Once they had finished packing, Jax turned his attention to An-Lok as she wrapped herself around him and kissed him, returning her kiss with one of his own. “Of course. Although, I hope you mean one last time on this cruiser. I have no intention of letting this be the last time,” he teased, smirking a bit before kissing her deeply. He then moved to scoop her up and lay her gently on the bed without breaking the kiss. He didn’t break apart from her until it was necessary for them to breathe, and to remove their clothing.<br/><br/>A few hours later, after having enjoyed each other and their remaining time on the cruiser, they had taken a shower and then headed to the hanger. Jax carried most of their things down to the hanger and dropped them off in Aeris’s ship. After dropping the bags inside the ship, he returned to the hanger where the Force Sensitives were gathered.<br/><br/>He stayed next to An for the trip down to the surface of the planet. As they landed and the hanger opened, he looked out at the landscape, smiling at An’s reaction to the scenery. “It is beautiful, isn’t it?” he gave her a quick kiss before he reluctantly left her side and helped to direct the Force Sensitives off the ship in as organized a manner as possible.<br/><br/>--<br/><br/>Aeris smiled affectionately at him as he swayed back and forth, the smile growing when he kissed her cheek and then her neck. She didn’t think she would ever get tired of moments like this, or of him. “Oh? Well, great minds think alike,” she told him with a playful wink before kissing him back passionately. She smiled against his lips when he fell back onto the bed with her, pouring everything she had and everything she felt into the kiss as she kissed him back. “I love you,” she told him softly as he removed their clothes so that there was no longer anything separating them.<br/><br/>-<br/>Aeris was a bit reluctant to leave, not because she had any attachment to this cruiser, nor because she had any issue with being on her ship, or with the others on said ship. She was reluctant because she knew what lie ahead and she was in no hurry to meet that future. Still, despite the hesitance she felt, she forced herself to get up, shower, get ready, and head to the hanger with Jek.<br/><br/>By the time the other two arrived, they had already gathered the Force Sensitives in the hanger and Aeris stood at the front of the group, waiting for them to land. She tried to keep her thoughts on the task at hand and to block out the emotions of all those gathered in the hanger. She looked at Jek when he’d joined her at the front of the group, giving him a faint smile and taking comfort in his presence.<br/><br/>As they approached the planet, she noted how strong the planet seemed to be in the Force, and when they landed and the hangar doors opened, she took in the view, noting how beautiful the planet was. She managed to keep her reaction from showing, though, instead moving to step off onto the planet that was teeming with the Force. Since Jek took charge of getting the group off the ship, she headed towards those who were waiting on the planet for them, stopping in front of the one in charge.<br/><br/>“Lord Aeris, I presume?” the man greeted her, gaining a brief nod of reply from her. “Excellent. It appears that you’ve brought more recruits than expected,” the man noted, looking beyond her to the group as the last of the exited the ship. “Naturally,” Aeris replied lightly as if that should have been expected. The man laughed and began to put something in on a datapad. “We’ll make sure you get your bonus for all the extras,” he said as he looked down at the datapad.<br/><br/>Aeris nodded and glanced back at Jek when he approached and stood at her side, but a bit behind her as if he were her underling rather than her equal. She wanted to tell him to stand next to her, where he belonged, but she knew that he’d made the right choice because even if he was her equal in her mind, as far as anyone else was concerned, that was not the case. Asserting anything else would raise suspicion and draw attention to them. He had made the right call, so she kept her thought and her hands to herself.<br/><br/>“Any idea what they’re planning to do with all of these recruits?” she asked the man in a nonchalant manner as if it were simply idle curiosity or a way to fill the silence while she waited for him to finish. “Not really sure. You know how they can be with their big secret plans. It’s always need to know. I heard Revan has some plan to turn the tide with these recruits, so I’m guessing they’ll be trained as soldiers, but who really knows?” the man spoke in a hushed tone as if to avoid being overheard. He gave a shrug after he’d finished speaking and glanced up from the datapad to look at her, then at Jek.<br/><br/>“What about this one? He another recruit?” he asked. “No. At least not for your purposes. He stays with me,” she told the man in a light but still commanding tone. The man laughed, a smirk appearing across his face. “I see. Found yourself a plaything, did you? You Sith really give a whole new meaning to taking what you want,” he laughed again, obviously having some idea of what he thought she was keeping him for. Aeris shrugged with a nonchalant expression, clearly having no intention of either confirming or denying the implications.<br/><br/>“Here’s your payment,” the man provided her with the reward for completing the mission. “Enjoy the fruits of your labor,” he added with a smirk, his gaze shifting to Jek as he spoke, clearly referring to him more than the credits. “Oh, I will,” she replied with an enigmatic smile before turning to leave without another word.<span style="font-style: italic">”Sorry. It’s easier to go along with whatever he’s thinking than to explain the truth,”</span>she told Jek telepathically as she walked back towards the ship.<br/><br/>--<br/>Once the Force Sensitives were all unloaded and his work was done, Jax returned to the ship and stood next to An-Lok. “How are you doing?” he asked, looking at her before looking towards Jek and Aeris, waiting for them to finish up so that they could leave. He was ready to move on, even though he was worried about what was coming next. It was better to just go with it and get it over with, he thought. He had faith that they would all make it through somehow, so he tried to stay positive and think about what it would be like once they got past this, rather than worrying about the bad things that could happen in the meantime.