would have been happy to have died in such a way."

"The Trooper didn't feel that way," Red mumbled, and I saw Talen lower his eyes again.

"His nickname was Saber. I don't know which Legion he joined, but I heard he was made an ARC trooper shortly before he died on a mission. Naatai will watch over him."