The Apprentice and the Padawan

Introductions

"So, what's your name?" The Padawan broke the silence, which Atonai had been enjoying. Atonai glanced at the Padawan. It was already becoming tiring to be polite to another person, but he had to be on the Padawan's good side, at least until Atonai could figure out his next move.

It seemed unwise to give the Padawan his real name, so Atonai answered with, "Lyle. Lyle Sarn."

The Padawan grinned at Atonai and reached out with his hand. "Nice to meet you Lyle. My name is Thon Remex. It seems we'll be working together for a while."

Shaking hands. The action implies peace, friendship, beginnings. As Atonai reaches out to shake Thon's hand, his mind wanders to the incredible amount of information he will be able to get while Thon leads him straight to the Jedi.

"Is there any food or water in here?" Atonai asks, knowing that he was going to pass out soon if he didn't get any liquid or nutrients.

Thon's eyes widened and he began looking around the pod. As he did, Atonai studied the Padawan. They were the same average height, but Atonai was more built, which pleased Atonai. The Padawan had short, dark brown hair that just reached his eyes when he bent down. His vibrant blue eyes locked with Atonai's in excitement and he held up a water canteen and some emergency food.

"Success!" He was so excited, Atonai almost wanted to grin. Almost.

Atonai grabbed the food and began to eat. As he ate, Thon watched Atonai, his eyes shining with something Atonai was not familiar with and couldn't identify. Atonai ignored it and continued eating until the much needed food was gone. Then he lay down, turned his back towards Thon, and fell asleep.

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Atonai felt a hand on his shoulder, and his body reacted immediately. There had been so many surprise attacks by his brothers that reacting was immediate. He grabbed the hand and twisted, while pulling the attacker's body over his own in a throw. Thon shouted out as he tumbled onto the escape pod's floor.

The two young men stared at each other while Thon recovered and Atonai regained his composure. Atonai realized he may have just given himself away, so he waited stone still until Thon made a move. It came in an unexpected way.

"Wow! Your combat skills are great! We should spar when we get to the surface." Thon stated with excitement and a sideways grin. "Where did you learn to fight?"

Oh no, what's a believable excuse...

"You learn a lot when you grow up how I did." The truth was often the best lie.

Thon didn't say anything after that, then said, "I apologize for startling you. I woke you up because we're almost there. Just a few more minutes."

"Okay." Atonai replied, and glanced at the giant planet becoming larger and larger in the escape pod window. And so his life as a rebel began.