The world was a different place if you stood still, and silent. A single moment became its own universe, facets and details perceived that would otherwise be lost, not merely unnoticed but utterly invisible to a mind and a body that was in motion. The mind filtered away sights that it didn't deem important; filtered out the sounds that hid behind other sounds, so persistent and irrelevant that there was no need to be heard. The smell and taste of recycled air was forgotten; the texture of fabric against skin went unfelt. The beating of the heart in your chest; the pounding of the blood in your ears. It was a miraculous talent the body had, to ignore almost anything if it chose to - even the essential processes that allowed it to survive.

Yet, the talent was not born out of evolutionary advantage. It was a necessity, a side effect of a brain that was too overtaxed to cope with everything it was expected to deal with. There were times, such as the body grew tired, that conscious thought could interfere with essential processes like breathing; hence a yawn, to wrench essential oxygen into the lungs. Under certain circumstances, the body could even be fooled into doing itself harm. It was an overtaxed system, stressed, and stretched far beyond its limits.

The Force helped with that. It was always there, always in everyone, but those sensitive enough, and well enough trained in its practice, could draw upon it, letting the energies and vibrations of the universe seep into their being like nutrients through roots. That infusion of tranquility suffused Lúka's body, a gentle supplement to that which his body otherwise spent such resources on sustaining. It allowed his focus to shift, to drift, to acknowledge that which his mind otherwise filtered away. It reached out, capturing stray conversations between officers at the edge of the bridge, feeling temperature variations in the air, shifts in motion as molecules and particles cascaded back and forth, disturbed by the movement of everything within this confined space. He heard the constant hum of power moving through overhead conduits; concentrated until the constant tone separated into the individual frequency peaks of the alternating current.

He felt them shift; twitch; felt the current alter direction as magnets wrenched the two sheets of durasteel behind him apart. He didn't need to shift to know who was entering the bridge of the Deliverance. He waited as the footsteps drew closer, turning back towards his forward view as the Cadet came alongside. A slow belief was released, shoulders sagging ever so slightly under the weight of his hands clasped behind his back. His mouth opened as if to speak, but he stopped himself, head twitching ever so slightly in his protégé's direction.

"It shouldn't be long now," he stated simply, in response to the unspoken desire for an update on their status. "Captain Akasha is making good time."