Jax chuckled, nodding when Jek asked if he was confident enough in his skills to allow him to fly the ship.<span style="font-style: italic">“Sure, why not? You’re a pretty quick study,”</span>he replied,<span style="font-style: italic">“Besides, doing is the best way to learn.” </span>He then grinned and added,<span style="font-style: italic"> “I’ll be here if anything happens,”</span>he assured him before switching the controls to the co-pilot’s controls.<span style="font-style: italic">“Yes, go ahead,”</span>he nodded, giving no instructions on what he needed to do, allowing him to go through the steps he had just taught him. It would stick better if he went off of his own memory, rather than Jax instructing him on what he needed to do.<br/><br/>Jek went through the steps he had taught him, taking them out of hyperspace and then taking the controls, slowly flying around the empty space. Jax nodded when Jek told him to just let him know if he did anything wrong,<span style="font-style: italic">“Of course,”</span>he agreed. He allowed him to play around with things, only occasionally offering suggestions such as an easier way to hold the steering controls, how to make the motions smoother, or how he remembered various sequences before they had become second nature.<br/><br/>Once he seemed to have gotten a little more comfortable with the basics, Jax gave him quick lessons on some things that were not exactly necessary, but were nice to know and may be helpful in a fight, such as how to do a barrel-roll and tips for maneuverings or trying to lose someone. He opted to save rerouting power and things like that for another day, not wanting to provide too much information at once.<br/><br/>After practicing a bit longer he asked,<span style="font-style: italic">“So? How do you feel? Any questions?”</span>he asked, wanting to offer him the chance to clear up anything he may have been unclear on or not covered well.<span style="font-style: italic">“Do you feel comfortable enough with the basics? Or do you want to practice for a little longer?”</span>he asked, knowing that they had a mission to get to, but also that it was important not to rush and miss something important or just assume that someone was comfortable. Sometimes just a few more minutes of practice could mean the difference in life or death. It wasn’t something to rush.<br/><br/>He didn’t expect Jek to be a master pilot after one lesson, of course, and he thought that if they had time, it would be a good idea to give him at least one more opportunity to practice handling the ship on his own. He did want him to have a good understanding of the basics before they moved on, though, because unlike if he were teaching someone in a controlled environment, their time was limited, and mistakes would have real consequences. If he wanted to be good enough to fly during this mission if needed, then he would have to learn fast, and it was Jax’s job to make sure he learned what he needed to know and that he learn right.<br/><br/><br/>-------------------------<br/><br/>Aeris smiled lightly when An-Lok replied that she had also improved, noting that she did not fall for her tricks anymore. “War is a great teacher, I guess,” she replied as she went to work on the wound. “Healing it,” she answered the question of what she was doing before focusing on the process until she was finished, or at least at the point where she could do little more for now. “My old Master taught me. It was a lot of work, but well worth it,” she replied as she laid back, glancing over at An-Lok when she spoke again.<br/><br/>She was quiet for a moment before responding, “Yeah, me too,” pausing again before sighing, “Honestly, I barely sleep anymore, so I spend a lot of time doing various different forms of meditation instead. That probably has something to do with it,” she admitted somewhat hesitantly. The other woman was likely to figure it out sooner or later, so might as well just get it out of the way now, she guessed.<br/><br/>After asking about the boys and then trying to brush it off, sitting up and pulling one knee to her chest, resting her chin on her knee, Aeris hasn’t known whether to expect An-Lok to respond, to ignore it as she had halfheartedly suggested, or get angry. When the other woman sat up, she tilted her head just enough to look at her as she spoke, without lifting her head. She could feel the heartache and longing coming at her in palpable waves, yet it didn’t affect her, because these feelings were shared, and the feelings of the other woman only echoed her own.<br/><br/>“I’m sorry,” she spoke softly when An had finished speaking. “For what it’s worth, he wanted to kiss you that night. I could feel it. But I guess he was always stronger than we were, wasn’t he?” she sighed a little before looking forward. “Jek kissed me that night,” she admitted, “But to be honest, I think that only made it harder. We all know I was never great at controlling my emotions and that only made it harder for me to walk away,” she moved her left hand to rub the back of her neck.<br/><br/>“I wanted him to come. Both of them. I wanted us to all be together. I knew that it wasn’t where they needed to be. That they were meant for something else. But still, I couldn’t help it,” she rubbed her neck more, feeling restless again. “I would have probably doomed the whole galaxy if it had meant we could be together,” she admitted with a voice colored with pain, not specifying whether she meant the four of them or she and Jek. Perhaps both, but at that time, it had probably been the latter than had been the hardest loss. “It’s stupid and it’s the epitome of selfishness, I know that. But I felt it all the same,” she sighed, letting her hand fall back to her side, “And it was unfair, but I felt so angry for so long. I don’t really know who or what I was angry at. Maybe everything. But I guess I’m just too tired to be angry anymore,” she sighed, leaning a little more heavily on the knee and closing her eyes.<br/><br/>She felt An’s desire, wishing that they were around, especially the calm Jek always brought. She wondered then if perhaps he had been the only reason she’d ever been calm. Perhaps he’d been the only thing that ever truly gave her peace, and now that he was gone, her soul was more restless than it had ever been, reeling beneath the weight of her own spirit. Perhaps she always felt the need to run and to move because without him, she had no home, no place where she could just be content, or maybe she unconsciously sought the one place she could feel that way again. She didn’t have the answer but thinking about it was doing her no good. She felt even more conflicted and confused now than she ever had.<br/><br/>An spoke up, breaking her from her thoughts and asking her to help her to the infirmary or her bunk. “Yeah, sure,” she replied, shaking off the feelings that had crept over her and standing up, slipping an arm around the other woman to allow her to lean on her for support. “How about we go to the infirmary and I’ll wrap that foot for you, and then we can go back to your bunk and I will happily take you up on that offer,” she offered a compromise, giving her a grin, despite the mix of lingering feelings she still carried. “Maybe three or four,” she added in an almost joking manner. She could use something to help take her mind off of this.