The soft glow of the morning sunrise coming in from an open window awoke Alda Pax. She opened her eyes and sat up, stretching her arms to the sides and looking out the window to witness the lively pink, orange, and yellow blur before her eyes. Birds flew freely over the horizon and chirped gleefully. This planet has begun to feel like home to her.

"Too bad we're leaving today," she quietly said to herself with a bit of a sigh.

That being said, she got dressed into her usual outfit. A black long sleeved tee-shirt tucked into navy cargo pants. She secured it with a belt and laced up her brown ankle-high boots. She took a look in the mirror and fixed her shoulder length hair, which was t angled around her 4 Dathnomirian horns, and secured it into a messy bun behind her head. On her way to the door she reluctantly grabbed her light saber and put it on her belt, then continued on her way.

        As always, she was the first one on the ship to wake up. Out of the three of them, she was definitely the most responsible. Before making herself something to eat, she started a pot of caf in the small kitchen area and then turned on the crew's official Holo to check for any transmissions they might've missed overnight. When she walked back over with a bowl of dry cereal, she tapped the glowing blue screen to read it.

Dear Exploration Corp. Crew 7,
Your presence is requested at the Temple on Corascant in two days standard time.

We will need your full report on the wildlife of planet Gala upon arrival.

You will also be receiving your pathfinder. Details about them will be sent shortly.

Sincerely,
The Jedi High Council

The High Council?! She thought to herself in disbelief as she finished the transmission. They'd gone the last year without a Pathfinder, but were in desperate need of one if they were ever going to do any exciting missions that weren't about collecting simple data and counting.

"That Pathfinder must be some prodigy if they're being sent by the Council," she said aloud as she continued popping cereal into her mouth while refreshing their inbox for the details The Council had mentioned.

"Who's a prodigy?" A disheveled human asked as he entered the kitchen area, still in his pajamas. He had darker skin and his jaw-length curly hair was left a frizzy mess around his head.

"Good morning to you too, Evander," Alda said flatly with an endearing smile.

Evander rolled his eyes and poured himself a cup of caf, spilling some on the counter. He didn't bother to clean it up but instead grabbed the box of cereal and took a seat across from Alda at the table.

"Why are you refreshing our inbox like a mad-woman?" He asked between ravenous bites.

Alda opened her mouth to answer but was interrupted by another transmission.

"Finally!" She exclaimed as she tapped the white box that appeared on the screen.

It was the profile of a girl.

Jolie Peregrine
18 Years old
Pathfinder of Explore Corp. Crew 7

"Let me get this straight," Evander started as he peered over Alda's shoulder,"our Pathfinder, the one in charge of making sure we don't fly into a black hole or get lost and die on some foreign planet, is 18?" He stared at Alda, expecting her to reassure him it was a mistake.

"Apparently," Alda replied frankly as she closed the Holo and continued to eat from her bowl.

Evander grabbed another handful of cereal and just rolled his eyes with annoyance, dropping some on the floor.

Alda let her fist bang the table and stared at him with just as much annoyance. "Can you at least use a bowl instead of making a huge mess?"

He shrugged,"My ship, my rules."

Alda looked at him angrily, holding in some snarky comeback, but just got up to put her empty bowl in the dishwasher. "You are ridiculous, Evander Aine."

"I️ know," he said flatly as he continued to eat like a cantina-caliber slob. He changed the Holo screen on the table to be a tv show.

The last one up was a humanoid boy. He was younger than the rest, but only by a year. He was 19, making Evander and Alda 20. His skin was pale, almost a ghostly white, and he had pointed ears. His hair was light brown, shaggy, and in need of a hair cut. Not as bad as Evander at least. His shagginess was more endearing, where as Evander's was just bothersome. When he quietly left his room he was fully dressed. He wore a short sleeved, baby blue shirt that was tucked into dark brown pants. His grey ankle boots were laced comfortably and he put on a darker blue, zip up jacket.

When he reached the kitchen area he saw Alda sweeping up some cereal crumbs from the floor.

"Evander's already awake, I'm assuming?" He asked with a chuckle as he got a towel and cleaned the spilled caf on the counter.

Alda chuckled and smiled at her friend gratefully,"Good to see you, Flint."

Flint smiled as well and finished cleaning up after the messy human. He could sense excitement in the air.

"Anything in the inbox?" He asked Alda as he sat beside her with a glass of water and some toast.

Alda smiled,"Actually, yes," she began pulling up the letter from The Council,"We got a Pathfinder!"

"No way!" Flint said with a huge smile as he read the letter,"Do we know anything about them?"

Alda began pulling up the minimalistic profile they'd been sent,"Well, she's 18 and her name is Jolie Peregrine. Judging by her age, she's probably some sort of natural talent. Most Pathfinders are at least 23."

Flint got quiet and smiled softly. He loved her name. "I️ can't wait to meet her."

Evander finally hunkered down and got dressed. He left his white tee-shirt untucked and loosely belted his dark grey cargo pants. Although, he did hide it with his dark brown zip up. Lastly he tied his green, worn out boots and looked in the mirror. His boots had been though a lot of wear and tear, but not as much as he had been though. He ran his hands through his thick, frizzy, dark brown hair and condensed it into a low pony tail. Lots of short stray hairs stuck out in all directions, but he decided it was as good as anything. With his appearance being as put together as it ever is, he made his way for the cock pit. They had a long trip home.

        Jolie Peregrine was walking with her Master towards the Explore Corp.'s main hangar bay. She was leaving today to join a crew.

After she'd failed her trials twice, she knew the Force was pointing her in this direction. She'd always had a thirst for adventure. Though, she would miss her master and her friends dearly.

The pair reached the open doorway just in time to see a vessel that resembled a Cargo Ship land smoothly a short distance away.

She felt a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I️ am so proud of you," the old man smiled warmly,"Don't ever forget that."

Jolie smiled and blinked back a few tears. "Thank you for everything. Someday I'll show you around some mystical Outer-Rim world I discover." She smiled confidently, her eyes lighting up at the thought of her future as a Pathfinder.

With that, she confidently strode towards the ship. Once she reached the base of the ship, she tucked a strand of her long, smooth, blonde hair behind her ear with her free hand, and went into the ship.

She cautiously walked into the small kitchen-living room combo, but didn't see anyone.

"Uh, hello?" She called, hoping she had the right ship.

Then the cockpit doors flew open and Evander was sitting at the pilot's seat. He punched a few buttons to turn down the music that was playing and then turned his chair.

"You're Jolie, I'm guessing?" He asked. It wasn't exactly a warm welcome, but he wasn't outwardly mean either. Though still, Jolie could sense some negativity from him.

"Yes. Jolie Peregrine. This is Crew 7?" She asked awkwardly.

"Yep," he said flatly as he got up and went to the kitchen.

Jolie kept holding onto her bag and took a few steps back into the kitchen, but kept her distance. This guy clearly isn't too pleased, she thought to herself.

"Where's everyone else?" She asked.

"Giving the Council some data from our last mission," he replied. He had refilled his glass of water.

Jolie saw an opportunity to get some information on what kind of stuff they'd be doing. "What was the mission about?"

He shrugged and rolled his eyes,"Boring."

Well that was informative, she thought to herself. Feeling hopeless, she sat down at the table and fiddled with a hair-tie on her wrist. Suddenly, a Dathnomirian girl with magenta skin walked in, followed by a humanoid boy with pointed ears and pale skin. Jolie looked up and smiled.

"Ah, you must be Jolie! Sorry we took so long to get back. It's usually just a quick drop off, but you know how things go sometimes," she chuckled a little bit and smiled as she extended her hand to Jolie,"I'm Alda, survival extraordinaire."

Feeling hopeful again, Jolie stood and shook Alda's hand happily and smiled,"It's so nice to meet you!"

While they made small talk, Evander quietly elbowed Flint and whispered,"She seems way too frilly to be doing this."

"Give her a shot, you never know," Flint whispered back.

She did seem a little more innocent then Flint had pictured, but looks didn't mean anything about someone's substance. Though while he was thinking about it, she was quite beautiful.

"...and that's Flint back there, a walking Holocron," Alda said, bringing Flint out of his trance.

"Erm, yeah, I'm Flint," he said as he stepped forward and held his hand out.

Jolie smiled and shook it,"Great to meet you all, but I️ never got your name," she said as she looked to Evander.

Alda gave Evander a questioning look and he sighed,"I'm Evander, the pilot."

Jolie smiled, less this time, and just nodded. She could sense lots of resentment from him. It stood out among the pure kindness of Flint and Alda.

"Let me show you your room,"Alda said as she gestured for Jolie to follow.

The room was small obviously, but surprisingly homey. There was a dresser, mirror, bed, and small storage table next to the bed. There was also a window that would bring some light into the condensed space.

"I'll let you get settled in," Alda said as she left Jolie alone.

Jolie took a deep breathe, taking in everything that had just happened. Overall, she was feeling great about the transition. Sure, she could sense that Evander was having a tough time, but maybe he was having a bad day.

Aside from that, Alda was incredibly welcoming. She seemed to be their leader, which makes sense since she's the survival expert. Jolie got very optimistic vibes from her.

Flint seemed great too. Awkward? Sure. But just as nice.

This would take some getting used to, but she was exciting about the journey.