Jax took slow deep breaths as he meditated, focusing his own mind on the bond just as the other had. The memories Jek saw were shared with him and Jax remembered them well, although this time he saw them from the perspective of the other man, so they seemed a bit different to him. He was even able to briefly feel some echo of the emotions the other man felt as these memories played in his mind. It was a strange feeling. He had felt emotions through the Force before when using his psychometric abilities, but it only happened if the emotions of whomever had used the object were strong, so it was not something that happened every time, or even most of the time. He was grateful for this, as it made him rather uncomfortable and it was a feeling he never got used to. Perhaps thanks to their bond, or because of the emotions he had sensed, this time it was not so unpleasant, but almost a warm feeling.<br/><br/>As he focused his mind, his own memories of their younger days surfaced. He recalled many training sessions where they had all worked hard together and protected one again, just as Jek had recalled. He also recalled a few times where they had goofed around or tried to show off during training and ended up getting hurt, failing when they should have succeeded, or passing but getting scolded anyways because “that was not appropriate behavior for a Jedi.” It was not always all four of them who were to blame, but it seemed like the four of them were always punished no matter who had been at fault. Perhaps it was because no one wanted to rat out whoever had started it, or maybe they just figured they were all guilty in some way or another or they would all be guilty at some point, or maybe it was just that they were so close that that it was just easier to lump them all together and dole out a single punishment. He didn’t recall what the reason was, or whether he had ever known, but he guessed it was probably something like that.<br/><br/>He remembered being talked into many explorations of the temple, most of which, he recalled, ended in a scolding of all parties involved. There had even been one time when one of them—he could not remember who, but thought it must have been one of the girls—had convinced the others to sneak out of the temple and go on an adventure in the city, which had resulted in the four of them nearly getting captured by criminals and only narrowly escaping with their numbers intact. He had fallen and hurt his ankle and having let fear and panic into his mind, he had tried to convince the others to leave him behind, saying that he could buy them time to escape. Luckily, Jek had kept a more level head than he and had shaken some sense into him, telling him that there was so way they would leave anyone behind. He had ended up carrying Jax back to the temple on his back. After that, Jax had sworn to never allow fear to cloud his judgment again.<br/><br/>He recalled the celebration they had after the last of them had become a Padawan. They had all been so excited, although he recalled that it had been rather bittersweet, because it meant that they would all be going off with their masters, so there was no guarantee that they would all be together again for a long time. If he remembered correctly, that had been the last time the four of them were all in a room together at the same time until the war came. He wondered if they had already begun to drift apart then. Was that why they had split, with two of them leaving, rather than all choosing the same path? Or was that simply the inevitable outcome? Had those two always been destined to fall? Either way, he guessed it didn’t matter now. The past could not be changed and wondering about it would not change anything, either. Whatever the reason, they had all made their decisions and he doubted that any of them regretted their choices, even if they may regret that they had been torn apart by those choices.<br/><br/>---------------------------------------<br/><br/>Aeris gave the other woman an amused smile, “Thanks,” she replied to the compliment as they approached one another. “I’d like some quarters. I may end up sleeping on my ship, depending on what mood strikes me, but I’d like to have some quarters anyways. It might be a nice change of pace,” she shrugged. She preferred to have options, and she wanted to have some quarters so that she could be close to the action in case something happened. Of course, being in her ship offered her an easier escape if it was needed, but it might also be too tempting if the itch to run struck her. She knew she was meant to be here, so she would do her best to respect the wishes of the Force and stay here, but even so, it was best not to tempt fate.<br/><br/>“Just the important places for now,” Aeris replied as they entered the halls and a tour was offered. She had been on similar ships before. The layouts of the battlecruisers tended to be essentially the same across the fleet, so she could likely find her way around, but since it had been a while since she had been on one of these, she would take a brief tour to refresh her memory. An-Lok gave her a quick tour of the basic areas such as where she slept, where she washed up, where the crew slept, and things of that nature before taking her to the command deck.<br/><br/>Aeris took a quick look around as An-Lok led her to the window where they could look out over the busy moon. She nodded when the other woman mentioned a pull in the Force and concluded that something big was going to happen, “Yes, I think you’re right,” she replied, staring out the window, watching speeders fly by. She found herself hoping that whatever it was would work out for their benefit rather than their demise, but that was probably what anyone would hope for in such a situation. She was brought back to reality when An-Lok voiced her understanding that the ship was large and there were many people with many feelings, suggesting that the cargo hold held less people, if she ever needed a reprieve.<br/><br/>Aeris gave a nod to indicate her understanding of both this and how to find the other woman if she ever needed to, “Got it. Thank you,” she followed the gesture to the damaged console and floor, chuckling as she turned back to the window, “I can see that,” she gave the other woman a small smirk. “Yes, I am quite ready to get off this moon and get this mission started,” she agreed. She could feel the commander’s reaction in the Force, some mix of irritation that he was being ordered around on his own ship and fear of what he might suffer if he displeased either of the dangerous women who stood on his command deck. To his credit, though, he let neither of these things show as he commanded his crew to prepare to leave and continue on their voyage.<br/><br/>“How long until we reach our first destination?” she asked, wondering how long she would be stuck on this ship before she’d get a break, however brief.