Thal-ion Serr would have noticed her presence had his senses not been struggling with sensations from the past.  He took a deep breath after she arrived and introduced herself to him.  Alethea...the name did not immediately mean anything to him, but he did immediately feel her strength in telepathy.  Instantly, almost instinctively, Thal-ion returned to his training taught by Tionne Solusar, and shielded his thoughts...focusing on the present...letting the past and future remain where they were.  He had no desire to make his new companion uncomfortable as so many others were around him.  Few liked to be around him, because of his ability to feel their past and future with such ease.  It was one of the reasons he had kept to himself for a long time, but Master Tionne had taught him how to control those sensations...the visions.<br/><br/>It appeared his companion was eager to get started; which suited Thal-ion just fine.  He snatched the duffel sitting next to him, and followed her on to the<span style="font-style: italic">EMERALD DAWN</span>with a slight smile.  It would be good to be among the stars again, and even better to have his first assignment without Kirana Ti watching over him.  Not that he didn't like his Master from Dathomir, but he felt the need to explore the Force on his own...to find out what it meant to be a Jedi on his own, and he could not do that with her constantly looking over his shoulder.  It was all well and good to be watched over...Jedi students had to be watched over less they be slain or turn to the Dark Side.  As he boarded with his new companion; he wondered if she was thinking similar things...for this would be her first time away as well from any Master.<br/><br/>He took on last look at the new temple, but something told him rather strangely...that this was the last time he would ever see it.  He visibly frowned at such a sensation, and it made him hyper alert to his surroundings.  Something in the Force was warning him that whatever this mission was...he had better be cautious.<br/><br/>Taking a deep breath, and wiping all emotion from the moment...Thal-ion closed the door behind them, and put his duffel down in the right hand cabin before heading to the cockpit.<br/><br/>"I have some small skill as a pilot, Alethea, but if you are better...you may certainly take the pilot's seat.  I'll get started on the pre-flight check so we can get under way.  When we leave, Master Kam left us a holorecording of our our assignment," Thal-ion said to her as he began flipping switches and checking readings and wires in the cockpit.  Another sensation in the Force came...the sensation that Alethea was going to be exceptionally important.  Not understanding, the young Jedi Sentinel merely focused on the tasks at hand.