The thermal regulator's out

[for_everyone]

Pirates are definitely not an ideal encounter in the Outer Rim, though they're occasionally a little less fraught than the Imperials. The set of pirates the Ghost only just escaped, however, had slightly better ships and better armaments than the usual, which means they took a few hits on their way to a clear heading out of range of the rogues and their guns. Lightspeed is only useful when you're not headed straight into a gravity well.

"Well," Hera says, rubbing her hands together to keep her fingertips warm. "Good news is we have shields and our hyperdrive is minimally damaged. Our environmental controls are fried, though, mostly the thermal controls and water recycler, which is better than the oxygen generator being out."

She lifts her head, turning to shout back deeper into the ship.

"Any other damage reports, Chop?"

Comments

[notallofus]

"I was - on an ice planet."

Kanan keeps his eyes closed as he speaks.

"Once."

[for_everyone]

Her heart rate picks up at that, though she takes pains to keep her breathing even.

"D-did you l-like it?"

Anything that should be an innocuous question isn't, but -- he opened the door, and maybe it's something good to talk about.

She's not sure, and her thinking is muzzier than she'd like with this hanging in the balance, but still.

[notallofus]

At this point, he's ready to do whatever it takes to keep them both awake.

"Not the cold."

He presses his lips together, briefly, feeling the cold creep into him again. "It was - Ilum."

[for_everyone]

She pushes away from him a minute, wanting to look at his face while the planet's name rings in her mind.

Hera regrets that almost as soon as she moves, because the chill hasn't actually gone anywhere, and she huddles back in for a long moment before speaking.

"The Empire strip-mined that place, didn't they. Was it because of . . . Before?"

There's a lot about Kanan's history they don't talk about explicitly, but at this moment Hera wants to keep them both awake, too.

[notallofus]

His eyes blink open when she moves away, his arms nearly jerking back from her. The movement startles his steadied breathing, spiking through him, and for a moment he can't help the thought that she'd pushed away because she knew what that name meant. What that system meant.

It passes, as she moves back to him, as she speaks. He doesn't hesitate as she returns, though his heart still races.

"They must be mining the - kyber."

[for_everyone]

"S-sorry," she says, feeling the startle and his racing heartbeat, both.

"Sorry."

Hera falls silent for a few moments, letting both their breaths settle, their hearts, too.

Then --

"K-kyber is for the J-j -- wh-what c-can the Empire d-do with it? Sh-should we b-be worried?"

[notallofus]

"I don't know."

Kanan closes his eyes again. "Probably h-have to be."

Worried, that is. Whatever the Empire's doing or trying to do, nothing good can come from it.

[for_everyone]

"S-something else to add to our l-list."

She exhales.

"Is th-there anything they do we d-don't worry about?"

Even supply runs are something to keep an eye on.

"D-don't answer th-that."

[notallofus]

He doesn't. Kanan waits a few seconds, his eyes still closed. Under the blankets, one of his hands finds hers, and he carefully moves his fingers between hers. He hopes she doesn't mind too much.

"I went there to - to build my lightsaber."

[for_everyone]

She closes her fingers around his, holding on. It helps stop the shaking, for one.

"D-did you bring everything with you? Or d-did you have to f-find things th-there?"

Besides the kyber.

[notallofus]

Kanan makes a kind of noncommittal, 'mmm' sound in his throat.

"We - found the kyber there. Then they'd show us. How t-to use it."

[for_everyone]

"L-like a r-rite of p-passage?"

She wants to use a different word, a Twi'leki word, but sticks with Basic instead. It's too cold for translation, and once she relaxes into it it will be harder to pull back out. She's aware of that, even as she's also aware that talking together is what's going to keep them awake for the next six and a half hours.

[notallofus]

"It was -"

He swallows, as for the first time in years he thinks to the shadows of the crystal caves, the snowy winds tossing his cloak around him. The soft call, like singing. He can feel the pull of his lightsaber, and knows he could reach out, and draw it to his fingers, even from the other cabin.

"There was an old temple - leading to the caves. We had to enter the caves and - find the one - m-meant for us."

It's not just that they so rarely talked about this. These were secrets of the Jedi Order, kept even from the other younglings before they had done this themselves. But what did it matter now. The temple must be gone, the caves shattered. There was no more use for these secrets.

[for_everyone]

"Is -- "

She frowns a little, mouth fumbling around the words.

"Is th-there only ever one? F-for each of you?"

Does she mean Jedi? Does she mean Force sensitives? Does it even matter?

At least her shivering is starting to die down, blood flowing more easily from her core to her extremities. Even her lekku are starting to tingle less, and the pain is certainly ebbing.

[notallofus]

"Not only ever one."

Feeling her shivering subside, Kanan's hold on her relaxes slightly.

"But you don't use - just any."

[for_everyone]

"Are -- are they alive? Is that why -- "

Maybe these are questions that shouldn't be asked, but Hera's filter isn't so good just now. The returning warmth is such a relief.

[notallofus]

"They - they are, sort of -"

His eyes shut tighter, and he leans a little more heavily against her. "It's hard to explain. But they're - alive in the Force, they s-speak through it."

[for_everyone]

"Is y-yours talking? All the t-time?"

What does it say, she wonders? Is it a comfort to hear, or a burden?

[notallofus]

"I'm usually - aware of it."

Even when he's tried to ignore it. "Like the Force."

[for_everyone]

"It's who you are," she says, very quietly, into the space between them.

"I know I d-don't understand, b-but it's g-good to hear you t-talk about it m-more. Even like th-this. You s-seem less l-lost, and it reminds m-me that we all h-have purpose. We c-can all do something."

[notallofus]

"I just -"

He blinks his eyes open, looking to her, as much as he can.

"I don't like - putting this on you."

[for_everyone]

"Who else is there?"

She manages to keep any stutter out of her words, in part due to the warmth, and in part due to how important this is.

"And even if there were anyone -- you know I have no shortage of secrets already. It's -- the ones we can share, I want to."

[notallofus]

"I know."

And he knows that it might seem absurd, to be worried that he's putting Hera in more danger. As if the Empire doesn't have reason enough to be after her. And yet -

"It - it felt like a poison, sometimes. And something I could spread if I wasn't careful."

[for_everyone]

Hera musters up a faint smile, huffing out a breath of what isn't quite laughter.

"I know it's not the same, but I feel that way, too, sometimes. Or I have, about the mission. So it's lucky we found each other, hm? We're already in as much trouble as we can be, for what we know. And what we do."

Well, almost in as much trouble, given the thing they don't talk about. But --

[notallofus]

"I don't think it was luck," he murmurs, into her shoulder.

His filter isn't quite so active, either.