Inevitable {Tech}

Chapter Seventeen: Together Again

The force is a balance, yet the Jedi only ever sanctioned the light side.

But where was the heart in that? To live and breathe and never be able to share those moments of raw and passionate emotion? To never feel the pain of sinking to the bottom in despair, only to be lifted up and rejuvenated by those around you?

She never understood why they were taught to be detached instead of learning how to healthily process their feelings. It seemed much more difficult this way because it was only natural to have feelings and become attached. It was only natural to live and to love others, yet the Jedi Code seemed to go against that principle and everything Cass personally felt was right.

She scrunched her nose as she thought, cursing herself for having doubts about the Jedi Order—the family that raised her and taught her and cared for her. But the one thing that she trusted more than the order was the force itself, and the force seemed to be keen on whatever was going on between her and Tech.

"Because?" Shaeeah repeated and waited expectedly.

Cass opened her mouth to speak, then sighed. She entertained the idea of having feelings for Tech a second too long, but it felt foreign to her, and she never spoke on things she was unsure of. Even once her thoughts were in order and perhaps she did have something to say, this wasn't something she would be particularly open about.

"It doesn't matter," she sighed and walked to the window.

Shaeeah lowered her head and bit the inside of her cheek. She felt she maybe hit a nerve and pushed too much. A pang of guilt hit her. She slowly shuffled behind Cass and bashfully planted her head in the small of the Jedi's back.

"I'm sorry," her voice was muffled by the fabric of Cass' new clothes. Suu was kind enough to share, given that Cass' all black uniform she stole from Tech would stick out as much as her hair did.

Cass shook her head and chuckled, then uncrossed her arms from her body. She rotated around and met the Twi'lek's sorry gaze. "It's fine really, I know you're just trying to help. It's just...complicated."

"It doesn't have to be," she replied honestly. "If two people like each other and make each other happy, they should be together. What's complicated about that?"

Cass blew out a sigh and made the same face Rex had accused her of making back on the ship.

Shaeeah was right and she couldn't deny it.

"You're too smart for your own good, you know th-" Cass began but trailed off. The swelling in her heart that she felt throughout the whole prior conversation quickly turned into something else. She felt a buzz through her head and her fingertips, it was almost dizzying in feeling. Her limbs felt warm, like the energy from inside of her was being magnetized and drawn to some other thing.

But Cass knew what that thing—or person—was.

"They're here," she swallowed and turned back to look outside. She smiled when the loud engine of the Havoc Marauder whirled through the air. She rushed outside with Shaeeah not far behind. At the sound of the attack shuttle coming closer to the farm, Cut and the rest of his family ran outside with their weapons at their hips.

"Get in the shed, kids," Suu ordered, and shooed them inside to keep them safe in case the chips decided to activate.

The kids didn't argue this time and rushed into the hut. As the Marauder flew closer and closer, Tech and Cass' ability to breath steadily decreased. Tech was focused on landing the ship gently while Cass just tried to remain standing straight. The whir of the engine died as the ship landed with a thump right outside the fields.