Jax looked to Jek as he leaned against the speeder, nodding, “Yeah. Too bad they aren’t all so easy,” he mused as he eyed the house. He chuckled when Jek wondered what would happen when she and An met up. “They’ll either hit it off or they won’t be able to stand each other. I don’t think there will be an in-between,” he thought. That was often how it was when those with strong personalities met, especially if they were similar.<br/><br/>When Jek asked if he wished to go further south or head west for a while, he shrugged, having no particular preference, especially with no frame of reference for what awaited them in either direction. Before he could say anything else, their new recruit came out, snapping at Jek when he tried to help her. He couldn’t help but laugh, both at the woman and at Jek’s reaction. The woman glared at him when he laughed, but he seemed completely unfazed, which seemed to throw her off, so she just went about putting her things up.<br/><br/>He hopped back into the driver’s seat and waited for the woman to get settled in the backseat before he headed out. He decided to let the Force guide him and ended up heading towards the west. He was quiet as he drove, trying to keep his focus on the road ahead, wondering what sort of challenges were ahead.<br/><br/>It was a little longer of a drive to their next destination, but eventually they reached the next town. As they approached, he slowed his speed, taking them around the outskirts of the town before heading in near the northwest part of the town. He took them slowly through the streets, stopping in front of what appeared to be an apartment building of sorts. He hopped out and headed around towards the building, looking at Jek. “You want to take this one?” he asked as they headed towards the building, happy to share the responsibility with him.<br/><br/>--<br/><br/>Aeris nodded to An-Lok’s suggestion that they get a second speeder and then stick together, that way they could still say that they stayed together, even if they were in separate vehicles. “Sounds like a plan,” she replied with a grin. She didn’t miss the way An responded to the information she had given her, but she said nothing until she’d hopped out and offered for An to take the lead. She gathered that An didn’t necessarily want to take the lead on all of them, which was fine by her, as she was happy split it up.<br/><br/>She was quiet, as the man opened the door. He was about the same height as her, give or take a centimeter or two, with dark brown eyes. She said nothing, just watched as An spoke to the man. She met his gaze with a stoic expression and crossed her arms when he looked her over before speaking. She could feel a conflict inside of him as he rebutted the things An-Lok had said with a recitation of lines he didn’t really believe.<br/><br/>She watched curiously to see how An-Lok would respond to his words. Soon, An was talking to him bout his past, about things that had happened even before he was born. His expression changed and his face became difficult to read, but that did little to impede the Force. She could tell that he remained conflicted, unsure about whether to believe this or not, as he had no real proof that it was true. For all he knew, they could be lying. She could have used the Force to show him the truth of An’s words but opted to continue to hold back and allow her to handle it.<br/><br/>She continued on, tempting him with the potential for adventure and glory, which seemed to pique his interest. Aeris wasn’t so sure about the hero part, but she kept her thoughts to herself. He soon agreed and disappeared into his home to pack his bag. She smirked when An deflated and turned, telling her that she had expected easier. “What to you mean? That<span style="font-style: italic">was</span>easy,” she quipped, the smirk lingering on her lips as she headed towards the speeder.<br/><br/>She leaned against the side of the speeder, crossing one leg over the other and taking a somewhat relaxed posture. She closed her eyes and reached out to identify their next recruits while they waited for this one to return. Once he did, she hopped into the driver’s seat and waited for him to load his bags. Once both he and An were settled in their seats, she took them off towards the next location. It was actually not far, in the same town, on the outskirts of the other side of the town, so it took only a few minutes.<br/><br/>As she drove, she reached out to the next recruit, something she had tried with several others since her first mission with Jek, when she had managed to get one of their recruits to join without ever having to say much of anything. It worked sometimes, so when she found a recruit that seemed strong enough in the Force that she thought there was potential, she used it. Of course, there was always the chance that they would run or try to fight, so she waited until they were relatively close before she did so.<br/><br/>When they arrived, she left the engine on and gestured for An and the other recruit to remain in the vehicle as her long strides carried her quickly to the front door. She knocked and immediately stepped to the side. Moments later, the door opened and the barrel of a blaster rifle came out the door first. She rolled her eyes and grabbed the barrel of the rifle, pulling and twisting it at once, causing the man holding it to stumble out the door while the rifle was easily freed from his grasp.<br/><br/>“I wouldn’t do that,” she told him, one of her white blades igniting inches from his head as he reached for the pistol hanging from his belt once he had recovered his balance.  He immediately stopped what he was doing and slowly lifted his hands. “Good,” she said as she used the Force to tug the blaster pistol free and send it flying into her hand. She had no use for it, of course, so she dropped it on the ground next to the rifle.<br/><br/>She half-expected the man to give up, but she could feel that even though he’d stopped, his will to fight remained, so she kept her guard up. Moments later, he dropped down so that he was below her blade and attempted to sweep her feet out from under her. She easily flipped backwards and out of the way, smirking lightly. “You’ve got some fight in you. I like that,” she told him, deactivating her blade. “How about a little wager?” she offered, watching as he paused, quirking a brow and showing that he was at least willing to hear her out.<br/><br/>“If you can beat me in hand-to-hand combat, I’ll leave you alone. If I win, you come with me and I’ll show you what you are truly capable of,” she offered. The man considered it as he took a ready stance, “How do I know you won’t use your lightsaber?” he asked and she shrugged, using the Force to float her lightsaber and the two blasters to the speeder, placing her saber in An’s care, while the blasters were placed on the back of the speeder. “Better?” she asked, waiting for his nod of approval before she took her stance and then counted them down.<br/><br/>She allowed the man to make the first move, watching his technique carefully as she easily blocked and dodged his strikes. He had pretty good form, he was agile, and he moved well, but it was obvious enough to her that he had no formal training. Imagine how strong he could be with the right training? She allowed a small smile to tug at her lips as she continued to dodge him for a little longer just for fun, then when he came in for another blow, she slid forward with one knee bent and the other leg extended, her palm open as she landed a blow to his abdomen. She dispersed the shock of the blow, making sure to avoid any major damage, but it would hurt like a bitch.<br/><br/>“You win,” the man muttered painfully, leaning forward as if to guard his abdomen and nearly losing his balance. She braced the man to prevent him from falling forward, smirking just a little, although he wouldn’t see it. “Take a minute to catch your breath and then go pack your bag,” she told him, releasing him when he was able to stand on his own. He continued to lean forward, bracing his hands on his knees as she caught his breath, then stood and headed into the house to pack.<br/><br/>She headed back to the speeder, seeming perhaps more pleased than one would expect after having just been attacked. She headed over to lean against the speeder, near An, using the Force to call her saber back to her hand and clipping it to her belt. “Thanks,” she said to An as she leaned against the speeder. She then glanced back at the man in the backseat, then to An, smiling a little, “Told you he was easy.”