trans_9 | and when you close your tired eyes

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and when you close your tired eyes

Arha was not at the pink bus, she was not in the X-Wing simulation, either, nor was she helping Roxie with something, or with Obi-Wan, training. Instead, she was standing in the middle of a clearing in a place that looked very much like Felucia from Obi-Wan's Universe. The air was drier, but the plants glowed in the darkness, casting light around the clearing she'd created. Arha stretched out and murmured for music.

Any music.

Her eyebrows arched slightly when the beat rang out and the lush music spilled around her. A delighted laugh bubbled free. This she could dance to, mostly definitely. In fact...she lowered the gravity just a touch and restarted the song before beginning to dance. It was so easy to surrender to the music and let it sweep her tension away. After the dreams, the horrible, horrible dreams, she needed this far more than she had realized. Leaps were fun, spins were elegant, interpretation was challenging, and Arha loved it all so much that she completely lost track of time.

The same song had been on repeat far longer than she cared to admit.

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While she was preparing to go back to the WITCH bus (she hoped the turnout would be better, but she would see) Katara had wandered and for a few minutes to clear her head. She may have been able to deal with freezing her "mother" in the dream, but the concerns for the crew and all the things she had done the last few days made her nervous. But she scolded that part of herself that knew it was Aang she was also trying to save, and hoped that this need wouldn't overpower her concern for everyone. In any case, she wanted a place where she wouldn't feel quite so anxious about everything, where she could at least take a moment to have a breather.

When she popped into the Sensorium and saw the tranquil place, she actually didn't feel like over thinking anything or pondering the bigger mysteries of what was happening on the ship. The music was also pretty, but after it being on repeat (and she hadn't seen Arha yet) she decided to change it a little. She wanted something softer, more flowing somehow. She closed her eyes, and now the music changed to this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7Wg6hFDf6U&feature=PlayList&p=A1FA6663463DBF5E&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=15), she smiled, then got into stance. Without thinking about it, she started to stream the water she had in her pouch with the music: it was one of the few times she'd been able to just play with her skill this way, to use it as a kind of meditation tool, and she started to move a little with the music, lightly on her feet, shifting her weight and then moving smoothly back.

When the song changed, Arha glanced up mid-turn as she caught sight of Katara and smiled. Apparently, she wasn't the only one needing the meditation. Arha moved with the music, shifting to change and sink into it. It was as good as the other with the same sort of energy.

There was no imposition when it came down to it.

Katara continued to shift her moves until the song ended, and then she felt a familiar presence in the Sensorium. She looked up and saw her friend and fellow Bene Gesserit Arha. She gave her a smile, allowing the water to flow back into the pouch, and straightened herself up. The music changed to something a little less wistful and a bit softer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdjrqW-F6ro) with singing.

"It's good to see you Sister," Katara said, "And I like what you've done with the place! Where is it?"

"It could possibly be the world of Felucia, minus the things that will eat you," she said with a grin as she stretched at what were seemingly impossible angles. "It is from Obi-Wan, Luke, Mara, and Wedge's universe. And it is good to see you as well. How goes your training?"

Wedge slipped into the sensoriums and came to an abrupt stop, watching Arha dance for a moment. He smiled, crossing his arms as he leaned against a virtual tree of some sort, content to remain quiet for now. No need to disturb the woman, after all.

The best thing about dance was how absorbed one could become in it. But still, both Bene Gesserit and Jed-Eye trained senses snapped on when Wedged entered. Arha didn't mind having an audience, in fact it was a pleasant thing. The music changed (http://www.box.net/shared/iro03syq7f) and she let herself flow into the slow strings as the song began to build in a swell. The arch of her back, caught the crescent glimmer of a flower, the lines of her body shimmered in soft luminescent greens, and a shower of bright red-gold fireflies skimmed out from the foliage like an explosion as she let out a bright laugh while the vocals soared around her.

The drums and the strings wanted leaping, gravity defying leaps that she used the Force and her own training to make possible, the softer parts were hushed, flowing movements that made her seem as boneless as the flips and curves did. When the last notes filtered away, she was breathing hard, flushed with the fun and pleasure of the session, and her bright laughter echoed in the clearing as she stretched, touching her nose her knees.

It had been a long time since she'd danced anywhere near that much. Perhaps it wasn't a planned show but it had bee quite long enough...and daring.

Wedge grinned and pushed off the tree, clapping politely. She was a natural pilot, and he could see why just by watching her dance. Arhas seemed to have such a grace and ease, a poise and balance that was conveyed in her every moment. She felt at home with body, and once she had gotten the hang of i, it was clear she had the hang of an x-wing as well.

"Bravo! Well done, Arha. Very impressive."

"Thank you," she said, genuine warmth lighting her words. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. I figured I needed some proper release. The last few nights have been rather rough. Did you wish to use the Sensorium to fly at present?" Arha's eyes lit up at the prospect, which since she felt no need, she didn't bother to hide from Wedge. The dance itself had done little to tire her and the warmup had been good for her muscles. The glowing night scene flicked to the gunmetal gray interior of the flight deck they used for practice and Arha let out a laugh.

"Apparently I wish to fly more than I knew," she said, grinning. Arha found herself clad in the orage and white shipsuit she usually wore when flying. Her helmet sat on the bottom run of a nearby X-Wing and she glanced at it, the corners of her eyes crinkling with mirth.

"Well." Wedge laughed, his own flight suit and helmet appearing as they came to mind, helmet tucked neatly under his arm. "Now that you mention it, I wouldn't be too opposed to the idea. You've been doing very well. I'd say you're a natural, even." He glanced at his own X-wing and slowly began circling it out of habit.

"Your flight skills are solid. And you have a good grasp on gunnery so far, from what little we've done, anyway." He nodded towards her. "Get in and go through pre-flight. We can take a spin. Maybe a little more than that." He clambered up into the x-wing and pulled his helmet on before closing the cockpit and beginning his pre-flight checklist.

"That is an excellent idea," Arha said and the force of her grin was just about powerful enough to peel paint from the snow-white and red lined X-Wing. She did her walk around just as carefully as she always did and snatched up her helmet, twisting her hair up neatly before tugging tit on and making sure it was sealed in place. Once she was ready and snug into her cockpit, Arha flicked through the pre-flight procedures and primed her systems.

"All systems check out," Arha said, her voice snapping into the crispness it took when she was supremely focused. When flying, she was at her most alert, and now was no exception. "Ready on your mark." The long runway lit up nicely and Arha smiled as she eased her fingers around the throttle. "I do enjoy these spins."

"One has four lit and green. Three, you are clear for take-off." He flipped on the repuslorlifts and shot out into space, opening up the throttle as soon as he was clear of the ship.

"Three, you're on my wing."

"Green across the board," she murmured. "And launching." Arha almost cackled with glee as she was propelled out into the black. Lining herself up on Wedge's wing wasn't even something she had to think about and by the time he'd said it, she was there, throttle open. She could feel the way the X-Wing hummed around her and let go, sinking herself into it as if it was an extension of her own body.

"In position, One," Arha said, her voice warm with her obvious delight, but still sharply focused.

"Good." Wedge smiled to himself. As he'd expected, Arha was quite a natural pilot. He put them through a few basic maneuvers, banking, turning, braking and accelerating to put the simulated fighters through their paces before he spoke again.

"Alright. Now, we're going to try something a little different...Stacy?" At the last word the starscape was transformed. Suddenly, instead of being in an empty space near a New Republic cruiser, they flew over a blue, green and brown moon, a larger planet hanging off in the distance. Orbiting that moon was a half-finished battle-station (http://www.theforce.net/swtc/Pix/dvd/ep6/rotj085.jpg). The space around the two ships swarmed with fighters. TIEs, X-wings, A-wings, Y-wings, and B-Wings flashed by, lasers and missles criss-crossing space. Behind them hung the Imperial fleet, waiting as they had that day those years ago. Wedge didn't give Arha much, if any time to take this in.

"Three, I'm on your wing. You have lead." He braked slightly, dropping back to take up a wing position on Arha's snubfighter. Time to see what she was made of.

"Oh, the Jedi's, right?" Katara said, smiling. "I've talked with Luke a little while, he actually sounds like he's full of wisdom. I haven;t gotten to speak with Obi Wan for an extended time, as he had that fight with Bella then."

Katara smiled. "Well. My body is starting to respond to things before my mind can even process them. I mean, its what I wanted, but I never knew it would happen so quickly. Part of me wants to know more, and the other wonders if I'm going to lose a part of mys4elf if I keep going."

Arha let her senses flare out with the Force immediately and centered herself, already angling to avoid incoming fire. This was-- This was the second Death Star, the one not finished, which meant that planet below was Endor. TIE fighters, those were the ones that were enemies.

"Acknowledged, breaking to pursue enemy fighters, now," Arha said, steel in her voice. Her eyes flicked across the space and she tilted her nose slightly, avoiding a spat of laser-fire before aiming her snubfighter straight at one of the TIE fighters. She waited, flicking through the mess of fire and missiles until she finally let loose with her own weaponry. A TIE fighter erupted into a ball of flame that careened and took out another before she was moving to shake two more on her tail. Arha growled as she flipped and dodged, running through scenarios in the time it took her to blink. Speed was going to be the answer. She opened the throttle wide, coaxing as much speed out of the X-Wing as possible just as the frantic wail of the alarm went off. Missile lock.

Arha abruptly slammed her nose down and flipped completely around, cutting her speed down to nothing before letting lose with her guns. She caught the missiles and then one of the TIE fighters before jamming on the speed as she lead the other on a chase. This one was by far harder to shake.

Good. She was very good. Wedge kept pace with her, spinning and juking alongside her He dropped back slightly, a flurry of laser fire shooting through the space he had just been in. He turned sharply and let loose a blast from his laser cannons at the TIE fighter that was trying to turn onto Arha's tail. The blast caught it where one panel-like wing joined the cockpit and sheared the piece off, sending it into an uncontrolled spin towards the planet below. He gritted his teeth, having to smile. Most decent pilots in this target-rich environment would rack up an impressive kill count and so far Arha seemed to be meeting that expectation.

"Good shooting Three."

Arha paused to fix her blue-within-blue gaze fast on Katara's face, her expression sharp to the point where it might have cut as she folded her hands.

"If you are mindful of yourself and of who you truly are, Katara, you will never lose yourself," Arha said in a low tone. "As a Bene Gesserit and a Reverend Mother, I can tell you this thing. You will only ever find more of yourself. You will know your body to the tiniest cell, you will know your mind to its farthest reaches, and you will know how much you can take before you must stop. If you concentrate on knowing yourself, you will never become lost. Seek knowledge for the love of it and the strength of it or do not seek it at all. You have the courage to begin this path, the path of the Bene Gesserit, and you will have the courage to see yourself through to the end. Sheeana would not have offered this to you if she did not think you were capable."

Arha blinked, tilting her chin slightly, the movement almost birdlike.

"And I would suggest you speak more with the Jed-Eye. There is much to learn from them as well."

Sheeana entered just as the last strains of quietly happy, Postal Service-style music ended. Stacy automatically adjusted for the second mind and new music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enSvqSjUPp8) transitioned on. It was still 'modern' (though strange sounding to the two women from many thousands of years after its composition) but wilder now. Sheeana's continually roiling mind that was only somewhat calmed by her Bene Gesserit training forced Stacy to adjust her readings from a minute ago with relatively well adjusted, stable Arha.

"Ah, to dance, to release inhibition and allow the primal human free reign. Do you mind if I join you, Sister?"

Arha's soft snort of 'you too' was her only reply and then she was too busy fending off another cluster of fighters to bother with a proper thanks. She found herself in a tight spot as they closed in on her, trying to box her in, but she twisted around, flipping so she was close above the, staring at the top of the lead fighter. Arha dropped in behind him and blew out his engines with a well placed shot, then took out the second TIE fighter as the third dropped back to attempt to blast her.

Arha trusted her instincts and slammed her nose toward the planet. The TIE fighter followed, spitting fire that she flicked and dodged, though a few spats grazed her wing. She used the friction of the atmosphere to gain more speed and could feel the way the hull was starting to heat.

Almost, she thought. Almost. At the last second, she pulled up and shot forward as the TIE fighter scrambled and broke up. With her belly rapidly cooling, Arha found herself the target of yet another group. This one demanded her timing be perfect. Missiles came first and she dropped a few flares as decoys before some tricky flying landed her anywhere near the proper position. She got rid of two and found herself charging the leader head on, neither one of them backing down. She gunned it down before flipping back as she spotted two TIEs headed for Wedge's tail.

Her sharp comment cracked across the comm even as she moved to intercept them.

Edited 2010-01-26 05:55 (UTC)

Well, turns out carving isn't the only thing Arha does that is enjoyable to watch. Allen is on a walk to clear his head in between Engineering work, and he pauses in the doorway of the sensorium to appreciate the show.

"Of course you may," and her smile lit her face as she cocked her head, listening for a moment. "This calls for a different scene." The air crackled with heat as a vast desert appeared, and beneath their feet came the sturdy rock and sand of a desert bluff even as the growl of an unbroken storm rumbled in the distance.

Wedge had problems of his own. Two other TIE Interceptors had decided that he looked like a tasty target while his wingman was distracted. Unfortunately for them, they had picked Wedge. As they came at him he juked to one side, arming his photon torpedoes. Almost instantly his targeting reticle turned red, a loud, blaring hum indicating a target lock. He fired off the torpedo, than rolled to the side, switching back to his lasers as he did so. The torpedo crossed space between the two fighters in almost an instant and slammed into the cockpit, managing to punch out the other side before exploding and scattering the TIE into its base bits and pieces.

Wedge squeezed the trigger as his HUD's reticle drifted over the other ship, a spray of laser fire punching out to shred the cockpit and the engine beyond, the enemy fighter igniting into a bright flash of fire. He jerked his head around at Arha's warning and accelerated, jinking side to side as he went.

"I'm breaking left on my mark. Should give you a clean shot. Three, two, one, mark, mark, mark!" He jerked the stick over and spun the craft upwards to the left, narrowly avoiding incoming laser fire. Now it was up to Arha.

Observation had never surprised Arha and so she continued to dance even as the music shifted (http://www.box.net/shared/l8tqasursp). It launched Arha into moves that were both powerful and very reminiscent of fighting katas as she propelled herself into backflips and used the lesser gravity to achieve twists a heavier gravity prevented.

Her plantsuit caught the colors around her as she sprung high and twisted mid-air, appearing for one moment as if she simply had no spine before a crack of thunder lanced out just as she touched down and the piece ended. The flash of her blue-within-blue eyes caught Allen's and she flashed a sharp, almost primal grin before she straightened and gave a little wave.

"Careful. You're going to make me homesick." Sheeana said, but with a real smile instead of the vicious one she'd given to Alia a few days earlier with the same phrase.

Sheeana danced wildly, rarely repeating the same motion twice, circling Arha and spinning her, leaping, flipping over to catch her from the other side. She felt as if she were a young girl on the sands again, dancing her siaynoq.

Gods below did she have inhibition to release.

Arha didn't hesitate and the second he said mark, she was all throttle and fire, roaring down on the enemy fighter without a shred of fear. The fireball that erupted when she lit up the TIE's cockpit with two torpedoes was massive and she kept firing with her guns, clearing a path. For a moment, her ship disappeared into it until she came roaring out the other side.

One of her wings was smoking and she was a little singed, but she waggled her wings at Wedge and a burst of laughter came over the comm.

"Shot taken," she managed. "Looks like those B-Wings could use some cover." Sure enough, three B-Wings were taking heavy fire from both enemy fighters and some flak from the larger vessels. Arha picked two TIE fighters off and circled to protect the bombers as four TIEs arrived. Arha scowled as a few well placed shots knocked out one of her main guns. An instant later, she jammed a torpedo into the TIE fighter and was moving to intercept the braver of the remaining pilots as the Bs made their bombing run.

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and when you close your tired eyes

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There's no reason for this icon, but its cute and new so I use it anyway!

All I haz is leather.

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I LOVE that icon.

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Moar leather is <3

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