Astra Ara-Nur felt the disturbance in the Force before the Council even had the chance to summon her to their chambers. It had come to her as she meditated, sinking beneath her skin like cold penetrating a wet suit. Almost at once she knew her ability to sense this disturbance would cause the Council to select her for the mission to investigate it—and she was right. But this time they ordered her to take her Padawan with her. It was high time he saw field experience.
As her starship punched out of hyperspace above the planet Ruusan, her eyes fluttered open and settled on the young Echani boy in the co-pilot's seat next to her. By every accounting, he was still a boy, not even seventeen standard years old. The crop of pale hair that marked his Echani heritage made him look younger still. But none could doubt that the boy was becoming a man, his training reaching its apex. Soon, he would be every bit the Jedi Knight she was; but, until then, she was content to continue teaching him everything she knew.
"Land there," she said, pointing to where the trees spilling over the hills in front of them peeled away into a wide gorge. The settlement there, on the cliff's edge, was cleverly disguised by the thinning trees, but Astra could sense the hum of life in the Force, and, if her Padawan was paying attention, Thelian should too. "And remember what we practiced. Not too sharp on the turn."
She trusted Thelian to pilot the ship these days, and was even grateful for it. With him at the controls, she could more easily probe the situation through the Force, and obtain some awareness to prevent being blind-sighted. That preparation was even more vital on this mission, if her suspicions were true. Astra did not want to believe that the AMS virus, which had suffered a considerable loss upon the creation of the vaccine by MorataCorp, could have mutated into something worse.
But then, such was the ways of the dark side.
"How are you feeling?" Astra asked while her pupil worked. "This is no small assignment, Thelian. I hope you have meditated thoroughly on what is expected of you." @Altaris