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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ankh-Morpork Guard" data-source="post: 2915036" data-attributes="member: 10079">Chapter 357“They won’t be ready in time,” Jyren stated flatly, looking across the desk to where Rulae Nok sat. Technically, it was Commodore Nok, but Jyren couldn’t get used to that anymore than his old friend could get used to calling him ‘Jyren’. It had been two days since the first training exercise, and after another five of them things were looking better, yes, but it was still plainly obvious they needed much more time than they were being given.    The Duros sat back from his desk in the small office he was given aboard the Araddon, “We won’t have much of a choice if the Vong attack nearby...the fleets are small and stretched and we’ll likely be called in to assist in any nearby sector.”    Jyren ran a hand through his brown hair, noting just how odd that still felt to him, and closed his eyes, “We really don’t know anything, do we?”    “Everything I know, you know,” Rulae said quietly, “And, as far as I know, Admiral Tarus doesn’t know anything else either.”    “Is he trustworthy?”    Somehow, the Duros’ large red eyes managed to narrow just slightly, “I’m going to forget that I heard you say that.”    Jyren returned the sigh from earlier and tried to shake off the resentment in his old friend’s tone. It really had been a long time since he’d been in the military. Still, he caught himself having to keep back thoughts like that every day since he’d come back. For some reason, Jyren just had trouble trusting someone he wasn’t even able to speak with and learn to understand on his own terms rather than the blank acceptance of any orders that was essentially required for being a part of any military.    And then, suddenly, he felt something strange. At first it was simple a wave of indescribable feeling through the Force, but soon it washed over Jyren completely. In a matter of short seconds, he saw a thousand images...very few making any sense, but nearly all involving the war in some way. He saw starships, Jedi, Yuuzhan Vong, and...other things. The seemingly random assortment of everything disappeared suddenly, snapping Jyren back in his chair and back into the moment.    Rulae was, not surprisingly, staring in surprise. He had watched Jyren simply freeze in his chair for a good minute and a half before jumping back and nearly falling to the ground. Like many people Jyren seemed to find himself around, Rulae was no idiot and didn’t ask the stupid question...obviously, from the shocked look on the human’s face, Jyren was not alright. So, instead, the Duros asked, “What is it?”    Truthfully, that was a bit of an obvious question, also, as Rulae was fairly sure it had something to do with the Force...something that had not left his mind since his talk with Jyren about it before. He had, however, not said anything to anyone, just as Jyren had asked him to do.    Jyren blinked a few times, then leaned over to rest his head in his hand and shake his head. Through it, the Duros across the desk managed to hear his muffled voice, “I don’t know.”    “Anything I can do...?” Rulae asked quietly, knowing that there probably wasn’t. Part of him wanted to call in a medical team, but Jyren didn’t look like he really needed that...still...    “No,” Jyren waved him off, then immediately got to his feet...a little too quickly, but he ignored the slight dizziness and turned around(without saluting, Rulae noted) to head straight out of the office. It took Jyren barely five minutes to head down three decks and navigate the maze of corridors within the Star Destroyer to reach his quarters. Thankfully, because of the large amount of space on the ship, he had his own private quarters rather than a large, shared bunk space with half the squadron...not that some pilots weren’t stuck in that situation, but his rank seemed to help out there, at least.    Once inside, he made sure to lock the door before slipping over to his still small bunk and sitting down on the edge of it. His head went back into his hands, which eventually ran through his hair before he looked up to the small desk to his side, where Jyren’s eyes locked onto the holos that sat there. The old one of himself and Mare was not alone...next to it sat the holo of his mother than Navik had snuck into Jyren’s pack, another of his father holding the twins that had been captured not long after they had been born(and, in which, they were small enough that it was hard to tell they weren’t human), one of Tobias from when he was much younger, idly pawing at Jyren’s lightsaber(and, again, in such a way that it was difficult to tell the child was Alraxian), and, finally, a holo of himself and Marix that Tobias had somehow managed to capture when neither of them were paying attention and...both human. That was more than convenient, as the way they stood would have made it plainly obvious that they weren’t human, otherwise.    Jyren sighed and shook his head. How had he collected all of that? He’d never been one for holos but...somehow...they just gathered. His father had a lot to do with it, yes, but they were still everywhere, it seemed. However, he forced himself to look away and close his eyes, hating the sharp pain of being away from all of his family, even if it had been his own choice to do so.    Calm. Focus.    After a few deep breaths, Jyren opened his eyes again and looked over to the desk. Behind the holos, was a small cube...the holocron that his mother had left for him. Extending an arm, Jyren called the small object to him with the Force, not particularly liking the lazy action but deciding that it wasn’t going to hurt anything to just do it the simple way. When the familiar metal object was in his hand, he looked down and started to feel around for the tiny activation switch...    But the door to his quarters opening stopped him. In fact, it made Jyren jump and nearly start for the lightsaber that was carefully hidden between the bunk and the wall. He wasn’t even able to utter of noise of surprise before Rulae Nok stepped in, wearing the same grey and red-piped uniform over his dark blue skin. At least the door shut behind him.    “You should know I can override the locks without problem,” the Duros announced without a pause, “Somehow, I didn’t think it was good to let you just run off on your own again.”    Jyren simply nodded, understanding that his friend was just trying to help, and knowing that he was also doing the right thing by not letting Jyren hide. Before he could respond, though, Rulae stepped over to the desk and had a seat in the horribly uncomfortable chair that was next to it, eyeing the holos as he did so, “Your family?”    Again, Jyren nodded, but this time added, “Yes...”    “I remember this,” Rulae grinned, an interesting feature on the usually expressionless Duros face, and picked up the small holo of Jyren and Mare, “Its been a long time since we were recruits, hasn’t it?”    “About fourteen years,” Jyren answered with a smile growing on his face as he, too, looked at the old holo, “Kind of makes you feel old, doesn’t it?”    “Not a bit,” Rulae’s grin did not fade, “And from the looks of it, you don’t either...at least, you don’t look it. I’m no expert on humans, but you look like you’ve aged a great deal better that most.”    “Thanks,” his response was a bit tighter, however, as he tried to keep as straight a face as possible. Part of him knew that a more accurate morph was appropriate if he wanted to become his old self again...but he just hadn’t done it. Besides, some people simply did age well...why not him? It would only be a noticed by people that really knew him, which only amounted to Rulae in the end.    Of course, the Duros definitely seemed interested in the subject.    “So where’s this wife of yours, anyway?” Rulae asked, as he put down one holo and then reached for the one of Jyren and Marix together in the mountains on Alraxia.    For a moment, Jyren simply bit his lip, but a smile somehow forced its way through and onto his face again, “Probably off doing something crazy but doing it much better than I ever could. She doesn’t share my habit of getting shot.”</blockquote>

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