Jax nodded as Jek explained the feeling he had and how strong the pull of the Force had been. “I understand,” he replied honestly. His own feelings towards the mission had also been strong. He was certain that this was something they had to do, and that whatever happened, it would have a big impact on both of them, for better or worse. When the other Jedi brought up that hiding the ship would make their escape both easier and harder, he considered this for a moment and nodded, “yes, you are probably right,” he concluded. Unfortunately, he saw no other option that was truly better. Arriving in the ship was likely to result in the ship being taken by the Empire, at least temporarily, which wouldn’t really put them in any better of a situation, and true be told, he was not itching to risk losing his ship. Still he was amenable to any better ideas his partner may have. “Do you have any other ideas?” he asked curiously.<br/><br/>When discussing their options for a story, Jek asked why anyone left the Jedi before explaining a few reasons he had heard. “I think there are many reasons,” he answered honestly, “Whatever the reasoning, it all boils down to one simple truth: the values of the individual no longer aligned with that of the Jedi. The values on which they disagree varies from person to person; love, credits, action, haste,” he reviewed the basic reasons that had been addressed and sighed, “I am not sure that any of these believably suit us and our situation. It is certainly not love, nor money, and caution is not something I would currently accuse the Council of, all things considered,” he continued, thinking out loud. “Power is a big one, I would imagine, but why would we seek it now, after all this time? Freedom, perhaps, but that is pretty vague; what do we seek to be free of?” he wondered, but the answer was not yet presenting itself.<br/><br/>When he asked about telepathy, Jek explained that he was better at finding those who needed to be found and extracting information rather than transmitting it. Jax nodded, “I, too, focus on tracking, although I use psychometry, or telemetry if you prefer, to do my tracking, so telepathy is not something I use on a regular basis,” he admitted. “I can use it, but don’t expect me to hold a conversation that way,” he gave a small, knowing smile. He was not exactly a conversationalist no matter how you sliced it. In general, he spoke when necessary. This, planning missions and such, were among the few times he spoke more than an occasional phrase. Even when they were younger, he’d been this way. He was often happy just listening to the others as they talked, speaking up only occasionally. It had been a miracle he had made friends at all, as far as he could tell.<br/><br/>Once the transmission had come through, he took them up, and once they were clear of the planet, he input the coordinates they had been given during their meeting with the Council and made the jump to hyperspace. The autopilot could handle things for now. He swiveled in his seat to face his friend, considering his question. “It is difficult to say. I would guess we could get a good enough handle on telepathy in a few days, perhaps?” he was guessing, but since they both had experience with the skill, their goal was to be able to better communicate with one another using the skill, not to learn the skill, so it would not take quite so long to learn. Would they master it in this time? Unlikely. But they were quick enough studies, so they could at least improve to a more competent level in this timeframe, he thought.<br/><br/>The bond, on the other hand, was an entirely different beast to tackle. “I am not sure about how to strengthen the bond, to be honest. That is not really my area of expertise. It developed easily enough when we were kids, but that may have been thanks to Aeris. She was the one who was good at this kind of thing,” he admitted, sounded a bit more down than he had meant to. He tried not to think of the girls, of their little group and all the good times they had together once upon a time. It hurt to think of them, to say their names, but it was hard not to with this mission and the feelings he had felt through the Force, so it had sort of slipped out. “Sorry,” he muttered, shaking his head to free his mind of the two girls’ faces. “Perhaps we could try some exercises? Perhaps if we meditate and open ourselves up to one another, to the bond, it will take root again?” it was obviously a guess, and his face told the other Jedi that he was completely open to any ideas he may have.<br/><br/>------------------------------<br/><br/>Aeris felt an odd chill, something in the Force that gave her a strange feeling, causing her to involuntarily shiver. She couldn’t place what it was, nor could she tell if it was good or bad, so she chose not to dwell on it. Perhaps it was nothing? Either way, she had not pertinent things to think about now. As she had suspected, it seemed that An-Lok hadn’t even really known if she were inviting the other Sith. All things considered it was safe to say that this had not been cleared with the ship’s commander. Then again, they didn’t exactly need permission. It was unlikely that he would defy one Sith Lord; the odds that he would defy two were infinitesimal.<br/><br/>As Aeris took the datapad she had been given and reviewed it, she did not miss the other Sith ordering something—or a lot of somethings—to go. She couldn’t help but chuckle a little to herself before she explained that she would be tagging along after all. “Sure,” she replied, downing the remainder of her own drink, and paying the tab. “I hope you plan to share at least a little of that with me,” she gestured to the bar with her head as she stood from her chair, offering an innocent grin as she did. She was at least<span style="font-style: italic">mostly</span>kidding.<br/><br/>“Yes, I do,” she replied to her question with a nod, allowing An-Lok to lead the way. “I have a ship which I just finished restocking with fresh supplies,” she elaborated. “My ship is in a hanger nearby. I wouldn’t mind storing it in the cruiser’s hanger. Just in case,” she grinned, and this time did not elaborate further. What was life without a little mystery, after all?<br/><br/>To An-Lok’s latter statement she responded with a nod, her facing taking on a more serious expression. “So it would seem. I wonder what, though,” she wondered, looking up at the sky, which was obscured by tall buildings, smoke, and bustling traffic zipping here and there. “An all-out, full-scale assault on the Jedi, perhaps? Or something more sinister?” she mused. “Well, I guess we’ll find out soon enough, won’t we?” she opted not to linger too long on the subject. If she were being perfectly honest, which she rarely was, she had extraordinarily little interest in joining any major battles. She had enough bad memories tied to such battles as it was. Then again, if it would end this war, which she had doubts about, then she would just have to push through it and get this over with.