Jax did not miss Jek’s response to the mention of Aeris’s name. So, it was not just him. The other man still carried some bond or attachment to them as well, even after all of these years. Whether it should have been or not, it came as something of a relief for Jax, to know that he was not alone in this. This, however, was not the time to dwell on such things, although he allowed himself to feel the kinship that these shared feelings brought with them. Perhaps even something like this could serve to increase their bond once more. “Yes, that sounds like a good plan,” he agreed to stash the ship in a hanger somewhere, “If possible, I think it would be best to try to ensure that the payment cannot be traced back to the Jedi, however, just to be safe.”<br/><br/>“Yes, freedom seems to be the option we can work with most easily. I agree, let us go with that,” he nodded, once again agreeing with the suggestion put forth by Jek. “I would like to consider what drove us to seek such freedom, and whether there was a particular freedom we sought or particular restrictions that eventually drove our decision. This could help to solidify the reason into one that will carry more weight. We needn’t make such a decision at this very moment, though. We have time to consider this on the journey,” he suggested tabling the final details for the moment. “Yes, I have heard that the Sith have a code of their own, although I do not know any more than that, either. I suppose you are right, though, we will have to learn it,” he replied somewhat pensively as he considered the journey ahead.<br/><br/>“Hmmm. I suppose that is true. Perhaps you are right,” he replied as he considered the suggestion that the bonds may have formed on their own, she simply made them stronger. “I guess I never really thought of it that way. After all, I was usually just the quiet kid in the background. I never considered that even so, I might have created bonds on my own,” he recalled, although he did not necessarily seem down as one might expect when saying such a thing. He also had to admit that time had a way of obscuring the realities of the past. Some saw only the good or remembered them as a better time despite any hardships, while others tended to see things in a more negative light. No matter how calm, collected, and centered one may be, no one was immune to this effect. With that in mind, he wondered if he was truly recalling things as they were. Had he really been in the background? Or was this recollection tainted by some past fear that he had never addressed?<br/><br/>When Jek agreed that meditation may indeed be the best way to strengthen the bond, Jax stood from his chair, stretching as he did. “I have an area of the ship set aside for meditation. Sorry, I didn’t include that in the tour, since I was trying to just give you a quick rundown of the ship,” he apologized, finishing his stretching before leading Jek out of the cockpit, through the narrow metal halls of the ship, to a room in the back. It was large enough for both of them to meditate, with a padded floor. Otherwise, the room was empty, with no decorations or anything that would distract them from their meditation.<br/><br/>Upon entering the room, Jax took a seat near the center, leaving Jek enough room to comfortably sit across from him in the center of the room without being too close. He repositioned to find a comfortable position for his meditation, and then he closed his eyes, opening himself up in the Force. He cleared his mind, banished any emotions that burdened him, and tore down the walls he often held in his mind to prevent others from invading his thoughts. This was not the time to be distrustful or to hide. He must open himself up and allow the Force to freely flow between them if they were to regain the bond they once held.<br/><br/>-------------------------<br/><br/>“Great,” Aeris replied with a grin, pulling the hood of her own cloak up so that it covered her red hair and obscured her green eyes. The dark cloak billowed around her as she walked beside An-Lok. Her own lightsaber was clipped to the side of her belt, hidden beneath her cloak, out of sight except when the breeze caught the cloak and it billowed outward, allowing the hilt to be seen for a brief moment before the cloak again fell around it. She couldn’t help but to imagine a world where the war was over as An-Lok spoke. She had her doubts, but even so, that didn’t mean some part of her didn’t hope for the war to be over soon.<br/><br/>Despite her attempts to imagine it, the imagine did not come easily to her mind. She shook her head and sighed lightly; the sound almost completely drowned out by the ambient noise of the city. “Honestly? It’s difficult to imagine,” she admitted, turning her gaze upward once again, the hood slipping back just enough to give the other woman a glimpse of her eyes and the turmoil within them. “It feels like an eternity has passed since this war started. Do I even know how to live a life without war anymore?” she pondered aloud, “What will my purpose be then?” she wondered with a voice barely louder than a whisper, perhaps barely audible above the sounds of the speeders flying overhead.<br/><br/>Shaking her head, she focused her gaze ahead, tugging the hood down to obscure her eyes once more. That was not something to wonder about now. The cruiser was not in sight, and An-Lok marched them right up to the commander, telling him that Aeris would be joining them and commanding him to make space for her ship, as well as adding a few detours to their journey. Her command gave little room for argument, so it was no surprise that the commander offered none, instead giving orders to his men for space to be cleared for her ship immediately.<br/><br/>Aeris turned and took a few steps away as the man barked his orders and the two Sith moved on. “Probably less time than it will take these poor saps to make room for me,” she replied with a grin. “Of course not. I’ve docked in much tougher situations,” she assured her with that same confident grin on her face. “Don’t worry about it. I can handle it,” she replied, stepping to the side to allow her to head for her goods. “Sure. Sounds good,” she nodded to the other woman before heading off to confirm exactly where it was that she could dock. She had meant what she had said before. Docking shouldn’t be too big of an issue, but she would definitely want to know where she was going before she started flying around all willy nilly.<br/><br/>She was able to easily confirm this and then she headed out to the hanger where her ship was. She took her time, not rushing her steps as she made her way to the hanger, knowing that it would take a little longer for them to get the space fully cleared. She wouldn’t want to arrive<span style="font-style: italic">too</span>early. Once she got to the hanger she boarded the ship and fired it up, again, taking her time as she did. When she thought she had given them enough time, she took the ship up and out of the hanger, heading for the docking bay that held the cruiser. It wasn’t far, so the flight was barely a minute even at what felt like a crawling speed. Upon arriving, she found that they were just moving the final items out of the way, so she slowly made her approach and set the ship down just as the crew cleared her landing space.<br/><br/>She could see the shocked and terrified faces of the crew who probably felt as though they had only narrowly avoided death. In truth, she had timed it perfectly and they had never been in any true danger but it made her grin nonetheless. “What, you’re not scared of little old me, are you?” she asked with an innocent grin. The crew quickly scattered, one of the men making a sound that resembled a<span style="font-style: italic">squeak</span>as he quickly pushed the cart of supplies away. She chuckled to herself and strode through the hanger to find someone who might actually be useful in pointing her to some decent quarters, as she had no intention of staying in the cargo bay.