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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ankh-Morpork Guard" data-source="post: 2915016" data-attributes="member: 10079">Chapter 351Even though a Star Destroyer was still one of the largest starships in the galaxy, it was very hard to find any place, other than personal quarters, to be away from anyone. The size of the ship meant that there was a considerable amount of personnel aboard...and that didn’t just count the actual ship’s crew. Ground troops, techs, medics, marines, and then, of course, the starfighter pilots were everywhere, which made it nearly impossible to not run into people pretty much anywhere.    And so, when Rulae couldn’t find Raan (or Jyren...whatever) in his quarters, the list of places he could have been in the mood he was currently in was very, very small. Though he hadn’t seen the man in a long time, Rulae had a good idea of where to go after that. There were three, relatively small, observation rooms that had once been tactical briefing rooms...but when the hangar of the Araddon was converted to house three starfighter squadrons, the tactical briefing rooms were moved and the empty shells that were left were...left. Unlike the Empire, the New Republic knew that at least some downtime was necessary, and these places provided a little something at least.    It only took checking the first of them, which was just a few meters out from the main hangar, yet still managed to have some kind of view of what was outside the ship. It was also the smallest of the three, which was why Rulae had checked that one first. And right here, in the center of the otherwise empty room, sat Jyren...cross-legged and facing off the other direction towards the small series of viewports.    “Still have another hour until we arrive,” Jyren’s calm voice said as Rulae walked in, “What do you need, Commander?”    “Technically, its Commodore,” the Duros said idly before stepping next to his old friend and having a seat on the cold floor. It was then that he noticed Jyren’s eyes were closed. After a short moment, he added, “And what I need, is for my XO to stop sulking and actually get to know the pilots in our squadron.”    Now, the human next to Rulae opened his eyes, turning to look at him with something heavy in those icy blue eyes, “Half of them will be dead in a matter of days.”    Rulae did not nod, but his large, full red eyes matched Jyren’s perfectly and held a surprisingly stern, pointed look that Jyren was amazed could come from such alien eyes, “They don’t need to know that...and ignoring them like you’re trying to do is only going to guarantee that more of them will die.”    “And if I get too friendly with them and they die, what then?” that was not the Raan that Rulae Nok remembered. The voice was the same, and so was his face, but that...that was something he’d not even seen from his friend after the Zephyrs died on Coruscant.    “Then you remember them and you move on,” Rulae said flatly, almost getting a little too angry all of a sudden, “Ra— Jyren, I was the same way after we lost our squadron. Everyone is. But you didn’t have to come back to this, and you know it. You knew you were going to have to deal with this, so why did you come back if you’re just going to try running away again?”    “I don’t...I don’t know,” Jyren trailed off a moment, and then he started to grin suddenly. It came out of no where, and even surprised him, but he just shook his head said down to the deck, “You know, I never actually thought about it. Amazing how I just rush off without thinking about anything first.”    Marix would be proud of him for staying consistent.    A grin managed to appear on the Duros’ face a few moments later, “You really haven’t changed all that much...Jyren, I’m serious, you can’t run from these kids. They’re terrified. Sure, they’re ready to get into their first dogfight and feel that adrenaline rush, but you remember how it was. No one had to tell you that, statistically, half of your new friends would be dead by the end of your first mission...and that was if you were lucky. They all know, and they won’t show it but they know. What they need from us, just as much as the in-cockpit training we’ll give them when we arrive, is assurance that maybe, just maybe, we’ll prove that statistics are just generalizations.”    “Spoken like a good Duros,” Jyren mumbled, not really saying that to anger his friend, but simply as an idle comment to throw out there for who knew why.    It did manage to get a short laugh from Rulae, who just nodded, “Spoken like a squadron commander. So, are you regretting coming back yet, or shall I throw some other responsibilities your way?”    For some reason, that made Jyren inwardly look to his link with Marix. She was still there, of course, but so far away...so far...    Shaking it off, Jyren looked back out towards the viewport again and answered Rulae’s joking question a little more seriously than had been intended, “A little bit. But this was the right choice. These kids need the help, and every little thing to assist in this war is what will be needed to end it quickly. The longer it lasts...the worse its going to get.”    The Duros nodded, carefully looking off to see if there was anything interesting that Jyren was actually looking at. When he saw nothing but the endless, empty blue of hyperspace, Rulae grabbed onto another stray thought, “You sound like a Jedi when you talk like that.”    “You’d be amazed how hard I tried at that,” Jyren said softly, more to himself than to Rulae.    But, of course, the Duros did not miss this. He could not raise an eyebrow as Duros had no body hair, but he did tilt his head curiously and ask, “I know you told me some of where you were since disappearing, but I think I would have remembered you mentioning being a Jedi.”    “I didn’t mention it because I’m not,” Jyren’s voice took on a very sharp, almost Marix-like tone, “I said I tried, I didn’t say I was.”    For a long half minute, Rulae eyed him very carefully. Those words were just as cryptic as the first, and he still wasn’t completely sure what exactly Jyren meant. But he was connecting small bits of information he already knew...such as the lightsaber Jyren had always carried, his natural talent for being a little too damn lucky, and now this Jedi thing...    Eventually, still carefully studying Jyren, the Duros said, “It would really help the kids’ morale to know we had a Jedi in the squadron.”    “And it would be a lie,” the knife-edge of Jyren’s voice cut that line of thought off before it had the chance to go anywhere, “Rulae, I am not going to be something I’m not again. I went through that already, and it only made things worse for everyone around me while I tried to pretend to be some Jedi hero,” he quickly waved a hand to silence any comments that might get in the way, then went on to clarify, “Yes, Rulae, I can use the Force and its saved my life more times than I can count...and yes, I can use the lightsaber that’s buried away in my quarters...but I am no Jedi.”    Rulae opened his small mouth for a second before closing it again, then opening it again to say, “Jedi is just a title, Jyren. Just...this is something that could really help. And you know its not something you, of all people, can hide...you have a habit of showing off a little too much.”    “No!” Jyren snapped, this time nearly yelling, before shaking his head again and taking a deep breath, “No. I did not tell you for a damn good reason and this is exactly why. I’m a pilot, Rulae. I am here to fly, not to show off, and especially not to lie to some already terrified kids and make them think they’ve got a Jedi flying with them. And don’t you start thinking that, either. Unless you, or one of those kids is one, there are no Jedi in this squadron. There never have been. Understand?”    There was nothing to be said to that...and so Rulae just nodded. He took a deep breath, then rested a long-fingered hand on the human’s shoulder, “Alright. I won’t say anything. But at least don’t shut the kids out completely. Go get to know them, especially your wing. You know how important that is more than most of us.”    At that, Jyren also nodded. He was right, of course. And so, Jyren got to his feet and, as he started out of the room and back towards the mess, he said over his shoulder, “I’m sorry I’m still such a mess, Rulae...but I swear to you I won’t let my own problems affect this squadron again.”    It wasn’t until the door slid closed behind the human that Rulae nodded and said to himself, “And neither will I.”</blockquote>

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