Yerbol felt a jolt of annoyance cross his mind as plans were made to retrieve these artifacts of ancient Sith legend. He was supposed to be one of those strike teams, at least in some capacity; instead, he was sidelined while the fate of potentially the entire universe was going to be decided. It was aggravating, to say the least. 

If Aria had managed to read his emotional state or not, he was both mildly embarrassed and relieved to hear her ask about what his fate would be in the plans that had been drawn up. While he didn't necessarily enjoy the idea of Aria having to come to his defense (in his already weakened position), he was grateful that she probably knew that he needed her to speak up at this moment. Neta's suggestion to disrupt communications made sense, albeit Yerbol was skeptical about how much of an impact they could make in an entirely unknown region of the galaxy. It was still better than sitting planetside and pacing the jungle hoping for the Force to somehow magically be infused into his system again. Somehow. 

When the party members left, Aria threw her arms around him, Yerbol gently smiling as he planted a kiss on her head, returning the gesture with a slight laugh when she told him that everything was going to be ok. 
"I really, really hope so." A warble of doubt crept into his voice as he told her to be careful, the full realization of not being within a thought's distance of Aria sinking in. It was, in a word, horrifying. 
"You won't have to really worry about us. I'm fairly certain that she'll do most of the smooth-talking. I'll just whop people on the head with a vibroblade. It'll be great." The false bravado was a terrible facade, one that he knew Aria would see through in a matter of milliseconds. 

Her hands traced over his cheeks, Yerbol taking a hand and kissing the interior of it as he nodded, eyes beginning to water slightly as he responded:
"I know. If something that our adventures have taught us, it's that whatever happens, we'll somehow find our way back to each other, galaxy be damned." Right as the last syllable left her mouth, Yerbol gave into the urge he had felt earlier, sweeping her into his arms as he leaned into a deep, longing kiss that held more emotion than he could express in words. When he broke off, he leaned his forehead against hers, whispering:
"I love you too, Ari. Forever. Always." 

____

"Hey, ah, Revan, got a sec?" The party had just left the staging area, but Neta had far too many questions left unanswered and needed to get clarification before any more bantha fodder hit the fan. When the legend was within speaking distance, she continued:
"Look, you and I both know that all of us who are 'visiting' from the other side of the galaxy don't have any kind of network established. I mean, yeah, you and the Force users have your powers, abilities and sabers, but a gal like me isn't used to not having...well, anything to work with. With just Yerbol and I out on the frontlines, we would be fine back home, but here? Tell me you've got some resources you can share with us to help you out." Revan smiled slightly. 
"I can somewhat empathize. For a short time, I was not aware of my connection to the Force and had to rely on...other methods to get tasks done."
"Such as?"
"Blasters. Grenades. Vibroblades. That kind of thing." A smirk crossed Neta's features as Revan continued:
"In my time here, I've established relationships with a few members of what you could call 'clandestine organizations', underground movements that support criminal and noble enterprises."
"Would you be willing to share who Yerbol and I could get in touch with?"
"As a matter of fact, yes. You'll need to get to Zakuul, get to a public messaging terminal and send out the phrase: 'Walk tall'. You'll get a set of coordinates. Follow them."
"Got something I can use to follow coordinates?"
"And a few other things you should find useful."
"And who said a Jedi can't fight dirty?"
"I never did." Smirks. 

___

There were two shuttles prepped in the hour that followed, Neta and Yerbol scouring through the gear that Revan had showed the former before turning up at the landing site where the others were making their final preparations. As the duo approached, Ethan walked to them, a flicker of a smile crossing his features as he asked Yerbol:
"So, I asked Aria what was going on with you, but she looked at me as if to say 'I will end your existence if you continue with that train of thought aloud', so I figured I'd ask you: what's going on with you?" Yerbol chuckled slightly, peering past him to spot Aria and Kytra discussing something.
"Something happened when we fought Vitiate, Ethan. My connection to the Force, it's-"
"Gone, isn't it?" 
"That easy to tell, eh?" 
"I tried finding you before our meeting with Yuno, but I couldn't sense your presence anywhere. Like you had just...stopped existing." 
"Yeah, in a way, I have." He swallowed.
"I don't know what Vitiate did to me, but my connection to the Force is as you say: not in existence." Ethan's eyes widened. 
"What does that even mean?"
"I've dealt with something like this previously, but not to this extent. There's an emptiness inside of me that...well, I'll get it fixed up and back to being a Champion that actually help guide you in the Force; for now, listen to Aria. She's the only Force-wielding Champion right now and she's a great teacher...also, do remember that she was a Sith at one point, so she can be a bit tougher than me. And direct. And blunt. But she'll watch over you well." Ethan opened his mouth, but then shook his head, looking to Neta.
"So are you two really going to do this? Take down an Empire's communication network?"
"We've got some leads. What, don't think we can do it?" 
"I mean, I hope you can, but..."
"But why don't you put a little faith in what we can do without the Force and go do your job, huh?" Neta gave the apprentice a wink and a gentle shove on the shoulder as she told him:
"Be careful out there. And come back in one piece, ok?" A slight blush as Ethan nodded, turning back towards the shuttles as he departed. 
"Oh goodness he has the hots for me." Yerbol let out a roaring guffaw, turning to the pilot with a wide grin left over from the display. 
"I mean, I think it's a compliment, considering that I'm pushing forty, but I hope he doesn't think it'll go anywhere." The shuttle's engines flared up as the parties boarded the shuttle, Yerbol meeting Aria's gaze one last time. He smiled, putting a hand over his heart, hoping he knew that was where she would be while they were apart. The shuttle bay doors closed, the ships launching into the orange-crimson sunset laden sky on their trajectories. 
"Come on, honey; we've got an underground criminal organization to infiltrate." Yerbol cocked his head to the side.
"Could you maybe explain that to me?"
"On the way. And don't forget a blaster pistol tucked underneath your pant leg; that's standard for this kind of op."